Sliding Bucks, Hawks want to correct course in MLK Day matchup
Struggling teams, each on a three-game losing streak, will try to find their footing when the Milwaukee Bucks visit the Atlanta Hawks on Monday afternoon as part of the league's Martin Luther King Jr. Day festivities.
The Bucks last played on Thursday when they were routed 119-101 by San Antonio, a loss that came on the heels of a 139-106 defeat to Minnesota. Milwaukee has fallen into 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Hawks were trounced 132-106 by Boston on Saturday and dropped their last three by an average of 22.3 points. Atlanta is currently No. 10 in the East, 1 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee.
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said it's too early to panic and worry about missing the playoffs.
"I think people on the outside look at that more than the players, honestly," Rivers said. "We've got half a year left. I think they're trying to get right. We're what, two games, one game from the play-in? It's a whole half-a-season left, so I don't see that at all with us."
Atlanta coach Quin Snyder echoed those thoughts about his own team.
"You don't want to get into ‘the sky is falling,'" Snyder said. "This adversity is something we've got to use. I think formulaically it's a good thing. There are things that we know if we do, that we're going to be better."
The Hawks are trying to weave two newcomers into the rotation. CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, acquired in the trade that sent Trae Young to Washington, have played four games with Atlanta. McCollum is averaging 17 points and 3.8 assists and Kispert is at 10 points with their new team.
"We're integrating a couple of new guys on the fly and that's something we need to be aware of," Snyder said. "Usually when you do that, there are stretches that are like this where either player doesn't quite understand what we're doing. It's not habitual and we have to find that interaction on the fly."
The losing streak also coincides with Jalen Johnson's offensive drop-off. He totaled 37 points over the last three games, far below his season average of 22.8.
The Bucks continue to be led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who averages 28.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
San Antonio held him to 21 points, five rebounds and one assist in Thursday's blowout, which Milwaukee trailed by as many as 39 in the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo subbed out of the game for good with more than 16 minutes remaining.
"It was just two bad days," Antetokounmpo said of the team's slump. "The best players come back. We've just got to move the ball better and knock down our threes. If you knock one down, all of a sudden it's a different game. You play better defense, the ball is moving."
This is the 35th time the Hawks have played on MLK Day, second only to New York. Atlanta -- Dr. King's hometown -- is 23-11 and lost 119-110 to the Knicks last year at Madison Square Garden.
It is the first of three meetings between the Hawks and Bucks. Atlanta won three of five last season.