LAS VEGAS The Milwaukee Bucks are back in the NBA Cup semifinals after being eliminated in Sin City last season. This time, they will be responsible for stopping one of the game’s greatest entertainers, Trae Young, and the Atlanta Hawks.
In the final minutes of the Hawks’ 108-100 quarterfinal victory on Tuesday, Young rolled an imaginary die over the New York Knicks midcourt logo, a nod to the Hawks’ trip to Las Vegas. .
This was another example of Young’s showmanship that the Knicks have seen firsthand over the years. The Bucks got a taste of Young’s big-time talent in the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals, but Young injured his ankle in Game 3 of that series and hasn’t been the same since. Ta.
If “Ice Tray” has his way, the Bucks will be the latest victim of his prime-time heroics on Saturday night. Even if he didn’t like lingering memories of that series.
“I’m not angry or bitter about what happened in the past,” Young, 26, said. “Yeah, I’m young. I’m not super young anymore, and what I like is, I’m really inspired by those things.
“I remember it like it was yesterday. It hurts for sure. But this is a new team. I’m part of a new team. They’re a different team. So my past affects my psyche. ‘And what I’m focusing on now is a completely different team and a completely different place. ”
Young is averaging 21 points and 12.2 assists per game, a number matched only by Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas over the entire NBA season. He’s gotten plenty of help, too, most notably in the form of fourth-year forward Jalen Johnson, who averages 19.8 points and a team-high 10.1 rebounds per game.
The Hawks won the East Group C stage with a record of 3 wins and 1 loss, earning them the third seed in the NBA Cup finals. Atlanta is one of the hottest teams in the league right now, winning seven of their last eight games overall.
The Bucks, on the other hand, are the only team among the remaining four to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas last season. The game was short, losing 128-119 to the Pacers, but hopefully last year’s experience will better prepare them for all the outside noise that comes with this stage.
At least they have a better understanding of what winning the NBA Cup means.
“Last year, I don’t think most people even understood what was going on until they got to the final stage,” Bucks star Damian Lillard said. “Last year, going into the game against New York where the winner was going to Las Vegas, we started to get a better idea of what was at stake.
“Going into this season, I think everyone understood it better. Everyone was more interested, not just because it was an opportunity to win money, even if that wasn’t the ultimate goal. I think that also gives you an edge. We want to be the last team to survive. We want to win the prize money. ”
The Bucks entered Tuesday’s quarterfinals as the top seed in the NBA Cup East, and despite a rocky start to the season with a 2-8 record, they improved to 4-0 in Group B play. I got it. They won nine of their last 11 games, beat the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday and the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, and moved above .500 for the season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the NBA’s leading scorer as of Friday afternoon, averaging 32.7 points and a team-high 11.4 rebounds per game. Lillard also played at an All-Star level, averaging 25.8 points per game along with 7.6 assists. Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez are the only Bucks to average double digits.
Will Despert, Field Level Media
This article was generated from the Automata news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
