Pick against the spread, best player prop for Bucks vs. Hawks on Thursday

The Milwaukee Bucks (34-20) will travel to take on the Atlanta Hawks (30-25) as they wrap up a quick three-game road trip before they return home. This will be their second meeting of the season, and can serve as a preview of their third meeting, which is coming up on Milwaukee’s home court just 10 days from now. The Bucks have a difficult stretch in the meantime, taking on the Grizzlies, Suns, and back-to-back games against the 76ers before meeting up with the Hawks again on April 25th.

The Bucks have found themselves struggling without Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee), who’s been sidelined for six games straight. They’ve only won three of those contests while losing the other three to the Warriors, Mavericks, and Hornets.

Update: Giannis will be available to play in Thursday’s game vs. the Hawks. Donte DiVincenzo (toe) has been ruled out.

Bucks vs. Hawks, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT

Pick ATS: Hawks +4

While Giannis is on the cusp of a return — he practiced in full on Tuesday this week even though he sat out for Wednesday’s game against the Timberwolves — it’s unclear whether he’ll see the court in Atlanta or not. The Hawks have been ousting opponent after opponent, winning seven of their last eight while riding a three-game winning streak. Atlanta is still 4.5 games behind the Bucks, so they can’t overtake them in the standings immediately, but a win at home would make that hill they have to climb a little less steep.

If the Bucks want to extend their two-game winning streak, Khris Middleton will have to step up in a big way against a defense as solid as the Hawks. He just turned in a huge performance against Minnesota, when he dropped 27 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists as the Bucks cruised to a 130-105 blowout win. If Giannis doesn’t play in Atlanta, a lot of the pressure will be on Middleton to perform similarly to keep the Bucks afloat. However, if Giannis does see the floor, then the Bucks should probably win this game outright.

The Hawks are dealing with injuries of their own, as John Collins (ankle) nears his return after sitting out since the end of March, while the team’s top scorer Trae Young (calf) is listed as questionable ahead of Thursday’s contest after missing their last two games straight.

Player Prop: N/A — player props aren’t available for this game yet.

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