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The Atlanta Hawks have the main ingredient required for breakout success in the NBA and that’s a bona fide star on the rise: Trae Young.
The Atlanta Hawks have the main ingredient required for breakout success in the NBA and that’s a bona fide star on the rise: Trae Young.
Aside from Young, the Hawks are loaded with talent and now have the added confidence of defeating the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers in the postseason. However, do they have what it takes to get over the hump and actually make it to the NBA Finals?
Below, check out our preview for the 2021-22 Suns campaign.
Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers gives credit to Atlanta Hawks guard Kevin Huerter for his Game 7 performance.
The Philadelphia 76ers were set up to get a win on Sunday in Game 7 at home as they had the momentum from getting a road win in Game 6 against the Atlanta Hawks to get to this point. It was right there for them to take, but they were not able to take advantage of it in a 103-96 loss on Sunday.
The frustrating part for Philadelphia was that they did a great job on Hawks star Trae Young as he shot just 5-for-23 from the floor. The Sixers used their length and their discipline on the screens to be able to bother and frustrate him all night.
However, as they focused on Young, that allowed Kevin Huerter to get his a bit. The team’s young guard out of Maryland had 27 points and seven rebounds as he shot 10-for-18 from the floor in a big performance for his team.
Huerter was defended by Seth Curry for the most part as the two shooters went at each other all night, but coach Doc Rivers did think about sending help towards him when he got hot.
“We tried,” said Rivers. “He was getting late clock shots a lot, late in the clock, they were swinging it to him. Some of those shots Huerter made were just really tough shots.
Most of Huerter’s shots came in tough moments over good contests over Curry, Tobias Harris, George Hill, and Matisse Thybulle as well. Huerter really just had a big night and it came at a time when the Hawks needed him the most.
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“He made a couple over Tobias, he made one over George,” Rivers added. “Give him credit. The kid struggled in Game 6 and was phenomenal tonight, made big shots. He was really like the deciding factor in this game clearly.”
One of the bigger factors in the game was when Thybulle fouled Huerter on a triple with less than a minute to go. Harris had just scored to bring the Sixers to within one, but then Thybulle fouled Huerter and he went to the line and knocked down all three free throws to put Atlanta back up by four.
When asked about the foul afterward, Thybulle just said: “Unfortunate contact.”
The Sixers now head into the offseason with more questions they have to answer after another Round 2 exit.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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Kevin Huerter and the Atlanta Hawks were able to eliminate Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7.
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks had fought hard all series and it came down to just one final game in South Philadelphia for a spot in the Eastern Conference finals and a date with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Sixers had the momentum after going into Atlanta and forcing this winner take all Game 7 and the Wells Fargo Center was rocking.
However, Philadelphia could not use it to its advantage. This time, it was not Trae Young who really burned the Sixers, it was Kevin Huerter. The young man from Maryland scored 27 points with seven rebounds as the Hawks eliminated the Sixers with a 103-96 win in Game 7. Atlanta will face Milwaukee in Game 1 on Wednesday.
Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 31 points and 11 rebounds, Tobias Harris added 24 points and 14 rebounds, Seth Curry added 16, and Ben Simmons had five points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds. All in all, the effort just was not enough to get it done in this one.
Here are the observations from the season-ending loss:
HoopsHype breaks down seven young players we believe could be set for a breakout in the 2020-21 NBA playoffs.
The NBA playoffs are not just a place where stars perform at peak efficiency. They are also a platform for lesser-known players to break out of their shells and introduce themselves to national audiences, sometimes giving their teams huge, albeit somewhat unexpected boosts.
A great example of that came in 2002-03, when a rookie-year Tayshaun Prince, who had been in and out of the rotation his entire inaugural campaign, only seeing action in 42 games for the loaded Detroit Pistons, had a 20-point outburst out of nowhere in Game 7 of the team’s opening series, one that helped spring Detroit to the next round of the playoffs and complete a 3-1 comeback against Tracy McGrady and the Orlando Magic.
Prince’s scoring average that entire previous regular season? 3.3 points per contest.
That was a breakout performance for a player who’d go on to win a championship, make four All-Defensive Teams and even take home Olympic gold with Team USA.
A more recent example would be Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, who, in his first postseason, put up a 19.2/6.3/4.8 stat line in the Eastern Conference Finals while shooting over 52 percent from the floor, giving Miami the boost they needed to complete their surprising run to the 2020 Finals.
There are various breakout candidates this year, too; we are here to present seven young players we believe could be surprising catalysts for their squads ahead of the 2020-21 NBA playoffs.
Check it out below.
Note: A few of the players below, primarily those that play for the Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies and even, potentially, the Los Angeles Lakers, will have to get through the play-in tournament before they reach the playoffs. These breakout predictions are based on them making it through that round and reaching the actual playoffs.
With the start of the 2020-21 NBA season upon us, there are several teams that look quite a bit different than when we last saw them.
