Atlanta Hawks: 3 keys to victory against the Philadelphia 76ers

The Atlanta Hawks have now lost four straight and now host the Philadelphia 76ers in an effort to halt the slide.

After losing the last four games the Atlanta Hawks are desperate to get back into the win column against the undermanned Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers had to get Mike Scott to suit up so that they could field enough players to not forfeit their game against the Denver Nuggets.

The reason for this was mainly the health and safety protocols to do with COVID-19, they also had Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid out. Simmons is definitely out per Shams of the Athletic as he did not even travel to Atlanta due to receiving treatment on his knee.

This is going to be a blessing for Trae Young as Simmons is one of the better defenders at the point guard position. Young has been struggling a little on the offensive end over the last two games against the Hornets and could do with a big night.

The Atlanta Hawks injury report might decide the contest

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1348283581563592708?s=20

The Hawks have multiple, quality players out with injury again for this game. Woj of ESPN reported that Bogdan Bogdanovic is out with an avulsion fracture of his right knee. Rajon Rondo is out with soreness to his knee and will be evaluated prior to the West coast 3-game road trip.

Danilo Gallinari is missing as well thanks to an ankle injury, Kris Dunn is out with ankle surgery, and Onyeka Okongwu is out with a toe injury. This is not the mention that Young, Bruno Fernando, and Kevin Huerter are all listed as probable for the game. With all that in mind, let’s take a look at the three keys to the game.

Atlanta Hawks Key No. 1) Hit the open 3-point shots.

This seems like a fairly obvious statement but the Hawks are missing a whole heap of open 3-point shots. Cam Reddish has been in a shooting slump. It looked like he was going to get out of it in the second game against the Hornets but ended up 4-of-13 on the night.

Even their sharp-shooting superstar point guard has had three very bad nights, only making a single 3-point attempt in those games. He is 14-of-50 on the season which means he is only shooting the ball at 28.0 percent from deep.

This means that opponents can cheat off his a little, cutting off his ability to penetrate to the hoop. The Hornets gave the league a masterclass on how to do this over the past two games. On top of that, if Young’s teammates are not hitting the 3-ball when they are open then the floor shrinks for the point guard.

Kevin Huerter and De’Andre Hunter are the only two active Hawks who have shot more than 50 attempts from deep on the season who are shooting at over 35.0 percent from behind the line. With Huerter coming off the bench, this can mean a lot of ground to make up if the Hawks fall behind in the opening stanza.

Atlanta Hawks key No. 2) Move the ball at an elite level.

When the Hawks opened the second game against the Charlotte Hornets their opening offensive plays featured some crisp passing. This was in an effort to break down the zone defense played by the Hornets.

It worked on the first couple of possessions where Bogdanovic was able to hit the open 3-point shot and then also hit a two. Then the shots stopped falling and the zone defense took over the game. The Hawks then played more iso-ball and the passing was not crisp enough to break the defense down.

The main initiators of the offense are Young and Huerter. Young has averaged 8.6 assists per game but, apart from the last game against the Hornets where he had ten assists has struggled over the Hawks losing streak.

Huerter has averaged  3.6 assists per game off the bench and has been the catalyst for some good offense. Because he is hitting the 3-ball and also penetrating towards the paint his defender is sagging off him a little, playing the defensive percentages. This means that he is getting a better view of the floor.

When he returns, Rajon Rondo is going to help this situation but until then other players need to step up.

Atlanta Hawks key No. 3) Key matchup Clint Capela vs Joel Embiid

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Joel Embiid has been an absolute force in the NBA since his debut after all his injury issues. He has averaged 24.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 0.8 steals in 30.5 minutes per game.  This season he is averaging 24.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.1 steals in 32.3 minutes per game.

Embiid appears to be at the peak of his career right now and before the issues with the COVID-19 protocol the 76ers had the best record in the NBA. Now that Simmons is not playing this game against the Hawks, Embiid is going to be the main man, if he plays of course.

Where Embiid has it over most opposing bigs is he is a 7’0″ true stretch-five. Over eight games he is shooting the 3-ball at an incredible 45.8 percent on 3.0 attempts per game. With his size and foot movement, he is then able to dominate you inside as well.

The one member of the Hawks who will not be dominated inside is Clint Capela. He is one of the better defenders at the pivot position and is the best chance for the Hawks of going toe to toe with the 76ers big man.

Assuming the 76ers get most of their players back out of the COVID-19 health and safety protocol, Embiid against Capela will go a long way to deciding the game.