Miami Heat at Milwaukee Bucks Betting Preview/Player Prop

The Milwaukee Bucks host the Miami Heat for Game 1 of their playoff series in the Eastern Conference on Saturday afternoon. Milwaukee is the number three seed in the East, while the Heat comes in as the number 6 seed.

Miami advanced all the way to the NBA Finals a season ago, but this year has been a bit of a disappointment. The Heat went just 40-32 during the regular season and finished in second place in the Southeast Division. 

Milwaukee won the Central Division by 12 games, but the Bucks were not as dominant this season as in years past. The Bucks continue to have great regular seasons, but have yet to perform in the NBA Playoffs. 

The Milwaukee Bucks are 4.5 point favorites over the Miami Heat in the series opener.

Miami Wants to Play Slow

The Miami Heat are scoring just 108 points per game this season, but they are also holding opponents to just 107.6 points per night. Miami wants to find a way to slow down the pace in this matchup, and that will allow them to be more competitive. 

Miami does have a very deep team, and there are plenty of players that have proven that they can get it done in the postseason. The Heat wont’ be afraid of this matchup, and they have the toughness to find a way to win on the road.

Jimmy Butler leads the way with 21.5 points and 7.1 assists per game, and Bam Adebayo has also been a force. Miami has enough weapons to get the job done when they need to. 

Bucks Can’t Be Stopped

The Milwaukee Bucks led the NBA with 120.1 points per game this season, and this is nothing new for this team. Milwaukee plays much faster than most teams in the league, and they just simply find ways to wear down their opponents. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks with 28.1 points per game, and he is capable of going off at any time. The addition of Jrue Holiday has given this offense another weapon, and he leads the team with 6.1 assists per game. 

Milwaukee will give up some points, but they are confident that they can get it back on the other end of the floor. 

Heat Stun Bucks in Series Opener

There is no doubt that the Milwaukee Bucks are the better overall team, but things start to tighten up in the NBA Playoffs. Milwaukee just has not performed well in the postseason in recent years, and that will be in the back of their minds on Saturday.

The Heat can’t keep up with the Bucks in a high-scoring affair, but they have the defense that should be able to slow this game down. Look for Miami to frustrate Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon, and that will allow them to come up with some clutch plays late to win the series opener. 

Bet the Miami Heat money line as they stun the Bucks and take Game 1 of this Eastern Conference series.

Player Prop

Jimmy Butler Over 24.5 Points (-113)

It’s fair to say as Jimmy Butler goes, so go the Heat. That was never more apparent than in last year’s playoffs against the Bucks.

After averaging 19.9 ppg during the regular season, Butler exploded for 40 points in Miami’s Game 1 upset of Milwaukee in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals. That triggered a run where Butler averaged 23.4 ppg and carried the Heat to a 4-1 win in the series.

Butler followed up last season’s postseason heroics with a solid regular season this year, averaging 21.5 ppg on a career-best 49.7 FG percentage. Those numbers were even higher following the All-Star break as Butler averaged 22.1 ppg on 53.0 percent shooting.

In today’s rematch against Milwaukee, we’ll look for Butler (-113) to assert himself on the offensive end once again and go over 24.5 points.

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