Atlanta Hawks vs Milwaukee Bucks: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups for Today's Matchup

At the risk of stating the obvious, the Atlanta Hawks are not a good basketball team right now.

They traded away Trae Young because they couldn't field a competitive defense in his minutes. While that was objectively true, giving up 141 points to the Lakers and now 132 points to the Celtics don't exactly inspire a lot of confidence in the defense to be better. The defensive scheme and effort against Boston last night cannot continue if the Hawks want to be a playoff team. In just one half, they gave up 82 points and 52 points in a single quarter.

Even though the Celtics are objectively one of the three best teams in the conference, the Hawks' poor defense has been an alarming trend this season and they need to figure out their shortcomings on that end. Fortunately, they have a great opportunity to get some confidence back against a Bucks team on a three-game losing streak of their own. Milwaukee has lost by double-digit margins in two of its last three games and also dropped a close game to the Jokic-less Nuggets. Giannis Antetokounmpo is still one of the three best players in the world, but the Bucks present a get-right opportunity for the Hawks that they cannot waste.

By the Numbers

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Rollins, Ryan Rollins, Daniels, Dyson Daniel — Mar 30, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) and Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) reach for the loose ball during the third quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The defense (or the lack thereof) was the main problem against Boston, but Atlanta's offense didn't look great either. Zaccharie Risacher and Kristaps Porzingis cannot return quickly enough to give this team a boost. They are 10th in points, 8th in FG%, 9th in 3P%, 22nd in FT%, 25th in rebounds (26th in OREB, 18th in DREB), 1st in assists, and 16th in turnovers per game. However, they're 20th in offensive rating this year, which indicates the offense isn't playing as well as some of the surface-level numbers would suggest.

Obviously, Atlanta's defense has been a rough watch for most of the season and the numbers bear that out. They rank 25th in points allowed, 23rd in FG% allowed, 15th in 3P% allowed, 26th in rebounds allowed, 4th in steals, and 17th in blocks. They're 16th in defensive rating this year.

The Bucks don't produce a lot of points even with Giannis. They're 27th in points, 5th in FG%, 2nd in 3P%, 30th in FT%, 29th in rebounds (30th in OREB, 22nd in DREB), 15th in assists, and 17th in turnovers per game. Despite strong shooting percentages, they just don't take a lot of shots (28th in FGA) and that's why they have the 23rd best offensive rating in the league.

Milwaukee's defense isn't a very good unit, either. The Bucks are 15th in points allowed, 15th in FG% allowed, 23rd in 3P% allowed, 17th in rebounds allowed, 20th in steals, and 8th in blocks. They're 20th in defensive rating this year. Giannis is still one of the best defenders in the league, but there aren't many positive defenders around him and Myles Turner hasn't been the dominant rim-protector the Bucks paid for.

Three Reasons the Hawks Can Win This Game

Bucks, Milwaukee Bucks, Rollins, Ryan Rollins, NBA, Hawks, Atlanta Hawk — Mar 30, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) passes the ball around Atlanta Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu (17) during the second quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Hawks haven't been a great rebounding team for much of this season, but the Bucks are one of the few teams that they have an advantage on the boards. Milwaukee is arguably the worst rebounding team in the league. They are statistically the worst team in the NBA on the offensive boards and Atlanta's had games where they've been able to out-rebound mediocre rebounding units like the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jalen Johnson has also been an elite defensive rebounder throughout his career and it should help the Hawks end possessions against a bottom third offense in the NBA.

After one of the worst games of his career against the Los Angeles Lakers, Onyeka Okongwu has gotten back on track. The defense hasn't quite been there, but the offensive impact he's been providing all season is back on the upswing. He's scored 20+ points while hitting 3+ threes against both Portland and Boston. Before the LA game, he also had one of the best games of his career with a 18 point, 12 rebound and eight assist performance against the Warriors and had an excellent two-way performance against the Nuggets (15 points, 3 three-pointers, and a +32). Okongwu's going up against an exploitable center in Myles Turner today, and there's an excellent chance that he can keep things rolling.

The Bucks' two best players outside of Giannis this season have been Kevin Porter Jr and Ryan Rollins. Milwaukee's starting lineup when Porter and Rollins both play has a net rating of +15.2 (when adjusting for 3P% and removing low leverage minutes), which would be a top-five mark in the NBA. However, both of those guards are high turnover players. They both have a TOV% of over 12%, which plays well into the Hawks being able to get steals and shut down Milwaukee's offense.

Three Reasons the Hawks Might Lose This Game

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, Giannis, Bucks, Milwaukee Bucks, NB — Mar 30, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives for the basket during the second quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

It's easy to say that Giannis is going to be a tough matchup, but the Hawks are a team that he has absolutely dominated when healthy. In his last five games versus Atlanta, the Greek Freak is averaging 31.2 points, 12.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists on 62.5 TS%. Jalen Johnson has done decently well against Giannis, holding him to 19.8 points and 4.0 assists per 75 minutes while guarding him on 95 possessions in his career. However, Giannis is easily capable of matchup hunting against a frontcourt down Zaccharie Risacher and Kristaps Porzingis.

The Hawks played a team that rides the three-pointer variance wave in the Boston Celtics, and they got totally submerged. Sam Hauser hit ten threes and the Celtics as a whole shot 42.3% from deep against Atlanta. Milwaukee is another team that lives and dies by the three-pointer. They're second in the NBA for 3P%, 43.6% of their shots are threes (10th in the NBA), and 39.1% of their points come from threes (5th in the NBA). Considering how poorly the Hawks communicate and rotate on defense, Atlanta could be in store for another barrage.

Ryan Rollins has been a revelation for the Bucks this season on offense, but his defense also deserves a ton of shine. He's second in the NBA for deflections and the Hawks don't have an abundance of great ball-handlers in their backcourt right now. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum are in the 22nd and 25th percentile for AST% and there's a good chance that Rollins could prove problematic on defense if the Hawks aren't able to keep the ball moving.

Injury Report

Kristaps Porzingis and Zaccharie Risacher are both out while Dyson Daniels is questionable.

For Milwaukee, Taurean Prince is out for the season.

How to Watch

Here is how you can watch tonight's game:

Tip-off time: 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Vit Krejci

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Bucks

G - Kevin Porter Jr

G - Ryan Rollins

F- AJ Green

F- Giannis Antetokounmpo

C- Myles Turner