Picks and Final Score Predictions For Today's Hawks vs Bucks Matchup

The Hawks are aiming for their longest winning streak in over a decade today.

With a win over the Milwaukee Bucks today, Atlanta will have won its ninth game in a row, the longest since the 2014-2015 season. Hawks fans will remember that season fondly, as Atlanta won a franchise record 60 games and made their first-ever appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. This team might not be that good, but they have improved a ton since the All-Star Break and are playing their best basketball at the moment.

Milwaukee, however, is cratering, and the Hawks could more or less end their season with a win today. The two teams are already separated by 7.5 games in the NBA standings, and whoever wins this game will also own the tiebreaker due to winning the season series. There is a lot of motivation for the Hawks to blast the Bucks today and set up a massive showdown with the Orlando Magic on Monday.

So who wins today?

Matchup

The Bucks have some big injury questions coming into this game. Giannis Antetokounmpo is questionable, as is Kevin Porter Jr and Ousmane Dieng. Dieng and Antetokounmpo both played in the last matchup between the two teams last Wednesday while Porter Jr did not.

If Antetokounmpo is out today, this could get ugly, although I should point out that the Hawks struggled with the Brooklyn Nets earlier this week while being massive favorites in that one.

In the last game, Milwaukee had a hot start shooting and even had a 16-point lead over Atlanta. Over the next three quarters, though, the Hawks dominated en route to an 18-point win. Their starting unit is playing fantastically, but that was the case in the last game. The theme for the Hawks lately, despite their winning streak, has been the poor play of the bench. Zaccharie Risacher and Mouhamed Gueye had solid first halves, but slowed down.

Atlanta is once again going to be without Jonathan Kuminga due to knee injury management. I expect the Hawks starters to play well, but will they get enough from their bench to ensure Milwaukee does not hang around?

If Antetokounmpo plays, pay attention to how the Hawks guard him. Antetokounmpo is borderline unstoppable, but Dyson Daniels was given the assignment in the last game after not starting on him at the beginning of the game, and did a great job. After missing the game against the Nets on Thursday, Daniels is not on the injury report ahead of this one.

Whether or not Antetokounmpo plays, I think the Hawks are the better team and are playing better, especially on the defensive end. Johnson has another big game and the bench does just enough for the Hawks to take home their 9th straight win.

Final: Hawks 117, Bucks 108