Atlanta Hawks vs Milwaukee Bucks Betting Odds, Lines Picks & Predictions Game 5

The Eastern Conference Finals move back to Milwaukee for Game 5 as The Bucks host the Hawks on Thursday night. The series is tied at 2-2, with both teams stealing one road game so far. Atlanta won Game 4 on Friday despite playing without their biggest star, Trae Young, who is again questionable. The Hawks have proved this postseason that they can perform away from home, winning 6 out of 9 playoff road games. Their overall SU record now stands at 51-37. Against the spread, they’re 49-38-1. The Bucks missed a chance to go 3-1 up on Thursday, but the even bigger concern is a knee injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo. The good news is that he suffered no structural damage to his knee, but the Greek Freak is still doubtful for Game 5. In this campaign, the Bucks are 6-5 without their best player. Overall, Milwaukee is 56-31 SU and 40-47 ATS. In seven matchups this season between the two teams, the Bucks had a bit more success, winning 4 times.

Line Movement

The Bucks opened as -4.5 favorites but the line has dropped significantly since. With the Giannis news, most of the early action went Atlanta’s way, moving the spread to -2. The total also moved a bit, from 216 to 215.

Notes on Atlanta Hawks

Trae Young is definitely the key player for Atlanta and catalyst for their offense. However, the Hawks have proven on Tuesday that they have plenty of weapons behind their star point guard. Without Young, they put together a fantastic effort, moved the ball well, and created great looks for their shooters. Most of the defensive load still remained with their perimeter players. After struggling with a knee injury and several poor shooting performances, Bogdan Bogdanovic finally had a great night. He scored 20, including 6 threes. Lou Williams produced a vintage performance, scoring 21 and adding 8 assists, while Kevin Huerter chipped in with 15 points of his own. The Hawks also got a lot of production from the bench. The second unit combined for 35 points.

The Hawks’ injury report for Thursday doesn’t look too good. Young and Bogdanovic are questionable again as is Capela who suffered an eye injury. Hunter and Goodwin remain out.

Notes on Milwaukee Bucks

Even though they finished the game without Giannis, the Bucks weren’t that good on Tuesday even while the Greek was in. They shot 38.1% and made 5 turnovers in the 1st quarter alone and trailed at the half by 13. No player ever really got going, as not one Buck finished with more than 19 points. Holiday had 19 and Middleton scored 16, shooting 6-17 from the field. With Giannis’ injury, there’s going to be even more pressure on Middleton. His performances have been the key for the Bucks so far. In two wins so far in this series, Milwaukee’s wing has scored 26.5 ppg while shooting 21-39. In two losses, he had only 15.5 points per game. The Bucks will also have issues establishing paint dominance if Giannis doesn’t play. Game 4 was the first one of the series where the Hawks won the battle inside, outscoring the Bucks 46-44.

Giannis is a game time decision, while DiVincenzo remains out.

Betting Pick: Over 215

With several key players uncertain on both sides, it’s going to be hard to predict the winner. But, OVER seems like a reasonable play here. The Hawks have proven that they can score even without Young. On the other hand, the Bucks can hardly repeat the flat performance from Game 4 in front of their own fans. Potential absences for Giannis and Capela will hurt their respective teams more on the defensive than the offensive end. Both games in this series played in Milwaukee went over this line.