Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee Bucks Game 2 Betting Preview

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is here. The Atlanta Hawks look for a 2-0 lead in Milwaukee on Friday night in what would be a pretty wild turn of events. The 3rd-seeded Bucks dropped game 1 as they failed to close out on the boards and had no answers for Trae Young down the stretch or all night for that matter. What a story a Hawks win would be.

Coming into this one, Atlanta now has six road playoff wins. They won two games at Madison Square Garden, where New York Knicks fans bombarded Trae with expletive chants. The same was true in Philadelphia, where the Hawks won three times over the Sixers. And in a more friendly natured Bucks environment, they still took the opener. All they do is win, and they are three wins from reaching the pinnacle of the league.

Milwaukee has to be better. It became clear that Brook Lopez would be a defensive liability, so he logged under 20 minutes for the game. But, Bobby Portis came in and provided a spark off the bench. It was good to see him getting minutes again. Some more Bryn Forbes opportunities would be nice, but he’s been limited in the last several contests.

If they don’t figure out a recipe for how to stop letting Trae Young cook them, it might be over quickly and shockingly.

ODDS

The Game 2 spread is set at MIL -7.5. The over/under is 225.5 points.

Hawks Seeking 2-0 Lead

The 5th-seeded Hawks have gone 3-0 in game 1’s this postseason. In the first two rounds, though, they dropped the second game. Oddly enough, the Los Angeles Clippers were down 0-2 and have now won three game 3’s. Perhaps the trends will continue to happen, and Atlanta may be at a statistical disadvantage in this ballgame.

Trae put up a line of 48-6-11 in game 1 and just could not be stopped. He launched 34 shots and made 17 of them, 50% for the day while getting to the line early and often. Clint Capela and John Collins combined for 33 rebounds, and both made big shots. And Kevin Huerter has continued to be great for them.

The keys to victory lie in winning the 3-pt game, Trae avoiding foul trouble, and Khris Middleton’s struggles continuing.

Bucks Seeking to Tie the Series

Milwaukee had a first-round sweep. They went down 0-2 in the last round. Now down 0-1 to Atlanta, they’d best win here. They won’t want to have to earn two wins against the raucous crowd that has been helping propel the upstart Hawks team.

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo had a very good game 1, and there were no noticeable blunders. But he missed some shots and rebounds late. He did hit 6-7 free throws, a welcome sign. Khris Middleton was horrendous, missing makeable shots all night. His game is pretty basic, but it generally works. They need him to be better.

Regardless of Jrue Holiday’s scoring efforts, Middleton needs to lead the offense for them to win. Because when he misses, it falls flat. A more efficient game from him and new Trae coverages will lead them to a win.

BUCKS WIN!

Milwaukee will get it done at home here to even the series up, 2-2.

FREE PLAY: MIL -7.5
OVER/UNDER: UNDER 225.5