Bogdan Bogdanovic Has Been Atlanta's X-Factor All Season and in Game 1

The Atlanta Hawks came into Philly and stole Game 1 despite 39 points from Joel Embiid. Trae Young was outstanding with a 35-point double-double, but it was Bogdan Bogdanovic who was X-factor in the closing minute. Up three with 41 seconds on the clock, he drained a huge deep ball to go up six and put Atlanta in full control. Additionally, he was fouled with nine ticks to go up two and knocked down both free throw attempts to extend the lead to four and essentially ice the game.

INTERESTING FACTS

Hawks were 10-15 when Bogdan Bogdanovic was out early on in the season, and 26-9 since his return when he plays
Bogdanovic ranks 8th in 3P% this season of all players with 200+ 3PA (.438)
ATL had the most PTS (74) by a road team in a postseason series opener all-time

Odds vs. PHI: ATL +170 (Spread +4.5)
ATL Stock Price: $13.67 (via FANDEX)

MAIN TAKEAWAY

BOGDANOVIC HAS BEEN ATLANTA’S X-FACTOR ALL SEASON AND IN GAME 1

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Bogdanovic is no stranger to big performances as he has been doing it all season long. The Serbian sharpshooter was the team’s third leading scorer in the regular season, plus shot over 40% from deep and 90% from the stripe. When he was out earlier in the season for 25 games, Atlanta was only 10-15 during that stretch. After his return and the promotion of Nate McMillan, the squad was 26-9 when he played.

This means that ATL’s win% with Bogdanovic and McMillan was nearly 35% higher than without the two, showing that he’s really been an x-factor for them all season, and his performance in Game 1 was more evidence of that as he drained the biggest shot of the game and sank the two most clutch free throws. A single miss could’ve opened the door for Philly to take it to OT but instead Bogdanovic delivered and led the Hawks to a huge Game 1 win to set the tempo for the rest of this Eastern Conference semifinals series.