‘Miami can’t beat them:’ Charles Barkley predicts a Milwaukee Bucks sweep
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Impressed by seeing Milwaukee’s 78-51 lead over the Miami Heat at halftime Monday in Game 2 of the NBA playoffs opening round, colorful TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley wasn’t mincing words in heaping praise on the Bucks.
“They’re going to sweep them,” Barkley said. “Miami can’t beat them. I’m telling you, the addition of Jrue Holiday and P.J. Tucker, this is a much better playoff team.
“Those other (Bucks) teams were built for the regular season. I love Giannis’ movement without the ball. They’re not just giving him the ball at the top of the key. They’re going to sweep the Miami Heat.”
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That’s music to Bucks’ fans ears, given that it’s exactly how Milwaukee approached 2020-21, with less emphasis on the regular season success that they’d experienced each of the last two seasons. After all, it didn’t translate to postseason success, including against Miami last year when the Heat’s “wall” mitigated what Giannis could do driving to the basket.
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Of course, Bucks fans also remember what happened in another famous incident involving a bold proclamation from a former-player-turned-analyst. In 2019, Paul Pierce opined, “I think it’s over,” when the Boston Celtics beat the Bucks in the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Bucks won the next four games.
Barkley, joked that the Heat had the perfect player for the situation in Dwayne Dedmon (pronouncing it “Dead man”), although Dedmon had played particularly well for Miami in the first half with 13 points.
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ‘Miami can’t beat them:’ Charles Barkley predicts a Milwaukee Bucks sweep