Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from thrilling Game 2 win vs. Atlanta Hawks
By Dalton Sell
The Milwaukee Bucks do a far better job of limiting Trae Young in Game 2 win over Atlanta Hawks
The biggest storyline from Game 1 was Trae Young’s heroic performance for the Hawks and how the Bucks had no solution to slowing him down. Young scored 48 points and dished out 11 assists in Atlanta’s victory, and all eyes were fixated on how Milwaukee would respond to the challenge of keeping his contributions at bay.
It is safe to say that they did a far better job of limiting him this time around as Young finished the game with just 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting, including 1-of-8 from distance. The Bucks gave the guard no easy baskets this time around, also forcing him to cough up nine turnovers on the evening. They did a far better job of taking away his signature floater in the paint and forcing him to rely more heavily on outside jumpers, which did not work in his favor.
Young is now 5-of-21 from 3-point range throughout these first two games, and letting him take those outside jumpers is something the Bucks will live with over those floaters. With Jrue Holiday, P.J. Tucker, and even Giannis Antetokounmpo on the floor, this team has no shortage of upstanding talent on the defensive end to make life tough for Young. Holiday will continue to get the lion’s share of the minutes of guarding the rising star in this series, and rightfully so.
Games 1 and 2 could not have been farther apart on the spectrum when it came to how well Young performed. The Bucks were far more disciplined defensively in the ladder matched, and they must keep that same mentality moving forward to keep his contributions scarce.