The Philadelphia 76ers will be without Joel Embiid, Paul George, and now VJ Edgecombe as they face the Atlanta Hawks, who trail the Sixers by just 2.5 games in the Eastern Conference.
The Sixers are coming off a far-too-close-for-comfort 106-102 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night, while the Hawks are returning home from a 131-113 spanking of the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (34-28) at Atlanta Hawks (32-31)
When: 6:00 p.m. EST
Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Ga.
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass, FanDuel Sports Network Southeast
The Sixers are in a familiar spot, but at a much worse part of the season as they're battling injuries to key players while fighting to stay afloat in the playoff race. With Paul George still suspended, Joel Embiid is set to miss nearly another week, if not more, with an oblique injury. Then there's the absence of rookie VJ Edgecombe for a second straight game as he continues to recover from a lumbar contusion.
For a small part of the season, the Sixers looked like they would keep winning and carry strong momentum into the playoffs. The reemergence of Joel Embiid, after all he's been through over the past couple of years, put the team in a great place, and they looked like a very good team that was learning to play together. In reality, Embiid is simply so talented that he's masked all of the team's deficiencies.
With Tyrese Maxey leading the league in minutes this season and everyone else having missed time at one point or another, Maxey has shown that he is a team leader, but he's not able to do it all himself. Despite his best efforts, without Embiid on the floor or at least some other quality players, teams have been able to key on Maxey, resulting in poor shooting performance and a definite strain on the young guard.
The Hawks will be well rested and are coming off a victory over the Bucks, which was Atlanta's fifth win in a row. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the way on Wednesday with 23 points as the Hawks shot 44% on their three-point attempts and finished with six players scoring in double figures.
While Atlanta's defense is just a middle-to-lower-tier group, its offense, especially its three-point shooting, is ranked in the top ten in the league. Against a Sixers team that's been letting teams get more open for long-range shots, the Hawks will feast.
The team has been playing at a much higher level on both sides of the ball over the past two weeks, and combining their outside shooting with the emergence of Onyeka Okongwu, they have a powerful interior player who's having the best season of his career, averaging 16.2 points and 7.9 rebounds while still shooting 38.6% on his three-point attempts. The team has some size and depth, and a lot of shooting, which has helped them jump up in the standings as the playoffs approach.
For two teams that are fighting for playoff positioning, this game will be a good way for the Sixers to evaluate where they stand, especially given the absence of Embiid, Paul George, and Edgecombe. The return of Kelly Oubre Jr. should help a bit, but the Hawks will focus on Maxey and make his night tough.
For the Hawks, a continued approach to playing a solid defensive game while moving the ball on offense, working to get open shots, and connecting from long range, is all on the menu as the two teams appear headed in opposite directions as the season winds down.
Hawks 128 - Sixers 101
