Major Key For Milwaukee: Don’t Get Killed On The Boards
The Atlanta Hawks used to struggle at rebounding. Atlanta was 24th in boards per game last season, but thanks to the addition of Dwight Howard the Hawks have risen all the way to 11th in rebounds per game this season.
The Bucks are worse. Much worse. Milwaukee is 29th among NBA teams in rebounding on a per game basis–only the Dallas Mavericks pull down less rebounds per game than the Bucks. Atlanta grabs about three more boards than the Bucks do, on average.
Milwaukee will need to prevent Atlanta and specifically Dwight from grabbing every rebound in sight. The Hawks grab a ton of rebounds every night, and they have a fantastic chance of winning when the team puts in work on the glass.
When the Hawks grab 50 or more rebounds as a team, they’re 11-1 this season. The only loss came to the Golden State Warriors, who tend to win games regardless of what the opposition is able to do.
The Hawks will need some sort of edge with Millsap out. Unfortunately for them it’ll be harder to rebound as a team without him, as Millsap grabs 7.7 rebounds per game. Dwight and other Hawks could give their team an advantage by gifting Atlanta with extra touches.