The Miami Heat took game 3 of their best-of-seven first round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks to take a 2-1 series lead. Now the Heat will try to take a commanding series lead with game 4 Monday night at home. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. EDT at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
The Milwaukee Bucks, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, got their doors blown in in game 3 Saturday night in Miami 121-99 to fall behind 2-1 in the first round matchup. But let's be honest, they played without the best player in the NBA for the second straight game, Giannis Antetokounmpo, so they have been at a sizable disadvantage. So I can throw all the numbers at you in the world, but the big question is — what is the status of Antetokounmpo? If he plays, the Bucks will probably win. If he doesn't, the Bucks could go back home down 3-1 and be in a big hole.
Giannis coaching up Jrue on the bench ?? pic.twitter.com/yfqZl9NwaH
— ESPN (@espn) April 23, 2023
“We've got a really good team,” Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “This group's been together. There's a ton of confidence in that locker room, players that can play and execute at a high level. It's one game today. We weren't our best and we've got to look at that, we've got to own that and be better going into the next game knowing that we've got a really good team and really good players.” So, what is the big man's status? He is listed as questionable for Monday's game. So, obviously, you want to check on his status before game time before making a bet one way or the other.