Milwaukee Bucks: Bryn Forbes will be secret weapon throughout playoffs

On a night where the Milwaukee Bucks absolutely caught fire from 3-point range en route to a 132-98 blowout Game 2 win against the Miami Heat, Bryn Forbes served an essential role as part of the offensive explosion.

Forbes lit up the floor right out of the gate, dropping 14 points on 4-of-4 3-point shooting in his first five minutes off the bench. Largely due to his flamethrower contributions, the Bucks led the Heat 46-20 while shooting 66.7 percent from beyond the arc through the first quarter.

The 27-year-old sharpshooter finished with 22 points (19 in the first half) on 6-of-9 shooting from 3 and accounted for 27.2 percent of Milwaukee’s 3’s. As a team, the Bucks shot 41.5 percent from downtown after shooting a disastrous 16.1 percent from 3-point range in Game 1.

Following an impressive performance in the Milwaukee Bucks’ blowout win in Game 2 over the Heat, Bryn Forbes has identified himself as their secret weapon.

With the deep, talented squad that the Milwaukee Bucks have this season and with the star trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday consistently taking the headlines, not many people knew about Bryn Forbes or at least his valuable impact heading into the NBA Playoffs.

During the regular season, Forbes averaged 10.0 points and shot 45.2 percent from behind the arc, which ranked fourth in the NBA. It’s his first season with the Bucks and there’s no question that he’s been a perfect fit with the way he’s utilized in the offense. Whether it’s his off-ball movement, catch-and-shoot ability, efficiency on dribble handoffs, pure shooting stroke, or capability to score from all angles, he can make an influential difference at any time. Compared to last season’s Bucks, he’s been a huge upgrade over Kyle Korver on both ends of the floor.

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Signing Bryn Forbes to a two-year, $4.7 million contract (2021-22 player option) in the offseason has proved to pay dividends for general manager Jon Horst and the Bucks organization. After shooting lights out from 3 on Monday night throughout Game 2, he’ll look to continue providing a key spark off the bench as Milwaukee travels to Miami with a 2-0 series lead and vengeance on the horizon.

“We know how well Bryn can shoot, especially from playing against him the past couple of years,” Middleton said following the victory. “We know what he brings to the table. He’s not just a shooter, he’s a guy that can pin it on the ground a couple times and get to the bucket also. I mean, he’s gonna be huge for us going down the stretch here in the playoffs and in this series.”

Forbes was the secret weapon for the Bucks in Game 2 and will be the secret weapon moving forward throughout the postseason. You could say that he just had his “playoff introduction” after his impressive offensive outburst on the big stage, and opposing teams may have to pay more attention to him in order to prevent him from getting into that knock-down rhythm. Clearly, the Miami Heat just learned their lesson.

If the Milwaukee Bucks coast by the Heat in the first round and go on to leap over the hump to claim its second NBA championship in franchise history, Bryn Forbes could surely be an X-factor with his stealthy, yet valuable contributions off the bench.