Boldly predicting the 1st-round outcome of each potential Eastern Conference playoff series
By Ari Schwartz
Milwaukee Bucks (No. 3 Seed) vs Miami Heat (No. 6 Seed)
The Bucks are currently 3rd in the East with a 37-21 record, while Miami sits right behind them at 32-25 and sixth in the Conference. Last year, the two teams faced off in the first round as the first and eighth seeds. Milwaukee held home court, yet the Heat managed to pull off an upset in five games and later advance to the NBA finals.
Obviously, lots have changed since then. Milwaukee made an all-in move over the summer trading Jrue Holiday in exchange for Damian Lillard, who was expected to land in Miami beforehand. Instead, the Bucks ended up with Lillard, who has been good but not as impactful as expected so far.
Milwaukee has had a roller-coaster season. They've put together some winning streaks, but overall is inconsistent. They fired Head Coach Adrian Griffin only 43 games into the season and replaced him with Doc Rivers, who frankly, has only made the situation worse.
Miami has had an up-and-down season as well but has dealt with some injuries. For a team that finished Eighth in the Conference last year and still made it to the finals, it shouldn't be too concerning that they've had a mediocre regular season.
If the Heat come as prepared to face Milwaukee as they were last year, the Bucks may struggle now with worse coaching and a defense that has fallen off a cliff since Holiday's departure.