The Hawks may be able to win without Trae Young, but they cannot win without Clint Capela

Stemming off of being crushed in the paint, one of the biggest reasons the Hawks struggled against the Bucks’ bigs was because they really did not have Clint Capela. He played just 21 minute in this one and really seemed to be bothered by an eye injury he sustained at the end of Game 4. 

With the Hawks up by close to 20 points in that game, Capela took an inadvertent elbow to the face and left the game with what appeared to be a nose injury. Later on, it was revealed that the Hawks’ big man was dealing with a right eye injury and all throughout the day leading up to Game 5, he was dealing with inflammation in this eye. 

Maybe this affected him and only resulted in him being out there on the court for 21 minutes, but Clint Capela really gave the Hawks nothing in Game 5 on the road. Capela finished with 6 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks, but was never really able to get settled in offensively or defensively. 

The Hawks proved that they could win without Trae Young in Game 4, but the script turned on them in this game because of their inability to keep Milwaukee out of the paint. Capela is going to be a big storyline heading into Game 6 because Atlanta really needs him to play at his best. 

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All season long, I have called Young the Hawks “most valuable player,” but Clint Capela is their “most important player.” When he plays well, Atlanta wins games and when he does not show up, they tend to really struggle defending teams inside. 

Milwaukee has shown all year long that they can beat teams from the perimeter, but the Hawks must keep them out of the paint if they are to extend this series to a Game 7 and keep their NBA Finals hopes alive. If the Bucks make 20+ three-pointers and beat the Hawks, so be it, but Atlanta cannot let them go down the floor every possession and score inside.