The NBA regular season continued, and the Bucks' game against the Hawks officially began. Most fans before the game predicted that the Bucks would win the game, after all, the Bucks were in 5th place in the East and the Hawks were only 12th in the East. Of course, the trend of the first half of the game was also as predicted, and the Bucks took the initiative on the court from the opening stage. At the end of the two quarters, the Bucks led by 12 points. However, in the second half, the Hawks blew a counterattack horn, and both offensive and defensive ends could fully suppress the Bucks. In the end, the Hawks won 119-114 against the Bucks with their outstanding play in the second half.
Objectively speaking, although the Bucks lost this game, the performance of the three players of the Bucks Middleton, Alphabet Brother and Portis is still remarkable. Middleton played 35 minutes, shooting 11-of-21, including 4-of-8 from three-point range and 8-of-8 from the free throw line, and had 34 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals. Of those, 34 points were Middleton's season high. Alphabet brother played 36 minutes, 8 of 20 shots, 10 of 14 free throws, and got 27 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists of the fan statistics. Without Holliday and Lopez, Brother Alphabet can be described as both a father and a mother. Portis played 32 minutes, shooting 6-of-12 and finishing with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Okay, after talking about the losing Bucks, let's talk about the eagles who won. I don't know, in everyone's eyes, who is the key to the Eagles being able to defeat the Bucks? Some fans say it's Trae Young, and yes Trae Young played very efficiently in this game. At the end of the game, he got 30 points and 11 assists, and the three-point shot at the key moment laid the foundation for victory. There are also fans who say that it is Gallinari, and this game Gallinari played the best game in recent times. There's no doubt that Both Trae Young and Gallinari are the keys to winning, but in my opinion the player who really helped the Hawks reverse the game should be the Hawks " Wonderman" Okongu.
Okongu played 35 minutes in this game, shooting 6-of-9, and had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal, plus-minus +11. I believe that many fans who see here will ask: "Okongu's data is not beautiful, why is he the key to winning?" "Yes, Okongu's data is really not shiny enough, but Okongu's role on the court is not reflected by data, especially on the defensive end. Fans who have watched the game will know how good Okongu is when he defends the alphabet brother single-handedly, especially in the final decisive moment, Okongu firmly holds the alphabet brother down. To borrow a phrase from the on-site commentator, "The value of Okongu on the field is to make the alphabet brother less efficient."
In addition to the strength of the defensive end, okongu also has excellent performances on the offensive end. On the offensive end, Okongu doesn't need the ball, he doesn't need to hold the ball and play alone, he just needs to eat the pie under the basket. It is worth mentioning that Okongu played very tough on the inside, such as in the last 2 minutes or so, Okongu received a pass from Trae Young and still completed the layup in the face of the jacket of Brother Alphabet and Middleton, and this scoring is also a key point that determines the trend of the game.
I don't know, what kind of evaluation do you have of Okongu after watching this game? Anyway, the only thing I've heard of Okongu after watching this game is that he seems to be better suited to playing as a starter than Capela. The reason is very simple, Okongu is tougher than Capela's defense, his foot movements are more flexible, and more importantly, the connection between him and Trae Young seems to be closer.