Apr 9, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) reacts in the first half of a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Miami Heat (1) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (8)

1. Preview : While Miami tends to walk all over everyone in the East, the Bucks seem to never go down without a fight. Whatever the reason may be, it is a consistently a competitive match-up. The Heat took 3-of-4 games in the regular season from the Bucks, losing the other by 19 points. In another match-up, Milwaukee took Miami to overtime before losing by seven points.

2. Miami’s X-factor : Chris Anderson. This may come as a shock too many, but everyone knows what to expect from LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. They will get theirs, no questions asked, but the acquisition of Anderson mid-season is as big a reason for their success as anything else. Miami’s biggest problem since during the “Big Three” era has been the lack of a true center, forcing Chris Bosh to try to fill that role. Think back to the struggles they had with Indiana in the playoffs, Roy Hibbert dominated Miami’s entire front court. With that said, “Birdman” has added size, energy, athleticism, rebounding, and a defensive presence to the biggest chink in Miami’s armor. Not only was this a great addition for the Heat, but it was just as big, if not bigger, for Chris Bosh. The signing allowed Bosh to move back to his natural power forward position, where his offensive versatility is viewed as an asset, rather than an issue.

3. Milwaukee’s X-factor : Larry Sanders. Miami attacks the paint about as much as any team in the NBA, whether it be in the half-court or transition. LeBron and Wade do their work attacking the basket on dribble-drives the majority of the time, and Chris Bosh gets a lot of catch-and-finish opportunities around the basket as a result. Larry Sanders has made it known to the rest of the league that he is no scrub, especially on the defensive side of the court. In Milwaukee’s only win against Miami this season, he had an impressive 4 blocks to go along with 11 rebounds and 16 points. Milwaukee will need more of the same from their young rim-protector if they plan to make this series even remotely competitive.

4. Prediction : Miami takes this one in five…maximum. Nobody would be shocked if the defending champions swept the Bucks, but it wouldn’t be shocking if they stole one at home if Miami lost its focus and thought every team would just lay down for them. LeBron, Wade, Bosh, and company will take this series, it’s just a matter of how many games. All of that depends on whether or not they come out with the killer instinct we saw in the midst of the team’s 27-game win streak. The Heat won 66 games in the regular season, the Bucks finished sub .500. Enough said.

June 7, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Miami Heat forward/center Chris Bosh (1) and forward LeBron James (6) react in the final seconds of the fourth quarter in game six of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The Miami Heat won 98-79. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

Just a couple of post-game notes. LeBron is hoping for a better defensive stance on Kevin Durant after Durant exploded in the 4th to help the Thunder beat the Heat.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 36 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, as Oklahoma City rallied to beat the Heat 105-94 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

“KD got a couple looks that we don’t like,” LeBron James said. “He had two transition threes that we gave up where he had nobody on him, and he had a couple jumpers that we didn’t like either, with nobody on him. We need to make adjustments. We will make adjustments.”

Shane Battier was assigned to defend Durant, with help designed to come from James.

“No, it wasn’t my choice,” said James, who spent the majority of the game matched up with Kendrick Perkins. “It was a suggestion that Spo [coach Erik Spoelstra] brought up, and I thought it was good early on for us. It gave us an opportunity to switch a lot of pick-and-rolls. … Whatever the case may be, we had a good game plan to start the game.”

Chris Bosh wants the Heat to forgo jump shots in favor of aggressive drives to the basket in Game 2.