After playing nine of their last 10 games at home, the Bucks are back on the road tonight taking on the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center. Losers by 15 to the Suns, Milwaukee will need every bit of juice it has against a Miami team that has won six on the trot, including a 150-129 demolition of the Washington Wizards in which perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Bam Adebayo scored 83 points! Tonight’s game is the final regular-season matchup between the teams, with the Heat taking the first
matchup behind 29 points from Tyler Herro, and the Bucks winning the second thanks to Kevin Porter Jr.’s clutch play down the stretch.
Where We’re At
In a reversal of their season-long trend of small-ball, the Bucks have opted to go big lately, starting Myles Turner, Giannis, Kyle Kuzma, Ousmane Dieng, and Ryan Rollins. That’s a whole lot of length, Rollins’ 6’10” wingspan the only one under seven feet. And while the results haven’t been there in the win column, it at least bodes better in theory while enabling the Bucks to look towards the future—namely, what role Dieng plays in it. As a starter, Dieng has certainly been promising, averaging 11.8 PPG on .475/.406/.500 shooting, 6.3 RPG, 4.3 APG, and 0.8 BPG in 31.2 MPG across six games, and of the five-man lineups he’s been part of, this is the most successful one (-2.2 net rating, while all others are -17.5 or worse). Food for thought.
The Miami Heat, on the other hand, are firing on all cylinders despite their extensive injury report. Now up to sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, the Heat are just three games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (i.e., within striking distance of a top-four finish), and have recorded recent quality wins against the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons. But all the latest talk, rightfully so, has been on Bam Adebayo’s history-making performance against the Wizards. His 83-point outburst is now the second-highest scoring total in NBA history. Wilt, Bam, then Kobe. Let that sink in. This season, Adebayo has struggled offensively against the Bucks (17.5 PPG, 43% FG), so his offensive explosion comes at unideal timing from a Bucks’ perspective. Regardless, Milwaukee mustn’t be too Bam focused, as Tyler Herro (26.3 PPG on .537/.517/.947 to go along with 5.5 RPG and 4.8 APG) and Jamie Jaquez Jr. (16.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 6.0 APG) have also been balling over the past five games, giving the Bucks more than enough reasons to keep 911 on speed dial.
Injury Report
For the Bucks, Kevin Porter Jr. (Right Knee; Synovitis), Bobby Portis (Back; Thoracic Spine Contusion), and Jericho Sims (Right Patella; Tendonitis) are all questionable.
For the Heat, Tyler Herro (Left Quadriceps; Soreness) and Kel’el Ware (Right Shoulder; Strain) are questionable, while Nikola Jovic (Low Back; Injury Management), Norman Powell (Right Groin; Strain), Terry Rozier (Not With Team), and Andrew Wiggins (Left Big Toe; Sesamoiditis) are out.
Player to Watch
Once more for good measure: Bam Adebayo dropped 83 frickin’ points when he last played. Eighty. Three. If he’s not the player to watch, then this section needs a new name. In addition to scoring the second most points of all time, Adebayo’s 36 free throws and 43 attempts were the most in NBA history, and his 22 three-point attempts tied for third-most in a game in NBA history. So, what does he have in store as an encore? While Adebayo has struggled so far this season against Milwaukee, he typically fares better, averaging 19.9 PPG on 47% over his last 10 games against them. Of course, the Bucks have a pretty good front-court player of their own. But while all the hoopla around Adebayo could give Giannis extra incentive to remind the world who he is, turning this into a mano a mano matchup might hurt Milwaukee more than it helps.
How To Watch
Tune in at 6:30 p.m. CDT on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin or the following stations:
- WMLW & WYTU (Milwaukee)
- WISC (Madison)
- WMEI (Green Bay)
- WECX (Eau Claire/La Crosse)
- WYOW (Wausau)
- WQAD (Davenport, IA, Rock Island/Moline, IL)
