National Basketball Association

Who wins between Young's Hawks and Giannis' Bucks? 'Undisputed' picks sides

Updated Jun. 22, 2021 4:50 p.m. ET

The Eastern Conference finals isn't quite a "David vs. Goliath" story, but it's pretty darn close.

The face of the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks, 22-year-old Trae Young, is playing in his first NBA playoffs and measures in at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds.

The No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks ⁠— a team in the midst of five straight years making the postseason ⁠— are led by a two-time league MVP in the 6-foot-11, 242-pound Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Young's start to his postseason career has been one of the best in recent memory ⁠— or perhaps all time.

In 12 playoff games so far, Young is averaging 29.1 points and 10.4 assists. Furthermore, he has a knack for ratcheting up his scoring when it matters most.

He is averaging 8.2 points in the fourth quarter, his highest total of any quarter, on 45% shooting. That comes out to just shy of a point per minute played in the final frame, as he averages 8.5 minutes in the fourth.

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Even when his stroke isn't there, as in Game 7's 103-96 win against the Philadelphia 76ers, Young is able to get his teammates involved.

In his three lowest-scoring games of the Eastern Conference semis ⁠— 21 points in Game 2, 25 in Game 4 and 21 in Game 7 ⁠— he racked up 11, 18 and 10 assists, respectively.

Plus, despite the odd off-shooting night, Young relishes any chance to cash in a massive shot from distance.

As for Antetokounmpo, the two-time league MVP's reputation precedes him.

He hasn't garnered the lavish praise of his counterpart, but some of that can be attributed to the "newness" factor of Young and the Hawks.

Nevertheless, Antetokounmpo's average of 28.8 points per game this postseason is a career high, and he's leading the playoffs with an average of 13.6 rebounds per game.

Against the mighty Brooklyn Nets, Giannis poured in 31.9 PPG and 12.9 RPG, averaging more than 40 minutes per contest.

When down 3-2 in the series and facing elimination, "The Greek Freak" rattled off 30 points in Game 6 and 40 points in Game 7 to keep the Bucks alive, going toe-to-toe with Nets superstar Kevin Durant in the process.

In a league driven by stars, this Eastern Conference finals matchup delivers the goods. But which of the two has the upper hand heading into the series?

Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe opened the debate on Tuesday's episode of "Undisputed."

"I love Trae Young. … But I'm going to take the Bucks because this is not a good matchup," Sharpe said. "Because [the Hawks] don't have a guy for Giannis. I don't know how they deal with Giannis."

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Shannon Sharpe gives his prediction for Bucks-Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals | UNDISPUTED

Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe discuss which team will win the Eastern Conference finals.

Speaking of Giannis, Sharpe contended that the Bucks star's legacy is at stake in the series.

"Giannis will not get a better opportunity than what he has now," Sharpe said. "And he thought losing to an undermanned Nets team with only Kevin Durant would ruin his legacy … You lose this series? … Bruh, you're not going to get it any better than what you've got right now. So he needs to seize the moment. I believe he does."

Bayless, meanwhile, leaned toward the Hawks, noting Young's ability to wreak havoc when he gets into the lane.

"It's hard to defend him if his floater is falling," Bayless said, "and he makes Giannis keep making choices ⁠— or Brook Lopez, either one of them ⁠— make a choice. ‘You going to come get my floater? Or you going to let me have that lob dunk?’ It's hard to defend."

The coaching matchup between Atlanta's Nate McMillan and Milwaukee's Mike Budenholzer also played into Bayless' calculus.

"There's something about Nate McMillan that I trust eminently more than I do Budenholzer in a big playoff series," Bayless said. "Nate McMillan is right there with Ty Lue as an adjuster, as a motivator, as a calming influence for what is still a pretty young basketball team."

Of course, the two superstars won't be competing by themselves when Game 1 tips off Wednesday.

There will be plenty of other contributors with roles to play as the series goes along, but Young vs. Antetokounmpo ⁠will take center stage.

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