Atlanta Hawks: Why the 76ers rematch will be different from last season

The Atlanta Hawks take on the team that they knocked out in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Philadelphia 76ers. While this came as a surprise to many, the young Hawks had such belief in themselves, it was not a surprise to them.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the game is away, meaning that they must try and win their second game on the road for the season. This will then improve their road record to..500 which is where they need to be if they want to compete for homecourt advantage in the playoffs.

This is going to be the first game against a playoff opponent from last season so there will be a little extra spice to the game. Considering what John Collins was able to do over Joel Embiid with his dunk from the playoffs and then when the 76ers lost the team simply self-imploded, effectively sidelining one of the stars, Ben Simmons.

The Atlanta Hawks are bringing some extra talent to the matchup.

As we are all aware from last season, the Hawks were banged up all year and still made it to within a hair of the NBA finals. Well, one of those players who was missing from the 76ers series was De’Andre Hunter. We have all marveled at the defensive skills of Hunter, but we missed out on seeing him against the 76ers. His work on Seth Curry in this game is going to be crucial.

Another player the Hawks are going to benefit from having is Cam Reddish. His defense against the second unit of the 76ers will be critical to winning the game. The 76ers have Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz who are both averaging double figures in points per game coming off the bench.

However, without Simmons, the majority of the 76ers production comes from Joel Embiid. With Clint Capela still on a minutes restriction, it is going to fall to Gorgui Dieng to show that he is going to be extremely useful if the Hawks take on the 76ers again in the coming postseason. Dieng is a bigger body which is crucial when taking on the physical force that is Embiid.