NBA Playoff Odds: Hawks Host Bucks, Game 7
Most of the NBA's second round of the postseason was decided on Friday night with the exception of the Hawks, Bucks series. The only opening round matchup to go the distance, Milwaukee blew its shot to win the series at home with an embarrassingly poor performance in the 83-69 loss. Now Atlanta will have the advantage of being on its home court when the two Eastern foes collide at Philips Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Fear the Deer? More like Deer in the Headlights.
Playing their biggest game of the season – and of the last decade – the Milwaukee Bucks crashed and burned in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first round series against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
The Bucks fell 83-69 to the Hawks (-1½) to set up a Game 7 showdown on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. ET, ABC) at Philips Arena. The score doesn’t give justice to just how awful Milwaukee played in squandering their biggest opportunity in years.
It’s too bad, because the Bucks are a great story. Already missing former leading man Michael Redd (knee) for the rest of the season, Milwaukee went into their series with Atlanta without Andrew Bogut (elbow, wrist, hand).
Still, the Bucks put up a great fight against the Hawks, and even had a chance to close out the East’s No. 3 seed on Friday night after their surprising 91-87 win as nine-point underdogs in Wednesday night’s Game 5.
It was disappointing how weak Milwaukee came out in Game 6. Playing in front of a raucous crowd at the Bradley Center, the Bucks were flat, and took a 34-31 lead into halftime.
That’s when Hawks head coach Mike Woodson slapped a 1-2-2 matchup zone on Milwaukee and effectively ended the series. Atlanta went on a 27-4 run to start the second half because of the defense, and made itself an automatic wager for Sunday’s finale.
It was about time the Hawks played zone against the Bucks. Even with Redd in the lineup, Milwaukee is one of the worst shooting teams in the league. The Bucks finished the regular season shooting 43.6% from the floor – good for 29th in the NBA.
This is an even bigger problem with Bogut on the shelf, and Atlanta finally decided to exploit the reality. The Bucks’ offense revolves almost entirely around Brandon Jennings and John Salmons coming off screens and attempting to get to the basket, so once the Hawks clogged the lane and dared someone else to beat them, they locked up the Bucks.
The zone stymied Jennings and Salmons, and so went Milwaukee. Jennings had 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting on the night, and he was only 1-for-9 from three-point range. The rookie point guard also missed his first six shots of the second half, and made some questionable decisions with the ball in the third quarter.
If Jennings was bad, Salmons was worse. Salmons went for only eight points in Game 6 on 2-for-13 shooting, and his poor performance from the field put the Jennings-Salmons backcourt duo at 21.4% from the floor for the game. That’s down from their 52% combined number in the Bucks’ three straight SU wins prior to Friday night’s loss.
It’s hard to see how it gets much better for Milwaukee in Game 7. It’s not like the Bucks didn’t expect to see the Hawks’ quasi-zone on Friday. In fact, Milwaukee prepared for the possibility at practice on Thursday, and head coach Scott Skiles mentioned he was surprised Atlanta hadn’t gone down that road in his pregame comments before Game 6.
That’s like knowing the left hook is coming, devising a game plan to avoid getting hit with the left hook, wondering aloud to the media why you haven’t been smacked with the left hook, and then getting absolutely drilled when the left hook comes. This has to be demoralizing for Bucks backers.
Milwaukee brings some decent ATS trends into Game 7, but they’re nullified by Atlanta’s impressive home record this season. Including games at Philips Arena in the first round against the Bucks, the Hawks are 27-17 ATS (36-8 SU) at home.
No line or total was available at press time, but expect Atlanta to be in the range of nine-point chalk, as it was in Game 5 on Wednesday. The teams played ‘under’ the 191½-point total in Game 5, and are 3-3 O/U and 3-3 against the spread in the series.
If there’s any fodder for Milwaukee bettors, it’s the Bucks have held their own on the inside against the Hawks. Atlanta was expected to dominate the offensive glass in the series, but it has managed only two more offensive rebounds per game than Milwaukee through six games.
