Trae Young and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and their respective teams, are faced with a very tough decision ahead of game 6. The star players are hurt, but with as good a chance as ever to go to the finals – and win – should they consider risking further injury? We look at both options for both players.
Trae Young – Atlanta Hawks
Trae Young came down in a bizarre way in game 3: He stepped out of bounds with his foot, right on the referee’s foot, and sprained his ankle. Without him, the Hawks managed to keep the Bucks at bay in game 4, and after Giannis went down in the 3rd quarter of that game, the Hawks closed it out pretty easily to even the series at 2. Lou Williams filled in almost perfectly for Young, going for 21 points and 8 assists on 7/9 shooting with only 1 turnover.
The next game was different for the Hawks, as the Bucks steamrolled them without Giannis. Brook Lopez was unstoppable now that he didn’t have to space the floor for Giannis, while Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis and Jrue Holiday played great games too. The Hawks didn’t look ready for a Bucks offense without Giannis and got surprised in Milwaukee.
The Hawks now face an elimination game at home, and Young is listed as questionable. Trae is still only in his 3rd season, so playing on an ankle sprain might have big ramifications on his career. However, the Hawks run has been a true Cinderella-story, and it might get a lot of people on that very deep squad paid. This might be the deepest team Trae will be on for a very long time, since there was a lot of money left to build around him and Collins, who have been on rookie contracts.
If Trae’s able to go, and he’ll never say he isn’t, the Hawks almost have to play him. An opportunity like this doesn’t come often, and probably won’t come again until they can pair a superstar with Trae in the future, which is never a given. The Hawks have a more than realistic chance to win game 6 at home if they play Trae and the Bucks don’t risk it with Giannis, and in a game 7 anything can happen. He shouldn’t play his regular minutes, but it’s likely Trae suits up.
Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks
The entirety of Milwaukee and Greece, along with the whole NBA community, held their hearts as they saw Giannis go down after a gruesome looking knee injury. It was ruled a hyperextension, but an ACL-injury was feared. Giannis went out and wanted to come back in, but the Bucks staff pulled the plug on that idea immediately. An MRI luckily showed no ligament damage for the back-to-back MVP, which means that seeing Giannis again this postseason isn’t completely ruled out.
Much like now, the Bucks were in a position where they didn’t absolutely need Giannis to play in game 4 or 5, which sounds crazy, but it’s true. They were up 2-1, then tied at 2 a piece and now they’re up 3-2. The series wasn’t going to derail if Giannis didn’t play. By the looks of things, Giannis is being held out for game 7, if that game will be necessary. It’s risky, but playing a big who relies on athleticism when he’s injured is even riskier.
The Bucks did well without him in game 5. Coach Mike Buddenholzer couldn’t rely on Giannis to get everything done, and instead had to win by committee. It was the best coached game by Bud in a very long time, who many times has just put the ball in Giannis’ hands to initiate the offense. Jrue Holiday had 13 assists, Khris Middleton almost had a triple-double, Bobby Portis filled in nicely for Giannis and Brook Lopez played like a big for the first time in forever.
It shows that the Bucks are a good squad, but that with Giannis on the floor, Bud doesn’t play to the strengths of his other guys. Giannis being out for game 6 means that the rest of the guys can also get even more confidence, building on that strong game 5. If game 7 comes around, there’s little doubt that Giannis will suit up to play if he says he’s ready to go.
Final verdict: Trae should play game 6, Giannis shouldn’t. In game 7, there’s no chance that either will accept sitting out, and their teams won’t go out there without their superstars if they’re even remotely healthy to play.
Courtside 