What do the Milwaukee Bucks need to do in order to win this series?
After living in the 76ers’ and the Nets’ shadows all season long, the Bucks are the highest seed remaining in the Eastern Conference and they are the favorites to reach the NBA Finals for the first-time since 1974. However, Khris Middleton is going to have to continue to be great for them in order for them to advance.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to get 30+ points and 10+ rebounds pretty much every single game since the Hawks do not really have anybody that can matchup with him, but getting that secondary production from a guy like Middleton is going to be key.
In their previous series against the Nets, Khris Middleton was fantastic as he averaged 24.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and shot 36.5% from three-point range. Every single time the Bucks needed a big shot, it wasn’t Giannis that answered the call for them, it was Khris Middleton.
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With De’Andre Hunter out on the wing, the Hawks will have Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter as options to guard Middleton, which definitely gives the Bucks an early advantage. Middleton has been great these NBA playoffs and if the Bucks are to reach the NBA Finals, he will have to take a lot of the scoring load upon himself once again.
Another thing that can help Milwaukee advance past the Hawks is their perimeter defense. Since Donte DiVincenzo went down with a season-ending foot/ankle injury, P.J. Tucker has stepped up in the starting rotation and has been a force defensively. He did a really solid job on Kevin Durant in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and he will once again have to step up guarding guys like John Collins and sometimes even a guy like Danilo Gallinari.
Jrue Holiday will be tasked with “containing” Trae Young, Brook Lopez will be guarding Clint Capela underneath and then 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo will have to show his versatility to guard numerous positions in this series.
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The Hawks have a lot of smaller guards and wings that they mix around in their rotations, so Giannis may initially match up with an athletic forward like John Collins, but could find himself getting switched onto smaller guys like Trae Young and Kevin Huerter on the perimeter.
This potential Giannis-Trae battle will definitely be something to watch and early on, it seems like Antetokounmpo would have the early advantage given his length and quickness to not allow Young to penetrate the Bucks’ interior defense.
