The first two games on Sunday afternoon will be two of the most interesting games on the day. Everyone will be excited for the first game as it’s a nationally televised affair between two potential NBA Finals teams. The Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks met in the 2021 NBA Finals with the Bucks winning the series 4-2 after the Suns won the first two games. Phoenix is just four games over .500, but the Suns are now the favorites out West after trading for Kevin Durant.
The other game to look at involves the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta fired Nate McMillan on Tuesday, as he was reportedly on the outs with superstar Trae Young. The Hawks are hoping to placate Young, but it sounds like they haven’t ruled out a potential trade this offseason. Atlanta is currently the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 29-30 record, and the Hawks will face another team in disarray in the Brooklyn Nets.
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Phoenix Suns at Milwaukee Bucks
No team is hotter than the Milwaukee Bucks right now. Milwaukee has won 12 straight games, as all the Bucks needed was the return of Khris Middleton to get it rolling again. Middleton is still dealing with a sore knee, but the All-Star Break came at the perfect time for both him and this team. The Bucks are now just a half-game behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they have the most dominant player in the league in Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time NBA MVP is averaging 31.8 PPG, 12.2 RPG, and 5.4 APG this season, and the only thing he can’t do well is shoot threes.
As for Phoenix, Kevin Durant will be making his debut shortly after this game. Durant has announced that he will play against Charlotte on March 1, eschewing the showdown with Milwaukee for now. There’s no doubt that Durant makes the Suns incredibly dangerous, especially since Phoenix still has Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, and Chris Paul. Cam Payne is returning from a foot injury this week too, giving Phoenix a terrifying starting five.
In the 2021 NBA Finals, Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday flattened Phoenix. Antetokounmpo averaged 35.2 PPG and 13.2 RPG, while Holiday averaged 16.7 PPG, 9.3 APG, and 2.2 SPG. Meanwhile, Booker averaged 28.2 PPG, but he went cold from beyond the arc as the series progressed. He ended up shooting just 26.8% from the perimeter.
Brooklyn Nets at Atlanta Hawks
We could see some very interesting starting lineups in this game. The Brooklyn Nets are a much different team without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. They look set to start four of the players they received in compensation for Irving and Durant as Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith will go from the Mavericks, and Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson will go from the Suns.
The potential X-Factor for Brooklyn is Ben Simmons. He may see some more time now that the pressure is off, as he continues to try and develop his game. Simmons needs to get over his own internal hang-ups, but its pretty much all on him at this point.
Meanwhile, Atlanta is in disarray after making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. The Hawks kept the core of that team together and were looking to build something special, but they have failed to really do much of anything since the initial success with Nate McMillan.
Trae Young is averaging 26.7 PPG and 10.3 APG, but he is not very efficient at times. He will chuck up a bad shot more often than almost any other player, and the decision to trade for Dejounte Murray has backfired too. The Hawks have the potential to completely collapse over the stretch run.
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