Milwaukee’s bench continues to prove to be a non-factor

Bobby Portis was elevated to the starting lineup for the Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo out, but besides him in this series, Milwaukee’s bench has been very underwhelming. Portis has been great, but Pat Connaughton and Bryn Forbes have really been non-factors. They have each knocked down a handful of shots, but really bring nothing to the table in terms of elevating their team past Atlanta. 

All of Milwaukee’s production has come from their starting unit in this series, which is why Atlanta needs to sharpen up offensively and be more aggressive. Getting to Milwaukee’s bench early on in games is the only way they can limit them offensively because after Game 5’s debacle defensively for the Hawks, the Bucks have all the confidence in the world in terms of getting the shots they want! 

One of the biggest reasons Atlanta was able to win Game 4 without Trae Young was not only because they kept the Bucks contained and outside of the paint when Milwaukee was on offense, but the Hawks were aggressive attacking the Bucks’ defense. They hit some big shots from deep, but a lot of the Hawks damage was done inside. 

Atlanta attacked Brook Lopez in transition and in pick-and-roll sets, making him a non-factor, and they found success taking advantage of Milwaukee when they made substitutions. For some reason in Game 5, the Hawks completely forgot to stick to this principle and they not only let Lopez run free, but they never really got into any sets offensively, instead opting to play a lot of isolation basketball. 

Ball movement has been key for the Hawks and they have found a lot of success moving the ball and hitting cutters on the offensive-end of the floor. There are a lot of holes in the Bucks’ defense, especially without Giannis Antetokounmpo, which is why they need to look and expose Milwaukee’s defense in Game 6. 

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Not only this, but they need to take advantage of the Bucks’ weak second-unit. Guys like Middleton and Holiday may still be out on the court with Milwaukee’s bench players, but Atlanta needs to be able to attack Pat Connaughton and Bryn Forbes. 

There are other things Atlanta needs to be able to do in Game 6 and finding success attacking the Bucks’ second-unit will not guarantee a win for them, but the Hawks need to be able to find success doing the little things in order to stay alive in this series. Keeping Milwaukee out of the paint is a whole separate issue that they need to handle, but if the Hawks can execute offensively, they will not find themselves playing from behind the entire game. 

In doing so, they can give themselves opportunities to control the pace of the game in the fourth quarter, something they have actually done quite well in this series. Bench play has been weak for the Bucks and advantageous for the Hawks in this series, which is why Atlanta must prove this in Game 6.