The Milwaukee Bucks need to address numerous issues in NBA playoffs

Following a loss to the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, the Milwaukee Bucks must fix the problems that are holding them back in the NBA playoffs.

For the second straight playoff series, the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks found themselves on the losing side of Game 1 after falling to the fifth-seeded Miami Heat on Monday. The second-round matchup in the NBA playoffs between the Bucks and Heat was expected to be a dogfight, and the first game of the series didn’t disappoint as it flowed wire-to-fire until the closing moments.

Miami pulled out the win behind a playoff career-high 40 points from Jimmy Butler, but the Milwaukee Bucks have nobody to blame but themselves for this frustrating defeat. They seem to have numerous issues that they need to sort out if they’re going to have any chance of winning this series and beyond.

Initially, and most importantly, the Bucks must limit their turnovers. It’s been a continuous conflict throughout their time in the bubble, and it has proved to be costly. The Bucks committed 19 total turnovers against the Heat in Game 1, which is unacceptable and embarrassing for the team with the best record in the league.

In addition, Miami scored 28 points off the Bucks’ turnovers and that certainly helped them gain momentum toward victory. In comparison, the Bucks scored just 10 points off the Heat’s turnovers. These stressful and careless mistakes from Milwaukee could be occurring due to the lack of communication, sloppiness, or poor decision-making altogether on the court.

Either way, the Bucks need to clean up their turnover rate and decrease the whopping 17.0 turnovers that they’ve averaged in the month of August. It starts by communicating better and executing more smoothly on the offensive end.

Secondly, Milwaukee Bucks’ head coach Mike Budenholzer must utilize his rotations more effectively. Game 1 against Miami brought some question marks surrounding the minutes distribution between the depth chart that surprisingly included a Frank Mason III sighting. Overall, it appeared to favor the opposition.

For example, Pat Connaughton received 25 minutes off the bench, which was more than starting guard Wesley Matthews, who played 24 minutes. Connaughton also got the nod during crunch time instead of Matthews, and that didn’t seem to make sense considering the fact that Matthews is a better defender and known for his defensive impact.

Wes Matthews spent most of the game disrupting Jimmy Butler and making sharpshooter Duncan Robinson uncomfortable for the most part, so it was confusing to why he was not on the court in the closing moments in favor of Connaughton, who struggled all game. Consequently, Butler scored 11 points in the last four minutes to ice the game.

Brook Lopez was another Buck that should have received more playing time since he only played 27 minutes. In that time span, Lopez posted 24 points, two blocks, and four 3’s on 80 percent field goals. An argument can be made that his limited minutes were due to foul trouble, but he finished with only four fouls. In the playoffs, being too cautious could come back to haunt you, especially when it’s one of your most impactful players involved.

Paint defense (and offense) is a problem for the Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks were shockingly outscored 42-24 in the paint, which nobody could have expected, but Brook’s absence for a good chunk of minutes that he normally would get was a key factor in that statistic. Milwaukee is known for its top-tier defense protecting the paint, but the Heat defied the odds by comfortably infiltrating it in Game 1.

Clearly, Budenholzer needs to maximize the opportunities for his most important contributors moving forward. It’s the NBA Playoffs, so why not play your best players as much as possible?

Lastly, league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, unfortunately, appears to be shifting back to his free throw shooting woes in the postseason. After going 4-of-12 from the free throw line on Monday (including another airball), Giannis still doesn’t look comfortable with his stroke. That will be a major concern for the Bucks, especially when they’re trying to close out games.

On top of that, Giannis has to continue to improve his decision-making and poise under pressure. There have been countless times where he gets out of control when driving from the top of the key against this unique Miami defense.

He should be given the ball on the low post more, so he can use his crafty footwork, strength, length, and strides to patiently dominate defenders closer to the rim. There’s no excuse for the MVP to drop just 18 points with six turnovers in a playoff game.

Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks will look to flip the switch heading into Game 2 on Wednesday, but they won’t be able to do so if they don’t secure some of these issues that have ultimately held back their potential. With the help of starting point guard Eric Bledsoe likely back in the mix, the Bucks must limit their turnovers, tweak their rotations to maximize efficient opportunities, and let Giannis Antetokounmpo find his groove if they want to defeat the Miami Heat and continue their championship hunt.