Early on, the Hawks found a lot of success attacking the Bucks defense in transition

Through the first seven minutes of Game 3, the Atlanta Hawks looked fantastic in large part because of what they were doing on defense. They limited the Bucks to 5-10 shooting from the floor and forced them to turn the ball over three times, which resulted in four quick points for the Hawks going the other way. 

Getting out in transition not only after a Bucks’ turnover, but after a bad/missed shot really helped the Hawks build an early lead on Milwaukee. Whether it was Trae Young being able to knock down a deep three-point attempt or one of the Hawks two big men in John Collins or Clint Capela getting to the rim, Atlanta was getting everything they wanted and needed on the offensive-end of the court. 

Eventually, the Bucks were able to regroup and get things going on offense, but in this game, it almost seemed like Atlanta just stopped doing what was working after the Bucks regrouped and cut their lead in half. 

As soon as the first subs came into the game for the Hawks, the Bucks were able to attack the paint more and more, specifically with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is a complete mismatch for pretty much every single Hawks player. Collins has done a decent job at times guarding him, but overall, when he gets a full head of steam going towards the rim, nobody has been able to stop Giannis. 

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If the Hawks are to keep themselves alive in this series and win Game 4, then getting off to a fast start once again will be vital. The Bucks are going to get their points, especially since they are one of the better offensive teams in the NBA, which is why Atlanta can’t afford to play from behind. 

The Bucks have been dominating the points in the paint category in this series as expected, but Atlanta really needs to do a better job of forcing the Bucks to take jumpers as well early on in games. The first seven minutes of this game, they sped Milwaukee up and threw them out of rhythm, which is why they built a large lead, but then they just stopped doing this. 

Playing consistently on defense is a must and forcing the Bucks to take jumpers outside the paint is a must. If they still find a way to win the game, then more power to them, but the Hawks will not win this series, yet alone another game, if they continue to let the Bucks drive down-hill at them towards the rim and get the shots they want offensively.