Bucks vs Hawks Game 6 Odds, Lineups, Picks and Injury News

• The Atlanta Hawks are 2.5-point home favorites over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday (July 3rd, 8:30 pm ET)
• Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) is doubtful for Milwaukee, while Trae Young (foot) is questionable for Atlanta
• See below for analysis, odds, injury news and a betting prediction

The NBA is still waiting to crown an Eastern Conference champion, but that could change on Saturday night. Milwaukee will take a 3-2 series lead into Atlanta for Game 6, with tip-off set for just after 8:30 pm ET.

The Bucks held serve at home on Thursday, defeating the Hawks 123-112, but will enter Saturday’s tilt as an underdog for the first time in the conference finals.

Bucks vs Hawks Odds – Game 6

Odds as of July 2nd.

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Atlanta is currently favored by 2.5-points, a line that suggests the Hawks could be welcoming back star guard Trae Young after a two-game absence. The line also suggests that Giannis Antetokounmpo will remain sidelined for Milwaukee, after the two-time MVP missed Game 5 with a hyper-extended knee.

Expect Giannis To Sit

Antetokounmpo is currently listed as doubtful thanks to the aforementioned knee injury he suffered midway through Game 4. Fortunately, there is no structural damage to the knee and he did travel with the team to Atlanta. The speculation is that he’ll sit out Saturday and play in Game 7 should the series go the distance.

There’s belief Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) would be given the green light for a potential Game 7 if Hawks avoid elimination in Game 6 on Saturday, league sources tell @YahooSports.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 2, 2021

Young on the other hand, is listed as questionable with the foot injury he suffered in Game 3, although head coach Nate McMillan said there was no update to his star’s condition as of Friday. McMillan went on to say that Trae’s injury is not a long term concern, and right now it’s just a question of if he can tolerate playing with the pain. It’s worth noting that Young has been listed as questionable prior to each of the two previous games he’s missed.

Trae Young warming up ahead of Game 5 👀 ⁰⁰Ice Trae is rocking his ‘96 Atlanta Olympics-inspired Adidas Trae Young 1 shoes. @brkicks pic.twitter.com/B4WZphGtIe

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 1, 2021

Atlanta also lists Bogdan Bogdanovic on the injury report with lingering right knee soreness, but he’s been assigned a probable designation and hasn’t missed a game all playoffs.

Bucks vs Hawks Projected Starting Lineups

Bucks Breeze Past Hawks in Game 5

With both Young and Antetokounmpo on the sidelines in Game 5, Milwaukee raced out to a 20-point lead and never looked back. They led wire-to-wire and are now one win away from their first Finals trip since 1974. Brook Lopez paced the offense with 33 points, while Kris Middleton added 26 points and 13 boards.

Brook dominated and dropped a new playoff career-high:

33 PTS | 7 REB | 14/18 FG pic.twitter.com/0244nq6Oyj

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 2, 2021

Jrue Holiday delivered a 25 point, 13 assist performance, while Bobby Portis balled out in place of Giannis. Portis poured in 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, while also chipping in 3 assists and 3 steals.

Bogdanovic led the Hawks offense with 28 points, but Atlanta was dominated inside. Milwaukee abused them on the glass and in the paint, and if that happens again on Saturday, the Bucks will surely be Finals bound.

Make Way For Milwaukee

Game 6 and the rest of this series for that matter will be decided down low. Milwaukee outscored Atlanta by 30 points in the paint on Thursday, and the Hawks cannot afford a repeat performance. The problem is, they might not have the pieces to prevent it.

https://youtu.be/PRw1lbqHUV4

As we witnessed in Game 5, Brook Lopez can be a dominate scoring option in the post. He was 14-of-18 from the field, and he’s an excellent passer should a second defender drift towards him. That scenario led to many open looks on Thursday, as did Holiday’s relentless driving to the cup. The one benefit of replacing Giannis with Portis is that it gives the Bucks another reliable shooter.

🗣 BOBBY
🗣 BOBBY
🗣 BOBBY pic.twitter.com/kLjsJ0aDIP

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 2, 2021

Portis shot 52.3% from the field during the regular season, and buried 47.1% of his triples. Adding his three-point prowess alongside Middleton and to a lesser extent Holiday, with Lopez down low, makes Milwaukee an extremely tough team to defend.

Even if Young plays, he’ll be far from 100%, which makes the Bucks an attractive bet. Yes, Atlanta rallied around its injured star two games ago, but that feels like an outlier. Milwaukee meanwhile, is now 7-2 this season without Giannis in games where the rest of their starting lineup has been in tact.

Pick: Milwaukee Bucks +2.5 (-108)