Atlanta Hawks: 3 trends to watch for in Eastern Conference Finals

The Atlanta Hawks are set to take on the Milwaukee Bucks in their first Eastern Conference Finals berth since 2015. They won’t get a pass as they’ll face the coach who left them for greener pastures (pun intended) and a two-time MVP. That’s to make no mention of a trio of role players that stepped up when it mattered most.

That last part sounds a little like the Hawks in the last round. In this round, they’ll need to be more consistent, and will hopefully shoot the ball better, and protect the basketball.

One thing for sure, this will be another tall task as the Bucks have the length advantage. That isn’t uncommon for the Hawks though, so ball movement and making sure the ball doesn’t stick will be paramount. Great shots over good ones.

Again, though, these are basic things all teams must do.

The Hawks are seven-point underdogs in Game 1. But they’ve proven counting them out is foolish by getting wins in Madison Square Garden and coming back from down 2-1 against the one-seed are no small feats. You might even say they’ve been David against a new Goliath every round thus far.

Can the Atlanta Hawks continue to overcome the odds, this time against a stifling Bucks defense?

If they want to repeat the outcomes of the previous two rounds, they’ll need to keep an eye on a few things. Milwaukee is a different animal from the 76ers, formidable as they were.

Khris Middleton came on strong down the stretch and is finally looking like the second-option Giannis and the Bucks need him to be. Jrue Holiday is one of the best perimeter defenders in the game today. Then there’s the ageless Brook Lopez who had 19 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks in Milwaukee’s Game 7 win over Brooklyn.

But they’re led by Antetokounmpo.