Most of the NBA's second round of the postseason was decided on Friday night with the exception of the Hawks, Bucks series. The only opening round matchup to go the distance, Milwaukee blew its shot to win the series at home with an embarrassingly poor performance in the 83-69 loss. Now Atlanta will have the advantage of being on its home court when the two Eastern foes collide at Philips Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Fear the Deer? More like Deer in the Headlights.
Playing their biggest game of the season – and of the last decade – the Milwaukee Bucks crashed and burned in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first round series against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
The Bucks fell 83-69 to the Hawks (-1½) to set up a Game 7 showdown on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. ET, ABC) at Philips Arena. The score doesn’t give justice to just how awful Milwaukee played in squandering their biggest opportunity in years.
It’s too bad, because the Bucks are a great story. Already missing former leading man Michael Redd (knee) for the rest of the season, Milwaukee went into their series with Atlanta without Andrew Bogut (elbow, wrist, hand).
Still, the Bucks put up a great fight against the Hawks, and even had a chance to close out the East’s No. 3 seed on Friday night after their surprising 91-87 win as nine-point underdogs in Wednesday night’s Game 5.
It was disappointing how weak Milwaukee came out in Game 6. Playing in front of a raucous crowd at the Bradley Center, the Bucks were flat, and took a 34-31 lead into halftime.
That’s when Hawks head coach Mike Woodson slapped a 1-2-2 matchup zone on Milwaukee and effectively ended the series. Atlanta went on a 27-4 run to start the second half because of the defense, and made itself an automatic wager for Sunday’s finale.
It was about time the Hawks played zone against the Bucks. Even with Redd in the lineup, Milwaukee is one of the worst shooting teams in the league. The Bucks finished the regular season shooting 43.6% from the floor – good for 29th in the NBA.
This is an even bigger problem with Bogut on the shelf, and Atlanta finally decided to exploit the reality. The Bucks’ offense revolves almost entirely around Brandon Jennings and John Salmons coming off screens and attempting to get to the basket, so once the Hawks clogged the lane and dared someone else to beat them, they locked up the Bucks.
The zone stymied Jennings and Salmons, and so went Milwaukee. Jennings had 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting on the night, and he was only 1-for-9 from three-point range. The rookie point guard also missed his first six shots of the second half, and made some questionable decisions with the ball in the third quarter.
If Jennings was bad, Salmons was worse. Salmons went for only eight points in Game 6 on 2-for-13 shooting, and his poor performance from the field put the Jennings-Salmons backcourt duo at 21.4% from the floor for the game. That’s down from their 52% combined number in the Bucks’ three straight SU wins prior to Friday night’s loss.
It’s hard to see how it gets much better for Milwaukee in Game 7. It’s not like the Bucks didn’t expect to see the Hawks’ quasi-zone on Friday. In fact, Milwaukee prepared for the possibility at practice on Thursday, and head coach Scott Skiles mentioned he was surprised Atlanta hadn’t gone down that road in his pregame comments before Game 6.
That’s like knowing the left hook is coming, devising a game plan to avoid getting hit with the left hook, wondering aloud to the media why you haven’t been smacked with the left hook, and then getting absolutely drilled when the left hook comes. This has to be demoralizing for Bucks backers.
Milwaukee brings some decent ATS trends into Game 7, but they’re nullified by Atlanta’s impressive home record this season. Including games at Philips Arena in the first round against the Bucks, the Hawks are 27-17 ATS (36-8 SU) at home.
No line or total was available at press time, but expect Atlanta to be in the range of nine-point chalk, as it was in Game 5 on Wednesday. The teams played ‘under’ the 191½-point total in Game 5, and are 3-3 O/U and 3-3 against the spread in the series.
If there’s any fodder for Milwaukee bettors, it’s the Bucks have held their own on the inside against the Hawks. Atlanta was expected to dominate the offensive glass in the series, but it has managed only two more offensive rebounds per game than Milwaukee through six games.
love this, nice write-up 