Milwaukee Bucks: 3 most important matchups versus the Atlanta Hawks

Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks matchups: Khris Middleton vs. Bogdan Bogdanovic & Kevin Huerter

After an abysmal two-game start against the Nets in the Semifinals, the Bucks would like to get Khris Middleton going offensively from the jump in this series.

Looking back at his matchups during the regular season, it looks like Middleton will likely see hefty minutes matched up against Bogdan Bogdanovic. Middleton drew Bogdanovic defensively across 26.9 partial possessions during their two meetings this year, where he scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, including 2-of-2 from deep. Although it came in a small sample size, Middleton will see the forward once more in these playoffs, health barring. Bogdanovic has been dealing with nagging knee soreness and his Game 1 availability is reportedly uncertain.

If Bogdanovic cannot go or is limited in some capacity, Kevin Huerter will likely take the task of guarding Middleton. Huerter did a much more reputable job of guarding Middleton during the regular season by holding him to four points on 2-of-8 shooting, including two misses from deep, across 23.1 partial possessions. Milwaukee’s second leader scoring must look to find his rhythm and not let Huerter have a similar defensive impact against him this time around.

Middleton will also likely return the favor and guard these two in similar situations in this series if they both make their way out onto the floor. While Young commands a hefty portion of the scoring duties, neither Bogdanovic nor Huerter should be overlooked for their ability to put the ball in the hoop routinely.

Bogdanovic torched the Bucks offensively during an April 25 matchup by scoring 32 points on an efficient 12-for-21 shooting to lead the Hawks to victory. Meanwhile, Huerter recently took the world by surprise as he dropped 27 points in Atlanta’s Game 7 victory over the 76ers. These two can flat out score the basketball, putting Middleton to the test defensively. Although there will be some Solomon Hill minutes sprinkled in there both offensively and defensively for Middleton, his main matchup will likely come between either of these two.