NBA Playoff DifferenceMakers: June 23, 2021

What were the key stats and moments that led to the Atlanta Hawks’ Game 1 win?

Atlanta Hawks 116, Milwaukee Bucks 113

Hawks lead series 1-0

FINAL BOX SCORE

Points Were Made: Trae Young Scores 48

Trae Young has been a problem for any opponent he has faced since, like, high school. But he has been particularly hard to stop in these playoffs. Entering this round, Young was averaging 29.1 points and 10.4 assists per game. He hasn’t scored fewer than 21 points and has six 30-point games to his name.

Yet, Wednesday turned out be the finest 2-and-a-half hours of his first playoff campaign. Young came away with 48 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds. The Bucks really didn’t have an answer for him.

While his outside shot wasn’t the sharpest (4-of-13 from 3-point range), Young was able to feast on pull-ups and floaters (10-of-17 on 2-pointers outside of the restricted area) thanks to Milwaukee’s drop coverage in the pick-and-roll. When the Bucks were able to slow down his scoring, he was comfortably able to find his teammates to the tune of his eighth double-digit assist game of the postseason.

I can’t give a definitive answer on how to stop Trae Young. Even when he struggles offensively, he still finds a way to stay engaged via getting to the line and playmaking. However, I do feel that Milwaukee may have conceding the middle game to him a little too much.

Drop coverage works well in a lot of contexts in the modern NBA. But when Young has the floater game going, you would think the Bucks could at least try to move their big up to the nail or just before it when Young is coming downhill to account for it, right? We’ll see if Milwaukee makes that adjustment for Game 2.

Both Teams Even From the Field

Basketball fans were certainly hoping for this to be a close, even series. However, there was a fun statistical anomaly in Game 1 that showed this game was very close.

The Hawks and Bucks came away with the same shot distribution: 39 2-pointers and eight 3-pointers for a 47 total field goals. The only difference in made shots came from the line, where Atlanta edged out Milwaukee 14-11.

Both sides reached these totals in different ways. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dominance inside really aided Milwaukee’s 70-57 advantage in the paint. Young’s floater game helped Atlanta win the mid-range 24-8. Meanwhile, both teams struggled from distance, shooting a combined 16-of-68 (23.5 percent) from 3-point range.

One other fun bit of matching shot totals came from two of Milwaukee’s stars. Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday both went 14-of-25 (56.0 percent) from the field in this game. Their point totals didn’t quite match, though. Giannis’ 6-of-8 night from the line allowed him to come away with 34 points, one more than Holiday’s 33, who went 5-of-12 from 3.

While I don’t anticipate both teams constantly matching each others’ shot totals, it’s clear that these two teams can compete each other. If either team wants to pull out victories in this series, it will come down to the margins and how the teams perform down the stretch.

Hawks Grab Big Boards Down the Stretch

Speaking of late game performance, the Hawks found themselves down 105-98 with 4:17 remaining in the game. From there, the team reeled off a 16-6 run to take the lead and ultimately secure the win.

The key stat in this sequence was Atlanta’s 8-0 rebounding advantage. It was an even 4-4 split between offensive and defensive boards. This rebounding display showed a level of hustle we’ve grown accustomed to with Atlanta, cutting Milwaukee possessions short while extending their’s and giving them more opportunities to decrease their deficit.

Atlanta using the boards to make their comeback showed once again that while their playoff opponents may have been better on paper, you have to compete against the Hawks for the full 48 minutes. Otherwise, you’ll come out of the game empty-handed and behind in the series.