Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat: 3 key player matchups to watch out for | 2021 NBA Playoffs

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat will meet in the NBA Playoffs for the second straight season. Even though it is a matchup between the third and sixth seeds of the Eastern Conference, it could be a really competitive series.

The Miami Heat took down the favored Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs in five games to make their way to the finals.

This time, though, the Milwaukee Bucks did not produce the same record or advanced stats as last year. They look like a much better team, and it is largely thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Miami Heat arguably have the best player to battle with Antetokounmpo: Bam Adebayo. Of course, that will not be the only key battle in the series, as the Milwaukee Bucks now have more pieces that can get their own shot, like former All-Star Jrue Holiday.

Khris Middleton was impressive during the Milwaukee Bucks' only victory against the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Playoffs. He will surely be a great contributor to Mike Budenholzer's team in this series.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler will be an essential player for the Miami Heat in this series. He was as valuable as anyone in the 2020-21 NBA regular season, guiding the Heat to a 33-19 record, while the team put up a 7-13 record without him.

3 key matchups to look out for in the Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat 2021 NBA Playoffs first-round series

The series between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat will give us highly entertaining battles on the court.

Without further ado, let's take a look at the three key player matchups to look out for in the series.

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#3 Khris Middleton vs Duncan Robinson

Khris Middleton #22 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots

Khris Middleton will be essential for the Milwaukee Bucks in this series, as he is impactful in every area of the offense while also being an effective defender.

Likewise, Duncan Robinson will need to maintain his tremendous three-point shooting against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Miami Heat's sniper is definitely capable of hitting timely shots in the postseason.

Middleton, a former two-time All-Star, put up 20.4 points, six rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season while posting 47.6/41.4/89.8 shooting splits.

Meanwhile, Robinson had another extraordinary year from the three-point line for the Miami Heat. The team was only 19th in three-point shooting percentage (35.8%) and 14th in threes made (932) this year. However, Robinson was certainly a bright spot in that department, making 250 three-pointers and converting 40.8% of his attempts.

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#2 Jrue Holiday vs Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat

Jrue Holiday and Jimmy Butler will certainly run the floor together for the entirety of the upcoming series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat. Both players will likely guard each other, and it will be a great clash between two players with All-Star and All-Defensive distinctions.

In his first year with the Milwaukee Bucks, Holiday averaged 17,7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game in 59 appearances. He also had a career year in terms of efficiency, shooting a career-high 50.3% from the field and a career-high 39.2% from three.

Butler, on the other hand, will look to guide the Miami Heat to another deep run in the NBA Playoffs. He averaged 21.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game this season and made 49.7% of his shots from the field.

Butler will be the Miami Heat player who will get the most attention from the Milwaukee Bucks' defense.

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#1 Giannis Antetokounmpo vs Bam Adebayo

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks dunks around Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat

Giannis Antetokounmpo could be in contention for his third NBA MVP in a row, though some voters have made it clear that they are not looking too much into his regular-season efforts due to his previous playoff struggles.

Antetokounmpo had another tremendous campaign, putting up 28.1 points, 11 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game while making 56.9% of his field goals.

Antetokounmpo's dominance will need to be replicated in the NBA Playoffs. This will not be an easy ride for him against the Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo, a versatile defender who has had success against the Greek MVP in the past.

Adebayo is also a threat offensively, as he averaged 18.7 points, nine rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season, along with 1.2 steals and a block per game. Bam also made 57% of his field goals and a solid 79.9% from the free-throw line.

In 13 games against each other, Giannis has averaged 21 points per game and made 50% of his shots.

It will be an interesting series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat, and Giannis Antetokounmpo's battle with Bam Adebayo could be decisive.

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