Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from dominant sweep over Heat
Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from dominant sweep over Heat – Mike Budenholzer put together an impressive coaching display
To great relief of Bucks fans, head coach Mike Budenholzer rose to the occasion with his adjustments and game plan throughout the series. Bud outcoached Miami’s Erik Spoelstra after easily losing the coaching battle last postseason, so it’s safe to say that the tables were severely turned.
It’s no secret that pressure was mounting on Budenholzer to be better heading into these playoffs, and there’s no doubt that he stepped up and passed the first key test that came his way. With his job reportedly on the line, Bud was very impressive in the first-round.
In the past, Budenholzer seemed to have a habit of being too stubborn to play his best players more in the playoffs, made questionable rotational decisions, and wouldn’t make the proper adjustments in favor of sticking to his traditional system. Well, none of that occurred against the Heat this postseason.
The Bucks experimented with different tactics all season up to this point and it’s definitely paid off. Budenholzer came out of his traditional mindset to try other strategies, and he’s putting all the puzzle pieces together now to make the most out of his personnel during this crucial playoff run thus far.
WIth these new additions that general manager Jon Horst and the Milwaukee front office acquired this season, specifically Holiday and Tucker to help the team become more open-minded within their schemes, the Bucks have become much more versatile, especially defensively.
Bud has utilized more switching when defending screens, shifting above screens to run players off the 3-point line, and even some zone tactics to combine with the usual drop coverage scheme. It has worked tremendously with the many different combinations that the Bucks can employ to cause discomfort upon opponents.
Credit should also be given to Budenholzer for improving an offense that was already elite. He’s done a fabulous job of implementing the new “dunker spot,” which has created more opportunities for Antetokounmpo, easy baskets, and offensive rebounds due to the spacing. The Bucks averaged a league-best and franchise-record 120.1 points per game during the regular-season and have had stretches where the offense has looked unstoppable. It was showcased against the Heat as they averaged 118.5 points per game during the sweep.
It’s a great sign for the Milwaukee Bucks that Mike Budenholzer has been very impressive with his adjustments, schemes, and decision-making through the first-round of the playoffs.