Both the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks edged their respective opponents in the second round after seven grueling games. Now, they find themselves staring at each other in the penultimate round of the playoffs. Which team takes Game 1? Check out our preview of this game below.
Trae Young and the Hawks are soaring on cloud nine right now. After dismantling the New York Knicks in the first round in five games, the Hawks eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games in the second round — and they completed the job by beating the Sixers on the road in Game 7 Sunday night, 103-96. Young has been sensational in the playoffs, to say the least. Although he’s always been projected as a defensive liability because of his size, Young should have silenced his detractors already after passing the test against the Knicks and the Sixers. Young made those defensively great teams pay, as he enters the conference finals round with an average of 29.1 points and 10.4 assists per game. John Collins and Clint Capela will have to work hard again as they will be focusing on containing Giannis Antetokounmpo. They were overpowered by Joel Embiid, but the Bucks don’t have a post threat as dangerous as the Cameroonian.
The Hawks are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as a road underdog.
Some people still couldn’t believe Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks took down the Brooklyn Nets in a Game 7 at Barclays Center, but that’s just the reality for all of us. Antetokounmpo dropped 40 points to go with 13 rebounds in the Bucls’ 115-111 win Saturday night to close out the Nets. Khris Middleton shot just 9 of 26 from the field but came through with some big shots in the clutch before finishing with 23 points. Jrue Holiday, meanwhile, has been struggling mightily in the playoffs, as he’s just shooting 39.8 percent from the field since the regular season ended. Still, Holiday will be an important component for the Bucks, as he will be assigned as the primary defender of Trae Young. Speaking of defense, the Bucks are second-best among all playoff teams with just 102.3 points allowed per contest.
The Bucks are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games following a straight-up win.
