Milwaukee Bucks: 3 questions following Eastern Conference Semifinals
By Dalton Sell
How will the Milwaukee Bucks match up against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals?
Starting this Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks will officially square off against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The fifth-seeded Hawks showed their resiliency as they knocked off the East’s top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in a crucial Game 7 on the road last night to stamp their ticket to the East Finals. Following Atlanta’s thrilling victory, the No. 3 seed Bucks have secured homecourt advantage for the series.
While there will be many storylines brewing throughout the series, planning for matchups will be interesting. The top target for the Bucks will be slowing down All-Star guard Trae Young, who has been on a tear throughout this playoffs. The Bucks will immediately throw their All-Defensive guard Jrue Holiday at him from the opening tip. Holiday previously had a phenomenal defensive performance against Young earlier in the regular season by holding him scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting from the floor with five turnovers across 30.9 partial possessions, according to NBA.com/stats. Keeping Young in check will be the top priority for Milwaukee, and Holiday will be put to the test.
It will be compelling to see what the Hawks have in store for Giannis Antetokounmpo as well. The Greek Freak will likely get looks against John Collins and Solomon Hill, but one Hawk that has given him trouble previously is starting center Clint Capela. In two games this season, Capela held Giannis to 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor across 23.1 partial possessions. Atlanta’s big man will certainly help build the wall down low to keep Antetokounmpo out of the paint, and the two-time MVP must continue trying to decipher the looks he gets defensively.
Needless to say, Atlanta provides an interesting matchup for the Bucks on both ends of the floor. However, with both teams capable of heating up offensively with top-tier weapons, this could be a series dictated by the defense.