![]() Guard Trae Young’s ankle-breaking three pointer on Sixers guard De’Anthony Melton was the first quarter highlight. The team, led by forward Jalen Johnson, were able to keep up with the Sixers, as Johnson provided the Hawks a much-needed spark on both ends of the court. ![]() The Hawks’ struggles with perimeter defense this season continued as forward Tobias Harris and guard Tyrese Maxey got multiple good looks and hit open shots. Reigning NBA MVP center Joel Embiid got off to a fast start, giving the Sixers an early lead. The first quarter began with the Hawks committing seven fouls and ended with the Sixers leading 30-24. 15 and improve their tournament record to 2-0 after beating the Detroit Pistons in their tournament debut. The Hawks looked to bounce back from a 116-113 loss at home against the New York Knicks on Nov. Hawks fall to Sixers, unable to contain Embiid Entering as a top 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks hoped to improve their regular season standing and aimed to place in the quarterfinals of the tournament. ![]() The Atlanta Hawks competed at home in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament against the Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers on Nov. I wouldn't be surprised to see Atlanta go up 2-0 in the season series, but I'll take the points.The Atlanta Hawks played the Philadelphia 76ers where they lost 126-116 on Nov. The Hawks also have just as much, if not more, offensive talent and we've seen them score at will this year. Simply put, the Hawks have the upper hand on the defensive end and are more than capable of holding a struggling 76ers team in check. That leaves Tobias Harris as the next scoring option behind Embiid, but he scored just 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting Thursday and fell victim to an excellent defense. Tyrese Maxey can obviously pack a punch on the offensive end, but we saw him struggle in Thursday's game against Atlanta, when he scored 15 points and shot just 5-of-17 from the floor. It's rare we see the same matchup occur just two days apart, but I think it provides a great opportunity to back the Hawks once again.Įven with Joel Embiid back in the lineup, Atlanta has much more talent on the floor. I'm not sure this game will be the game in which they begin to crawl out. Philadelphia's inefficiencies, combined with a lack of playmaking has dug the 76ers into a hole to start the year. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is shooting just 46.2% from the field (20th) and has been from perfect on offense. ![]() The 76ers simply haven't been giving themselves many chances to score and have essentially forced themselves into a playing style that allows for very few mistakes. Philadelphia ranks 29th in the NBA in Pace, generating just 96.92 offensive possessions per game. Perhaps the largest factor is the pace of play. Harden's absence has clearly impacted the 76ers on the offensive end, but there are a few more factors that have contributed to the offensive struggles. However, that rating has since fallen to 99.3, a mark that ranks dead last in the NBA. Prior to Harden's absence, the 76ers owned the fourth best Offensive Rating in the NBA at 115.6. Harden has missed the past three games and Philadelphia has scored just 99.67 points per game during that stretch. Philadelphia will once again be without James Harden, which has proven to be a massive blow to this offense. Murray comes into this matchup with an average stat line of 21.6/6.2/8.1, but perhaps most impressive is that he is averaging 2.2 steals per game and has been a massive presence on the defensive end of the floor.Ĭombine Murray with John Collins, Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu on the interior and it should come as no surprise that Atlanta is holding opponents to just 44.7% from the floor and 32.7% from three this season. The defensive turnaround is truly something to behold and the offseason acquisition of Dejounte Murraya is a large part of that turnaround. What's more, that rating has improved even further, to 101.6 over the past three games. The Hawks enter this matchup with a Defensive Rating of 109.7, which ranks 10th in the NBA through 12 games. However, it appears Atlanta has patched up many of its holes on the defensive end of the floor, which has subsequently made the Hawks look like a contender in the early going. As a result, the Hawks had the second highest Offensive Rating in the NBA at 115.4, but their Defensive Rating (113.7) ranked 26th and was by far their largest weakness. Last season, the Hawks often found themselves in shootouts. Defense has been the name of the game for Atlanta, which is a total change in philosophy from a season ago.
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