Atlanta Hawks host Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Hawks will play the second of a back-to-back Saturday evening when they host the Milwaukee Bucks for a 7:30 PM ET tipoff at Philips Arena.
The Atlanta Hawks hopefully shook off all their NBA All-Star Break rust in Friday night’s home loss to their Southeast Division rival in the Miami Heat, 115-111, as the Hawks will welcome the Central Division’s Milwaukee Bucks to Philips Arena for a Saturday night contest on the hardwood. Tipoff is at 7:30 PM ET and the game will air on Fox Sports Southeast.
Friday night, the Atlanta Hawks struggled to take care of the basketball against a Miami Heat team that through injuries and suspensions were only able to play a nine-man rotation in their not-so-surprising victory over Atlanta.
The Hawks this season have for some reason played down to the level of their competition in games. While the Heat are still a good team, they were nowhere near full strength against Atlanta Friday night.
In the Atlanta Hawks’ second game of a back-to-back, Atlanta will play its second of five straight home games against a Milwaukee Bucks team that is certainly NBA Draft Lottery bound. Milwaukee has struggled with play from its point guards, constant defensive lapses, and frankly a lack of spacing in the low post with their countless frontcourt players.
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However, the Bucks do have one of the NBA’s most interesting young players in small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, also known as the Greek Freak, as well as a pieces that could become a strong supporting cast for him if the head coach Jason Kidd can figure out his backcourt in Milwaukee.
Atlanta seemed a bit out of focus against the Miami Heat Friday night. The Hawks made several questionable decisions passing the basketball and fouled Miami way too often. Though the Milwaukee Bucks are one of the three worst teams in the Eastern Conference in 2015-16, the Atlanta Hawks will need to play with more poise to win at home on Saturday night.
One thing that could end up being in the Atlanta Hawks’ favor against the Bucks is that the Hawks made a season-best 16 three-point field goals against a top five defense in the NBA in the Miami Heat.
Next: Atlanta Hawks lose to shorthanded Miami Heat, 115-111
While that could have been in large part due to the Heat only playing a nine-man rotation, this could bode well for the Hawks, as the Bucks have been one of the league’s five worst defensive for much of the 2015-16 NBA season. Here’s to getting back on track with a win over the Bucks on Saturday night. Let’s Go Hawks!