Milwaukee Bucks: Keys to victory for pivotal Game 4 versus Atlanta Hawks

The Milwaukee Bucks have a golden opportunity ahead of them in tonight’s Game 4 matchup with the Atlanta Hawks to potentially take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

These Eastern Conference Finals have been a roller coaster ride throughout the first three contests. The Hawks drew first blood as they upset the Bucks in Game 1 at Fiserv Forum, but Milwaukee has responded accordingly by winning back-to-back contests. Game 3 was particularly thrilling as the Bucks looked deflated for a large portion of the game before rallying back in the fourth quarter to win 113-102.

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Despite the momentum currently swinging directly in their favor following consecutive victories and reclaiming homecourt advantage, the Bucks will be put to the test in Game 4 against a hungry Hawks team that is backed by a vicious home crowd.

They are certainly looking to redeem themselves after disappointingly dropping the previous contest, and here are three keys to victory for the Bucks to prevent the Hawks from evening things up in Game 4.

The Milwaukee Bucks must limit the Atlanta Hawks’ supporting cast once more in Game 4

The Bucks have had a difficult time stopping Trae Young throughout these first three games as he continues to have a breakout stretch in the playoffs.

While the Bucks have had their struggles containing Young, they have done a solid job of keeping the contributions from the supporting cast in check for the most part. Bogdan Bogdanovic – albeit playing through a knee injury – has not looked like himself as he has shot 7-of-28 from the floor, including 4-of-16 from three to start the series. Kevin Huerter has struggled himself by shooting just 12-of-33 from the field, and three-time Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams has had little impact on this series by shooting 4-of-14 overall.

Young carried the workload on his shoulders, but due to his unfortunate injury in Game 3, that could soon change. The guard tweaked his ankle by stepping on an official’s foot late in the third quarter, which sent him back to the locker room momentarily. He eventually returned to the game, but it was clear that he did not look the same. Without their star playing up to par, the Hawks failed to create offense as they managed to put up just 17 total points in the fourth quarter.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported yesterday that Young was questionable for Game 4 with a bone bruise in his foot. If he plays, the supporting characters will be tasked with lightening the load off his shoulders offensively. The Bucks have done a great job limiting their contributions previously by cutting off Young’s passing lanes and limiting his playmaking, but it will be interesting to see how they combat it in tonight’s matchup under these circumstances.

They cannot afford to let Bogdanovic finally find a groove and erupt for 32 points as he did in an April 25 matchup between these two teams. Kevin Huerter also made a name for himself in the last round by scoring 27 points in a pivotal Game 7 win against the Philadelphia 76ers. Another name to specifically keep an eye on is Danilo Gallinari, as the forward has been their only source of consistent offense outside of Young, and the Bucks must limit him. He has a lethal jump shot from anywhere on the floor, and he will look to take more shots with Young’s status unknown.

While Milwaukee’s main priority remains to contain Young as much as humanly possible, Atlanta’s supporting cast will be looking to help out their star guard.