Milwaukee Bucks: 3 stars from eventful Game 1 victory over Heat

Milwaukee Bucks: 3 stars from eventful Game 1 victory over Heat – Brook Lopez

While the Milwaukee Bucks dominated the paint in Game 1, Brook Lopez was an influential reason why. The 33-year-old big man posted 18 points, eight rebounds, and his presence clearly had an important impact in the interior defensively.

Interestingly, Lopez played 36 total minutes, which could be a sign of how serious Budenholzer is toward controlling the interior against the Heat in this series. In comparison, P.J. Tucker played just 18 minutes. Tucker’s addition gave the Bucks more versatility on the defensive end and a potential dangerous small-ball lineup when he was acquired before the trade deadline, but Bud didn’t even test that tactic during Game 1.

Brook played all of the crunch time late in the fourth quarter and in overtime, and to his credit, he was outstanding on both ends of the floor whether it was setting screens, rebounding, hustling, affecting shots with his length and height, and efficiently executing in his role throughout the contest.

It’s safe to say that Brook Lopez was one of the key players in the first game of the series, and the Bucks will be very successful if he can consistently keep it up. Lopez is such an essential role player that could shift the direction of a series, so Milwaukee should be optimistic about his initial star performance.