For Bucks to survive without Giannis Antetokounmpo, they must learn from Hawks

Atlanta evened the series on Tuesday without Trae Young, and now Milwaukee is in a precarious position

The Milwaukee Bucks got good news about Giannis Antetokounmpo on Wednesday -- he reportedly has no ligament damage to his hyperextended right knee -- but it came with a side of bad news: In the short term, they're in trouble. Antetokounmpo is listed as doubtful for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday, and his status beyond that is up in the air. As Milwaukee prepares for life without its franchise player, it can learn a thing or two from its opponent.   The Atlanta Hawks didn't just survive without Trae Young on Tuesday, they thrived. As easy as it might be to wave away Atlanta's 110-88 victory as a product of Antetokounmpo's injury, it led 62-52 when Antetokounmpo left the game and outscored the Bucks 54-43 in his 24 minutes. This was possible because the Hawks made the best of a bad situation -- while Young's absence meant they didn't have a ball-dominant star to put pressure on the defense, it also meant that the defense couldn't focus on that ball-dominant star. Atlanta's attack was more balanced than normal, and it did not lack for playmaking: Lou Williams scored a team-high 21 points (on 7 for 9 shooting!), six players scored in double digits and Williams, Kevin Huerter and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 20 assists between them. The Bucks will not have three creators in their starting lineup without Antetokounmpo, and they do not have anyone like Danilo Gallinari on the bench. If there is a silver lining to this injury, though, it's that they will be forced to address the offensive issues they've had throughout the playoffs. It is remarkable that Milwaukee is two wins from the NBA Finals despite scoring a dreadful 93.8 points per 100 possessions in the halfcourt in 15 postseason games, per Cleaning The Glass. (In the regular season they scored 102 per 100, tied for the fifth-best mark in the league.)