The Milwaukee Bucks eased out of their losing skid Sunday night with their 129-115 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Having lost their last two tilts against the likes of the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Bucks feasted on the opportunity to face up against a Hawks team that was without key players such as Trae Young, Clint Capela and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
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That doesn’t mean the less than full strength Hawks didn’t put up a fight on the Bucks as Atlanta spent the entire second half trying to cut into their lengthy deficit. However, it wasn’t enough to really make the Bucks sweat as they comfortably sealed the 14-point victory before the final buzzer sounded.
So without further ado, let’s dive into what all stood out in the Milwaukee Bucks’ win over the Atlanta Hawks from Sunday night.
Takeaway no. 3 from win over Atlanta Hawks – Dominance on the boards
If you wanted to see a masterclass of the Bucks’ new offensive system at work, their win over the Hawks provided a 48-minute snapshot of exactly that.
On the night, Milwaukee exerted their control on the Hawks by outrebounding the Hawks 52-34, which included 16 offensive rebounds. This is certainly where the Hawks felt their size disadvantages without Capela in the fold, but the Bucks’ ability to extend offensive possessions by tracking down their own misses resulted in 20 second chance points.
Unfortunately, the Hawks’ strong shooting performance, even without their leading scorer in Young, obscured just how effective the Bucks as a whole were in being able to pull down their misses.
There are still some things the Bucks have to clean up on the defensive end to reach, much less equal the pinnacle they played at during the regular season last season. But the overall approach the Bucks have made when it comes to the glass has gone well to this point in the season.
Takeaway no. 2 from win over Atlanta Hawks – Bucks’ bench stepped up
There was much disappointment in the Bucks’ bench combining to score 35 total points in their clashes against the Nets and the Lakers last week. Rightfully so, I should add.
That’s why it was refreshing to see the Bucks’ bench step up to the occasion and collectively contribute 47 points in the Bucks’ win over Atlanta.
It was certainly no surprise to see Bobby Portis bounce back after largely being quiet over the last week and lead the Bucks’ bench unit by scoring a season-high 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting (1-for-2 from three), along with six boards and an assist over his 26-and-a-half minutes on the floor. The same went for Bryn Forbes, who packed a nice scoring punch and chipped in 11 points on five shots.
Perhaps the biggest breath of fresh air was seeing what the Bucks have been missing on two fronts, first starting with D.J. Augustin. The veteran point guard certainly wasn’t perfect, but sinking three triples that all accounted for all nine of his points gave a boost to what was a subpar shooting night from 3-point range overall for the Bucks (Milwaukee finished the night 10-for-31 from deep).
The second notable twist was the long-awaited sighting of Torrey Craig in what served as his first taste of action in nearly a month since fracturing his nose. Donning a mask, Craig showed off his versatile game on both ends of the floor and very much looked the part in his 13-and-a-half minute outing.
Whether we’re starting to see a new look in the Bucks’ rotation or not remains to be seen, but the dire performances we saw recently forced Mike Budenholzer to change up the bench’s rhythm.
Takeaway no. 1 from win over Atlanta Hawks – Giannis Antetokounmpo plays to standard
The season that Giannis Antetokounmpo has been having so far has been anything but true to form. Having played to extreme highs and extreme lows, there’s been little in the way of consistency from the two-time MVP.
While that has been so, Antetokounmpo put his best foot forward Sunday night and calmly led the Bucks with a double-double performance of 28 points and 14 rebounds, along with eight assists, in nearly 36-and-a-half minutes of action.
Whereas Antetokounmpo was recklessly pressing and trying to force things to happen last time out, the 26-year-old played more poised and measured and let the Bucks’ offense work to open up windows to hit his teammates.
But it was Antetokounmpo’s expertise in the paint and around the basket that worked to his full advantage as he dazzled by rolling to the rim or catching and driving on the move to throw down some beautiful dunks. That all resulted in Antetokounmpo scoring 18 paint points for the night. Not for nothing, too, but the Greek superstar went 9-for-15 from the free throw line.
It goes without saying that the Bucks will go only as far as Antetokounmpo takes them. With more performances like these under his belt, it will go a long way in establishing the dominant rhythm Antetokounmpo is capable of playing at more often than not.
The Bucks will have a two-day layoff and travel down south to take on the Toronto Raptors in Tampa Bay, Florida Wednesday night for a 6:30 p.m. central time tip-off.