Who’s in and who’s out?
It has become a familiar holding pattern in the Eastern Conference final.
The wait to see who’s going to play.
Nothing has changed with the series headed back to Atlanta for a potentially clinching Game 6 Saturday night between the Hawks and the Bucks.
The Bucks are up 3-2 and can lock up its first trip to the NBA Finals since 1974. The Hawks, who haven’t made it to the final round since their days in St. Louis, are hoping to force the series back to Wisconsin for a decisive Game 7 on Monday night.
The Suns have already locked up the Western Conference crown and are awaiting the BucksHawks winner. How it all plays out could come down the medical report.
Hawks star Trae Young has missed two straight games with a bone bruise in his right foot since a freak accident last Sunday, when he stepped on an official’s foot along the sideline.
The Bucks took the court in Game 5 without their best player, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was sidelined by a hyperextended left knee.
The status of both players may not be known until shortly before tipoff at State Farm Arena.
“I have nothing for you,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said Friday during a Zoom call with the media.
Both teams have shown they can win without their most prominent players.
The Hawks led from start to finish in a 22-point romp in Game 4, though it must be noted the Bucks were showing signs of a comeback until Antetokounmpo went down in third quarter, landing awkwardly after a futile attempt to block Clint Capela’s dunk. With Young and Antetokounmpo both sidelined in Game 5, the Bucks returned the favor with a wire-to-wire victory after racing to a 20-point lead in the first quarter.
McMillan said Young hasn’t felt comfortable enough to test his ailing foot in game conditions.
“If Trae could play, he would be out there,” the coach said. “It’s both the medical (staff ) and Trae giving us feedback as far as him being able to play in the game. It’s not anything that’s long term. It’s just he has pain that is not comfortable enough for him to get out there and feel like he can help the team.”
This has become a series of unlikely leaders.
Longtime NBA sixth man Lou Williams has gotten the first two playoff starts of his 16-year career filling in for Young, doing an admirable job at the point while averaging 19 points and more than 35 minutes of playing time.
Bobby Portis was stellar in his first career playoff start on Thursday, doing a spot-on impression of Antetokounmpo with 22 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three assists.
“I was just trying to stay locked in,” Portis said. “Knowing that Giannis went down, we had to step up. I think that’s what makes the game that much better when you have to stay locked in and stay in the moment and be ready.”
Portis, who signed with the Bucks as a free agent last November, seems to have finally found his niche after struggling on losing teams much of his career.
“I just kept working and knew my time would come,” he said.