Milwaukee Bucks vs. Miami Heat: The Bucks Are Heating Up

Fresh off of a 120-107 victory over the Boston Celtics in Boston, the Milwaukee Bucks will square off against the Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena tonight. A back-to-back set starting in Boston and ending in Miami is rough needless to say.

Bucks Update

Yep, the Bucks mopped the floor with the Celtics last night and it was beautiful. I don’t care if Al Horford or Marcus Morris was out...the Bucks still whooped them. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 30 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocked shots while making 8-of-13 shots. Giannis went to the foul line 17 times, and also had a handful of incredible plays, like so.

Khris Middleton added 21 points and made 4 three-pointers while point guard Eric Bledsoe chipped in with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Tony Snell and Thon Maker came off the bench and combined for 27 points on 10-of-11 shooting. The Bucks were able to win despite turning the ball over 21-times.

The Milwaukee Bucks will be without Ersan Ilyasova as he recovers from surgery on his broken nose. Additionally, Donte DiVincenzo and Christian Wood appear to be with the Wisconsin Herd, making them unavailable for tonight.

Player to Watch: Tony Snell

He had his best game of the season last night versus the Celtics with a season-high 15 points off the bench. The Bucks will need all they can get out of him especially in a game that has a quick turnaround like this one.

Miami Heat Update

Well, things are not going well over in the Sunshine State this season. The Heat currently sit at 14-16 this season and have had to deal with a plethora of injuries to starters and rotation players. Despite losing starting point guard Goran Dragic to knee surgery, the Heat have reeled off three-straight wins.

Their most recent victory came in Houston against the Rockets where they won 101-99. Miami was led by Josh Richardson who poured in 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists while Tyler Johnson added 19 of his own. Big man Hassan Whiteside hauled in 17 rebounds and scored 9 points in 24 minutes. What a weird season from him thus far.

The Miami Heat rank towards the bottom (25th) of the NBA with their 105.7 OffRtg but their 9th ranked 106.4 DeffRtg has kept them in games. I have a strange feeling about this game.

In addition to Dragic, Miami will be also without Dion Waiters, but they do have Justise Winslow listed as “day-to-day” with an ankle issue.

Player to Watch: Josh Richardson

He’s a great player on both sides of the ball, and with Heat players dropping like flies he has the capability of erupting for a huge night. He can score the basketball more ways than one and has really blossomed this season. He is fun to watch.