Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Sunday, January 24, 2021 – 08:00 PM EST at Fiserv Forum
The Atlanta Hawks (8-7) have won three straight games and will now travel to Milwaukee to take on the 9-6 Bucks. While the Bucks have lost their last two, they’re still 7-3 in their last ten games and hope to turn things around against a hot Hawks team.
The ATL is scoring 112.3 points per game and allowing 108.9 points per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field. The Hawks have been solid on the glass with a 29.4 percent offensive rebounding rate on the season. That’s good for second in the league.
The Hawks are also getting to the line at an absurd rate of 24.7. That’s good for first in the league. However, they’re only scoring 112.5 points per 100 possessions, which is 10th in the league and have an effective field goal percentage of 51.8 percent, which isn’t very good.
Atlanta is led by Trae Young who averages 25.3 points per game along with8.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds. This team has plenty of potential scorers in DeAndre Hunter, who averages 16.3 points, John Collins, who averages 15.9 points and Clint Capela, who averages 14.2 points.You can also add in Cam Reddish, who is averaging 12.4 points.
The Hawks are a young and talented team and have really improved on the defensive end recently. To start the season, the Hawks were having trouble but with the addition of Clint Capela, things have changed. The Hawks are allowing 107.2 points per 100 possessions and are allowing teams to shoot an effective field goal percentage of 50.2 percent. This team won’t get many turnovers, especially against Milwaukee, but they’re doing a solid job cleaning up the glass on defensive with Capela averaging 10 defensive rebounds per game. They’re holding teams to 22.9 percent offensive rebounds, which is good for third in the league.
On the other hand, the Bucks are scoring at an extreme rate, averaging 119.5 points per game and allowing 110.7 points per game. The Bucks are scoring 117.4 points per possession and have an effective field goal percentage oof 56.7 percent, which is good for fourth in the NBA. The Bucks are scoring an insane amount of points and what’s made it more ridiculous is that they have a free throw rate of 15.7 which is 28th in the league.
They’re not getting to the line but still scoring nearly 120 points per game.
Milwaukee is led by Giannis Antetokounmpo who is averaging 27 points per game along with 10.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists. He’s well on his way to another potential MVP award this season. Khris Middleton has stepped up for the Bucks along with new incomer Jrue Holiday. Middleton averages 21.9 points per game and Holiday averages 16.1 points per game. The scoring starts and finishes with this big three.
The Bucks defense hasn’t been terrific this season but the scoring has overshadowed the defense. They’re allowing teams to score 109.9 points per 100 possessions and also allowing teams to shoot a 53.5 percent effective field goal percentage. Milwaukee will have trouble rebounding on the defensive end as they’re allowing teams to bring down 24.2 percent of offensive rebounds.
The Hawks are, again, bringing down nearly 30 percent of offensive rebounds. If the Bucks can stay out of foul trouble and keep the Hawks off the line, they’ll be in solid shape. If they’re unable to and the Hawks out shoot them on the line by double digits, the Hawks will easily have the edge in this matchup.
Prediction
The Bucks are coming off back-to-back losses against high caliber teams like the Nets and Lakers. Meanwhile, the Hawks took care of business and defeated teams they’re supposed to, with two wins over the Timberwolves and an overtime win against the Pistons.
Previously, before those three games, they lost to Portland by just six and lost to Utah 116-92. But the Jazz are on another planet right now.
The Hawks have shown enough defense to think they’ll be able to stick around in this game. They can score at will, just like the Bucks, but might actually have the better defense. The only reason Milwaukee has been able to keep scoring low on defense is due to their ability to keep teams off the line. The Hawks always find a way to get there.
NBA Pick: Hawks +8.5 (-110) at UniBet
