By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee Bucks beat the Miami Heat 122 – 108 and retained their chances to finish the NBA regular season with the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
It’s not the most likely scenario though. For the Bucks to get second place in the standings they both need to defeat the Chicago Bulls Sunday (17/5) and the Cleveland Cavaliers to get a win over the Brooklyn Nets. Which seems less than probable.
If the Bucks finish third then they will face the Heat in the first round of the playoffs for a rematch of last season’s East semifinals. Miami had won the series 4-1 despite being the underdog.
For now, some of the Bucks players agree that they don’t think much of who they will be up against but more about their own shape and readiness when the playoffs begin.
“It’s just all about competing,” Khris Middleton said after the win over the Heat. He finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. “It doesn’t matter who it is, if they beat us in the past or if we beat them in the past. We know at this point, everybody’s trying to play their best basketball, so each night we have to bring it.”
Jrue Holiday, who had 20 points against the Heat, wasn’t there when his current team fell to Miami and hasn’t participated in the postseason for two straight years. This season he will make his return to the playoffs with the focus on retaining the rhythm his team is currently in.
“It’s more about being consistent going into the playoffs, no matter the opponent or who we’re playing,” Holiday said. “It’s about being consistent and being in a good groove. I think at this point in the season we’ve done a pretty good job of really just coming out every game and trying to prepare like every game’s a playoff game.”