Bucks vs. Heat: Rough Start, Fantastic Finish

The Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat put on a basketball game on Thursday afternoon. As is often the case, the Miami squad caused fits for the Bucks. But as often the case, the Milwaukee squad walked away with a double-digit victory against a good team, reasserting their dominance in the process.

The first half was dreadful. Nothing was going right for Milwaukee, and they were doing everything wrong. Shots weren’t dropping, defensive rotations were late, and possessions were gifted to the Heat with little resistance.

The second half was awesome. Nothing was going wrong for Milwaukee, and they were doing everything right. Shots were dropping, defensive rotations were crisp, and possessions were maximized and often ended in a thunderous dunk from Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Three Phases of Bucks Fandom

Second quarter: I can’t believe this is happening. I know the last two games were losses but I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t scared. I’m scared now, this is awful! The Heat aren’t even one of the teams in the East that’s supposed to challenge us, and they’re making us look like an embarrassment! That wall, it’s insurmountable! They keep hitting threes! They’re too young, too fast, too athletic, too everything! This is the end, the Bucks have been figured out, they’ve been solved. Like a math problem, the rest of the league is going to copy this and Milwaukee will never sniff a Finals. What a shame, what a shame!

Third quarter: Okay...that was cool, but it’s still tied. The Heat are too good to give up such a substantial lead without responding. They don’t even have two of their main guys, including their best player. Also, how come it took a twenty-plus point deficit for these guys to wake up? Aren't they professionals? What did they come to the bubble for, if they didn’t want to win? You can’t just flip a switch and expect everything to just turn around, that’s not how it works.

Fourth quarter: LOL. HELL YEAH, MAN, THE BUCKS ARE BACK. WE. ARE. BACK. BABY. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. NEVER LEFT, NEVER DOUBTED THEM. NEVER. LOOK AT GIANNIS, SPINNING WHEREVER HE WANTS, DUNKING EVERYTHING. PERFECT FROM INSIDE THE ARC, 13-FOR-13, BABY. AND KHRIS CAN’T MISS, HE’S CAN’T-MISS KHRIS AFTER THIS. THAT’S JUST A LITTLE POEM FOR YOU ALL, I’M SO STOKED I’M ABOUT TO GO WORK OUT AND CALL MY CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE TO TELL THEM HOW I REALLY FEEL ABOUT THINGS. COACH BUD IS A GENIUS AND I’M OFF TO SNEAK INTO THE BUBBLE MYSELF TO DELIVER HIM A 1978 CABERNET FROM SPAIN OR SOMETHING, HE’S EARNED IT.

Bonus Bucks Bits

• With this victory, the Bucks have clinched the Eastern Conference’s top seed for the playoffs.

• It really is Mike Budenholzer’s birthday. Happy birthday, coach, and cheers!
• Khris Middleton was on fire today. So much so, he tried to throw an alley-oop to Giannis, but the pass was so bad that it bounced off the backboard and through the net.
• New meme format, courtesy of the SB Nation mothership:

• Miami had a bunch of guys show up today. They played their hearts out, and guys were making shots. Jae Crowder, Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn, Kelly Olynyk, Andre Iguodala, and Derrick Jones Jr. all scored in double figures and shot well from the field.
• But among all of them, they were led by Duncan Robinson (21 points), who won a new title today:

• Robin Lopez earned a DNP-Coach’s Decision, which likely came as a result of Miami playing exceptionally small. Olynyk, who’s more of a stretch-4, was the only semi-traditional big that played for Miami. Robin’s absence may have helped enable the Bucks’ comeback in some small way; it’s remarkable how much Brook Lopez contributes by comparison.
• The Bucks were down by over twenty points and ended up winning comfortably by double-digits. I cannot overstate this enough.