Especially while watching the teams that were good last season, it can be an overwhelming experience to track the year-over-year roster changes for teams that restructured. Of course, most fans are going to pay close attention to the teams that are favored to win the championship.
But as you decide what games to watch if you subscribe to NBA League Pass, you should seriously consider tuning in to these teams that may not have been on your radar last season.
The Athletic came up with an ‘expansion draft’ idea that has each of the 22 teams headed to Disney borrow a player from uninvited teams — this is our take on who the Celtics should take instead of Clint Capela.
The novel format of the end of the 2019-20 NBA season and subsequent playoffs are unlike anything that has come before in the history of the league, a necessary response to the pandemic that upended the basketball status quo.
And with that novel format has come a number of creative ideas on how that plan could be further tweaked to deliver maximum entertainment appeal in a moment of extreme duress.
To that end, The Athletic’s staff put together a ‘mock expansion draft’ that would see 22 teams who made the so-called ‘Orlando bubble’ cut-off be allowed to ‘draft’ one player from the eight teams whose season ended.
What if the NBA allowed the 22 bubble teams to pluck one player each from the other eight teams? Completely absurd … I know.
But … @ChrisKirschner, @MikeVorkunov
and I had an expansion draft to see who would go where.(Free sub trial inside)https://t.co/NCqCNEftWb
— James Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) June 8, 2020
While there are a host of reasons why this would never happen in real life, it’s still an appealing thought experiment. But the Athletic staff — for whatever reason — decided Boston ought to draft now-Atlanta Hawks big man Clint Capela.
As the Celtics Wire has discussed more than once on why Capela’s game is far from an ideal fit in Boston’s style of play, nor does he provide a skill the team has much need for.
So who would be a better option, then?
So, this happened.
Joel Embiid put together a career night on Monday against the Atlanta Hawks, scoring a career-best 49 points in the Sixers’ 129-112 win.
But it wasn’t all smiles for Embiid — at least in the final seconds.
With around 20 seconds to go and the Sixers up by 17 against Atlanta, Embiid grabbed a rebound off Trae Young’s miss and dribbled towards midcourt. Embiid was likely looking to run out the clock, but the Hawks’ Kevin Huerter seemed to think that Embiid was looking to get up a shot in hopes of a 50-point game. So, the Hawks guard ran and stole the ball from Embiid.
Embiid could be seen flipping off Huerter for the meaningless defensive play.
Joel Embiid was feeling good after dropping a career-high 49 pts. Was all prepared to dribble out the clock & gloat. Then Kevin Huerter came along & stole the ball. Embiid flipped him the bird, then, after realizing he got caught up, apologized. pic.twitter.com/NvOteE3mRC
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) February 25, 2020
Embiid would apologize after the game during the on-court interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia.
But really, what’s up with players stealing the ball from Jayhawks when the game is at hand? It’s the third time that has happened this year, but thankfully, no stools were involved this time.
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Joel Embiid and Kevin Huerter react to the incident at the end of the game in Philadelphia.
As the Philadelphia 76ers were polishing off a 129-112 home win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, things got a little chippy toward the end.
Joel Embiid, who was very much enjoying himself after scoring a career-high 49 points on 17-for-24 shooting, was dribbling out the clock to end the game. Hawks swingman Kevin Huerter then ran up from behind and swiped it from him. Embiid then appeared to throw up the middle finger at him as he was upset that he did not let the game end.
“There’s always this thing about you shouldn’t shoot the ball if you’re up 20 or something like that,” Embiid explained afterward. “I feel like it should go both ways. I’m running the clock down and I feel like the game is over. That’s why I’m doing it.”
Joel Embiid was feeling good after dropping a career-high 49 pts. Was all prepared to dribble out the clock & gloat. Then Kevin Huerter came along & stole the ball. Embiid flipped him the bird, then, after realizing he got caught up, apologized. pic.twitter.com/NvOteE3mRC
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) February 25, 2020
Huerter told Atlanta reporters that he was going to continue to keep playing no matter what. He told The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner:
There were 23 seconds left in the game. I don’t know what he wants. If he did, I’m not gonna speak on that. It’s not out of his character I guess.
Huerter said he didn't see Embiid give him the finger.
"There were 23 seconds left in the game. I don't know what he wants. If he did, I'm not gonna speak on that. It's not out of his character I guess."
Why'd he steal?
"There was a full shot clock left. I'm going to play."
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) February 25, 2020
Embiid thought Huerter should have just let the game be over. The Sixers had the game in hand and sure, there was still time on the clock, but it was already over.
“I feel like you should just be like ‘be better next time’,” he added. “I thought about it when I had the ball again, but I was like ‘I’m going to stay cool’, but I feel like it should go both ways. If the team up by 20 is running the clock off, I feel like the other team should also respect it and we just moved on. It is what it is, we got the win. That’s all I care about.”
The Sixers and the Hawks matchup for the final time on March 21 in Philadelphia. [lawrence-related id=26384,26388,26374]
