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Atlanta Hawks Game Preview: The Streaking 76ers Visit Phillips Arena

By Xavier Cooper

Oct 29, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) dribbles as Philadelphia 76ers forward Jerami Grant (39) defends during the fourth quarter of the game at the Wells Fargo Center. The Atlanta Hawks won 104-72. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) dribbles as Philadelphia 76ers forward Jerami Grant (39) defends during the fourth quarter of the game at the Wells Fargo Center. The Atlanta Hawks won 104-72. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tonight, the Atlanta Hawks take on the red hot Philadelphia 76ers for the third time this season. Here are a few things you should know before tonight’s match-up.

Friday night the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Chicago Bulls 102-93. Atlanta was up by at least 20 to 30 points for most of the game. Everything seemed to be going well until Chicago began to heat up out of nowhere.

In the fourth quarter, Coach Budenholzer was forced to put the starters back in after the Bulls cut the deficit down to only 5 points. Dennis Schroder would eventually save the day with a mid-range shot that stopped the bleeding. The Chicago Bulls haven’t won a game in their series against the Hawks this season.

Now that that’s over, the Hawks are faced with the challenge of beating the Philadelphia 76ers. If you haven’t paid attention to the NBA this season you would think, the 76ers aren’t challenging anyone in anything relating to basketball, but you’d be wrong.

This is not the same 76ers team as last season. To be quite honest, this isn’t the same team as earlier this season. With the emergence of Joel Embiid , AKA “The Process”, the 76ers have managed to win 8 out of their last 10 games. With the Eastern Conference standings being so tight, Philadelphia has a legit chance of making the playoffs.

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Luckily for Atlanta, they don’t have to deal with Joel Embiid tonight as it was reported that he did not travel with the team because of rest. This is a good sign for Atlanta. Embiid is averaging. 19.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Without this type of production, the 76ers are virtually last season’s team. The last time these two teams met, the Hawks won 117-96. But as of late, the 76ers are playing with confidence.

Despite the absence of Joel Embiid, the Hawks will still have to watch out for Jahlil Okafor who averages 11.2 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. Last season he averaged  17.5 points per game as a starter; so Okafor can put up points in a hurry. Dwight Howard will have to try and keep him from scoring around the basket. The 76ers only average 99.2 points  per game. Jahlil will have to have a great game for the 76ers to have a chance to win.

This should make it easy for Atlanta’s stingy defense to stop the 76ers from going on any major runs. Paul Millsap will have to watch out for Ersan Ilyasova. He can stretch the floor and knock down the three with ease, if left open. Ilyasova is shooting 37 percent from long range this season.

Atlanta isn’t one of the best teams at defending the three-pointer. They allow their opponents to shoot 35.6 percent from three-point distance this season. If the Hawks play relaxed and allow easy perimeter shots, the Hawks could give the 76ers confidence to let it fly. The 76ers bench will also have to make for the absence of Embiid.

The Hawks have an advantage in the department with Tim Hardaway Jr., Kris Humphries, and Malcolm Delaney playing so well. Expect Atlanta to win by at least 15-20 points.

Next: Dennis Schroder's All-Star Case

Who: Philadelphia 76ers (15-26) @ Atlanta Hawks (25-18)

When: 7:00 PM EST, Saturday, January 21st, 2017

Where: Phillips Arena

How: Fox Sports Southeast 

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