When the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks woke up Wednesday morning, they were faced with two scenarios. The first, Atlanta won game 4 on their home floor that evened the series. The second, Milwaukee came away with the win taking a commanding 3-1 series lead and looked to close out the series tonight on their home floor. Whatever the outcome, the playoffs provided a platform for a player who showed he will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has been the most talked about player in the playoffs. It began when he led his team as they took out the New York Knicks (4-1) in the first round. Not many gave them a chance when they faced the #1 seed Philadelphia 76ers in round two. Young and the Hawks showed they were for real stunning Philly in game 1. The second time they took game 1 on the road. The rest of the series was a rollercoaster ride for both teams.
The Sixers took games 2 and 3 and had a chance to go up 3-1 as they were up by 18 at one point. It didn’t happen as Young led the comeback win (103-100) with 25 points and a career playoff high 18 assists. Philly came home for game 5 only to be stunned again. This time, Philly ambushed the Hawks going up by as many as 26 points. In the end, Young torched the 76ers scoring a career playoff high 39 points for the 109-106 come from behind victory. Atlanta had a chance to close out the series playing game 6 at home. Philly righted themselves and came away with the 104-99 win forcing a deciding game 7 on their home floor.
This time, an unlikely player stepped up for the Hawks. With Young struggling from the floor (5-23 fga) little known Kevin Huerter had a career playoff high 27 points in the 103-96 win sending the 76ers home. The much maligned Ben Simmons was a no show in the loss..
Meanwhile, the Bucks were pushed to 7 games against the injury riddled Brooklyn Nets. They won game 7 in overtime setting up the Eastern Conference Finals against Atlanta.
Hawks Need To Remove McMillan’s Interim Head Coach Status Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
Just as they did in the first two rounds of the playoffs, Atlanta took game 1 on the road 116-113. Young went bonkers with another career high performance scoring 48 points. The Bucks took the next two games when they faced each other this past Tuesday night looking to go up 3-1 as Atlanta looked to even the series at 2 before going home for game 5. Hawks interim head coach Nate McMillan has made a case for the organization to remove his interim status regardless off the outcome of the series. Said Young of what McMillan has meant to the team, “he’s done a great job with helping us turn this around.” Atlanta struggled under head coach Lloyd Pierce going 14-20 when management made the switch to McMillan. They finished the season 27-11 securing the 5th seed. Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk has not commented on McMillan’s status. McMillan has only said, “as the future and what I’m looking for, I really haven’t thought about that. There was no conversation about that with Travis and I.”
No matter the outcome of the series, Milwaukee and Atlanta will be a formidable opponent against whatever team that comes out of the west.
The one person that opened everyone’s eyes in the playoffs, Trae Young, showed he will be a big part of future playoff outcomes.
