The Milwaukee Bucks fell to a shocking loss in Game 1 to the Miami Heat, who lost Tyler Herro to a hand fracture after diving for a loose ball during the game. Giannis Antetokounmpo picked up a lower back injury during the loss and played just 10 minutes.
Reggie Miller was on commentary for TNT during the night’s games and made a shocking revelation that he feels Giannis isn’t as significant a loss to the Bucks as Herro to the Heat.
The opening games of the first-round matchup were plagued by injuries, with Giannis and Herro among the ones to succumb to injury.
Miller saying that was pretty surprising given we just saw the 8-seed Heat without Herro still beat the 1-seed Bucks without Giannis. An MVP-caliber player and one of the main reasons behind the team being the 1 seed not being available is a devastating blow. Herro is the lynchpin for the Heat’s offense, but his impact isn’t nearly as pervasive as Giannis.
Are The Bucks Over-Reliant On Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the league in usage rate at a whopping 38.4%, even higher than one-man army stars like Luka Doncic whose usage has been criticized throughout the season. Giannis impacts every aspect of the Bucks’ playstyle on the floor, with the team playing a very different brand of basketball when he’s not available.
Herro is really important for the Heat from a scoring perspective, but he isn’t the player that makes the system tick. That’s Jimmy Butler for the Heat, even though Tyler is often the leading scorer for them. Both are huge losses for their teams, but the Bucks go from title favorites to possible first-round exits without Giannis, so there are levels to their impact.
Source: fadeawayworld
