Bucks Win Without Giannis, One Game Away From Finals! 7.1.21
The NBA Conference Finals role into July as we have Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Bucks and Hawks.
(5) Atlanta Hawks vs (3) Milwaukee Bucks
Atlanta Hawks (2-3)
The Hawks didn’t look good in this game. In the first 3 games of this series, they were a -70 in the paint. In Game 4 they outscored the Bucks in the paint by +2, a big reason why they won (also Giannis getting hurt). Game 5 was similar to the first 3 games, where the Bucks dominated down low and dominated, period. Brook Lopez dominated them down low with his rebounding and the Hawks were outscored 66-36 in the paint. The Bucks got a lot of 2nd chance points and they led for the whole game.
The offense was ok, the bench had 34 points. The Hawks hit 15 3’s, but it was a lot of settling for tough shots on the perimeter. They ran a lot of pick and rolls and they got a lot of switches with Brook Lopez, but they didn’t attack him, they just tried to shoot over him and it didn’t work. 14 turnovers leading to 10 Milwaukee points also didn’t help the Hawks who looked lost without Trae Young leading them offensively.
Bogdanovic hit 7 3’s and had 28 points and 5 rebounds. Williams had 17, Gallinari had 19 off the bench. Collins had 19 points as well. But Huerter was only 3/12 as they couldn’t get him going. The Bucks got whatever they wanted down low and the Hawks never led in this game.
Now Trae Young has a chance of coming back in Game 6. I’m no doctor, but I doubt Giannis played in Game 6. The Bucks have a 3-2 series lead, if he plays at all in this series, it’ll be in Game 7 if that happens. Best case scenario is Young comes back and Giannis is still out for Game 6 and hopefully the Hawks can win. They need to win Game 6 to give themselves a chance to win this series, obviously. They have to pack and paint and make the Bucks, who have struggled mightily shooting in this years playoffs to hit 3’s. They can’t allow 66 paint points again, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Milwaukee Bucks (3-2)
No Giannis, no problem. The Bucks were shell-shocked without Giannis in Game 4 as they were dominated as soon as he left the game. The Hawks went on a 25-10 as soon as the 2x MVP exited but in this game? They were extra prepared. They put Lopez at center, but instead of him standing on the perimeter, he was in the paint and he was a beast. Bobby Portis got the start and he had a playoff career high and brought great energy. Middleton and Holiday were solid and the defense was very good as the Bucks are now one game away from a date with the Phoenix Suns.
Brook Lopez might be better without Giannis. Stationed in the paint, he was 14/18 from the field with 33 points along with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. Most points he’s ever scored in a playoff game as he was dominant, a problem on the offensive glass and catching alley-oop after alley-oop in the pick and roll. He’s not exactly a shooter anymore and he looked very good with him being the only guy down low instead of him and Giannis.
Bobby Portis had a playoff career high 22 points and he brought great energy. 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists for Khris Middleton on 50% shooting, great game. 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 13 assists for Jrue Holiday, great game as well.
The Bucks were a +30 in the paint after struggling to score down low in Game 4, where they were a -2. Now the Bucks are 48 minutes away from the NBA finals. Game 6 will be tough, likely without Giannis again if I had to guess. Again, I’m no doctor, just a hunch. They have to dominate the paint with their rebounding and scoring. They have to do what they did defensively in this game, force the Hawks to take tough contested 3’s with no ball movement. Trae Young might comeback, so that does make things a lot harder with his dribble penetration, so we’ll see how Milwaukee handles that. Middleton and Holiday have to set the tone and the Bucks can definitely win. They just have to bring the energy and start well. The finals are right there for the Bucks, they just have to Carpe Diem (seize the day for you people who don’t know Latin).
What Are Your Thoughts From Game 5? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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