The Philadelphia 76ers will embark on a four-game road trip on Thursday as they pay a visit to the Eastern Conference worst Atlanta Hawks. The Sixers are coming off two emotional wins at home over the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors and now the challenge is to avoid this trap game in Atlanta before a big matchup with the Boston Celtics on Saturday.
The Hawks have had a rough go at it throughout the season as they have dealt with a suspension to John Collins and they have had a lot of issues finding help for Trae Young. The Sixers, however, will have their hands full with Young who recently was just named an All-Star starter despite the tough go at it for his team as a whole.
With that said, it’s now time for the guide to this one:
How to watch Sixers vs. Hawks
- Date: Thursday, January 30
- Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
- Location: State Farm Arena Atlanta, GA
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Injury Report
- Sixers: OUT: Josh Richardson (left hamstring strain) QUESTIONABLE: Al Horford (left knee soreness), Mike Scott (right knee soreness)
- Hawks: OUT: Alex Len (right hip flexor strain), Jabari Parker (right shoulder impingement), Chandler Parsons (concussion, whiplash) DOUBTFUL: DeAndre’ Bembry (right hand neuritis), Bruno Fernando (right calf strain)
Storylines
Embiid changes offense
When Joel Embiid was out for nine games to recover from his surgery, coach Brett Brown changed the Sixers offense to center around Ben Simmons and his style of play. Philadelphia played a more up-tempo style of basketball and they played a lot more pace and space. With Embiid back, it means the Sixers must slow down and play to their best player’s strengths in the low post.
“There was definitely a difference having Joel back,” said Brown. “Mostly, good, but there is a reality, there are some things that happened remind you of pace and space. The speed of the game, the space of the game where we have to grow that side of how I see our half-court offense where it caters to the guys’ strengths and it’s spaced accordingly.”
Korkmaz taking on a new role
The Sixers have always been looking to grow a 3-point shooter to help spread the floor for Embiid and Simmons to go to work and what better option than Furkan Korkmaz? The Sixers have done a terrific job of growing the young Turkish shooter lately and Brown sees him growing into a JJ Redick type of role for the team on offense.
“With the emergence of Furk, a week or two weeks ago, you want to dust off the JJ package because it truly had moths on it and we brushed it off and that’s one of them,” said Brown on Wednesday. “They were very successful in it and at some point you always considered it, but I think with the emergence of Furk, it made you think about it a little bit more quicker and more seriously and last night we used it, I think seven or eight times in a row and I like what I saw.”
Prediction
This team is weird. They seem to always lay an egg in games like this one. Especially after the two wins at home and the matchup with the Celtics on the horizon. However, Atlanta is injury-riddled right now, especially down low, and that should allow Embiid to dominate and put up big numbers. The Sixers should be able to win this one. The keyword here is should. Will they? That remains to be seen.
Pick: Sixers in a close one
Sixers vs. Hawks season series
Game 1 October 28: 105-103 Sixers
Game 2 January 30:
Game 3 February 24:
Game 4 March 21:
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