Bucks vs. Hawks Preview: Win This One for Tim Frazier, Milwaukee

After toppling the Chicago Bulls for the second time in four days (insert HA-HA Simpsons Gif), the Milwaukee Bucks are trekking down to polish off their three game road trip in Atlanta against the young, but frisky Hawks. This is the perfect chance to honor Tim Frazier’s 53-minute effort last season, where he nearly led the Bucks to victory in Atlanta.

Bucks Update

Scratched, Clawed, but not Beaten. That’s the mantra Giannis Antetokounmpo has taken in regards to the perpetual physical pestering he’s received en route to the hoop this season, but it seems fitting for the Milwaukee Bucks last game against Chicago. The Bulls hung tough, credit to them, by getting a superhuman effort from former G-league player, now best player on the team, Daniel Gafford (21 points), but Giannis’ 33 points and 10 boards was too much. Couple that with another spicy outing from Donte DiVincenzo (15 points, three steals, four assists) and George Hill (18 points of his own) and Milwaukee emerged with a 115-101 win. This will be Milwaukee’s first matchup against Lloyd Pierce’s Hawks team this season. You may remember Milwaukee’s last trip to the ATL as Bonzie Colson and Tim Frazier’s marathon effort only to lose on a late Trae Young floater.

It’s a clean bill of health for Milwaukee, besides Khris Middleton.

Player to Watch: Brook Lopez

Lopez was towering against Chicago, playing some exceptional paint defense against the Bulls big men. Gafford’s athleticism gave the Bulls a chance to finish lob passes, but some of his destruction came against Brook’s brother. Look for Lopez to be a menace down low again as Jabari Parker tries to jam all over him. I’m expecting Splash Mountain to win more often than not.

Hawks Update

Atlanta got some preseason buzz as a squad that could emerge and make noise in a rather quiet Eastern Conference crowd. They’ve looked like a young team to this point, currently at 4-9 following a 122-101 loss against LeBron James’ Lakers. There’s no denying Trae Young’s star turn at this stage though, with Per-36 averages of 28.8 points, 9.2 assists and 1.7 steals. He’s getting to the line 8.3 times per-36 as well, impressive given his diminutive size. He’s leading the charge down there alongside two new rookies in DeAndre Hunter and Cam Reddish. After leading the league by a slight margin in pace last year (over Milwaukee no less), they’ve dropped to just middle of the pack this season. Let’s see if they get caught in Milwaukee’s up-tempo game tonight and start slinging triples. Theoretically Young is the kind of guard who can hurt Milwaukee’s zone drop scheme, but Atlanta also drags along the worst offense in the league.

They’ll be without John Collins and Kevin Huerter, plus Parker and Evan Turner are listed as questionable.

Player to Watch: Jabari Parker

Who else could it be? The former Buck has been filling in nicely for the suspended John Collins, slamming down oops and attacking the rim with the usual reckless abandon Milwaukee fans know well. He’s at 17.2 points and 6.4 boards per game, but his 3-point shot is not falling this year at just 27.5%. He is listed as questionable but it sounds like he’ll give it a go.