The Atlanta Hawks surprised a lot of people by winning Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, 110-88. With Giannis Antetokounmpo officially ruled out, Milwaukee is currently a small favorite to win the series (-125) at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Will Trae Young suit up? Can Khris Middleton step up tonight? Let’s take a look at who has the edge in Game 5 and find out the BetQL’s best bets for this playoff matchup.
Game Preview
Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee Bucks (-2.5, 215)
The fifth-seeded Hawks are on the road as they travel to face the third-seeded Bucks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Atlanta dominated Game 4 from the tip-off, even before Giannis got injured.
The Hawks shot the ball well, going 50.6% from the field, including 13-for-38 from three-point land. They also won the rebounding and turnover battles, which was huge.
Playing yet another game without their star guard is a tall task for this young Atlanta team, but there’s a good chance the Hawks will have to rally again, with Young listed as questionable and a game-time decision.
Bogdan Bogdanovic finally looked like his old-self in Game 4, scoring 20 points. Veteran scorer Lou Williams stepped up as well, contributing 21 points and 8 rebounds in Young’s place. If the Hawks want to steal tonight’s road game, they’ll need both of those veterans to go off offensively.
Middleton has played well for the Bucks this postseason, and he’s currently averaging 21.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game in the series. But, he is going to get called upon to carry an even heavier load tonight since The Greek Freak is out. Milwaukee will need at least a 30-point outing from him if the team wants to win and cover tonight’s game. One matchup to watch is Middleton vs. Cam Reddish. The young Hawks swingman did a great job defending Middleton in Game 4.
The Bucks also had a putrid shooting game in their last outing. If they want to right the ship tonight, they will need to shoot closer to their season-long and postseason shooting averages. Milwaukee is tied for No. 9 in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 45.7% as a team in the playoffs. They rank 11th in threes per game, hitting 11.1 triples per contest, but are 14th in three-point shooting with just a 30.6% mark on their attempts from beyond the arc. The team as a whole will need to shoot better than it did in Game 4, where the Bucks shot just 39.3% from the floor and 20.5% from deep.
The public is split on this game, with both the tickets and
money around 52% on the road team. When it comes to the total,
bettors are expecting a low-scoring game, with 55% of the tickets
on the under.
Last game, the Hawks had their backs against the wall and came out
swinging. The BetQL team envisions the Bucks' tandem of Middleton
and Jrue Holiday carrying them tonight, so the team is leaning
toward the Bucks in this one.
Lean: Bucks -2.5 and Over 215
BetQL Model Predictions & Picks
BetQL’s NBA model has run 10,000 simulations of this game to provide insight on how the game will pan out, and after all those simulations, the model likes the Hawks +2.5. Currently, the point spread of this game sits at +/- 2.5 with the Hawks as road underdogs. BetQL’s model would have made Atlanta favorites tonight, meaning there is huge betting value on them at +2.5. Keep reading below to get picks from the experts at BetQL.