It’s a new day, which means the NBA Eastern Conference Finals are slated to continue tonight at 8:30 p.m. EST. After a 113-102 win on Sunday, the Milwaukee Bucks have taken the 2-1 series lead over the Atlanta Hawks. Now, the Bucks are just two wins away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974.
Here’s a look at the odds for tonight’s NBA action, courtesy of Bovada.
NBA Odds: Milwaukee Bucks (No. 3) vs Atlanta Hawks (No. 5) Game 4
Odds via Bovada as of Tuesday, June 29
- Series: MIL leads 2-1
- Time: 8:30 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Bucks (-260) vs Hawks (+215)
- Point Spread: Bucks: -7.0 (-110), Hawks: +7.0 (-110)
- Total: 219.0 — Over (-110), Under (-110)
Bucks Enter As The Favorite
At -260 odds, the Bucks are being favored to take the 3-1 series lead, according to Bovada. After all, you can’t blame the oddsmaker after Milwaukee’s Game 3 performance. For starters, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the night with 33 points and 11 rebounds for his 13th double-double in his last 14 games played. Nevertheless, his total would’ve been higher had he hit more than 46.2% of his free throws.
Another player who had a big game was Khris Middleton. Although he’s been streaky throughout the 2020-21 NBA Playoffs, Middleton came to play with a 38 PTS/11 REB/7 AST performance. At one point, it just seemed like he’d never miss a shot, which is why the Bucks need him to be on top of his game tonight.
Overall, the Bucks played a great game as a team. One thing that they did great as a group was out-rebounded the Hawks, 50-35. Getting the edge on rebounds allowed Milwaukee to dominate the paint, where it scored 56 of its points compared to Atlanta’s 34. If the Bucks can once again dominate in rebounds, their odds are going to look pretty good when it comes to advancing to the NBA Finals. It just seems like Milwaukee has finally hit its stride in the postseason and only time will tell if they can keep the momentum going.
Hawks Are In Danger
No matter how you look at it, Game 4 is the most important game in the series for the Hawks so far. If they win, the series is tied up. If they lose, they’re down 3-1 and few times have ever come back from that series deficit. If they want to win tonight, there’s no doubt that the Hawks will, once again, lean on Trae Young (assuming he’s healthy). The 2020 NBA All-Star had 35 points on .522/.429/.833 shooting splits in Game 3, which shows that he was clearly doing his job. It’s his teammates that were struggling.
For example, Bogdan Bogdanovic finished the last game with 8 points on 3-for-16 (.188) shooting from the field. There’s just no way Atlanta can have success in the NBA postseason with that kind of shooting.
In general, the Hawks didn’t get a lot of production from players who aren’t named “Trae Young.” Danilo Gallinari did have 18 points coming off of the bench, but, aside from him, Young, John Collins (13) and Kevin Huerter (11), no one else had double-digit point totals. It’s just hard to compete when the Hawks’ players are playing like that while the Bucks are getting contributions from everyone. If Young is out of the lineup for Game 4 and Atlanta’s players continue playing as they have been, the Hawks can probably kiss their NBA Championship hopes goodbye. The Bucks are playing a more complete game than them and the Hawks can either step up and get on their level or get out of the way.
