Game: Atlanta Hawks @ Philadelphia 76ers
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Odds: Hawks +1, 76ers -1
Total: 221
When the Philadelphia 76ers host the Atlanta Hawks tonight, the Sixers will be looking to extend their winning streak to three games. The 76ers will play the Hawks in Philadelphia before starting a three-game road trip. The Sixers won their last two games, both in Orlando. They beat the Magic 133-103 on Sunday. After losing to the Miami Heat 106-98 at home on Sunday, the Hawks have now lost two straight games.
Every team wants a key player back in the starting lineup. Philadelphia standout C Joel Embiid has missed four games, but he might play tonight. The Hawks are in the same boat as their C Clint Capela has missed two games due to dental problems. Capela averages 11.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game.
In Embiid’s absence, Tobias Harris of Philadelphia has taken up some of the slack. After putting up 23 points and 10 rebounds on Friday, he scored a season-high 25 points on Sunday. This season, Harris is averaging 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Shake Milton, who on Friday had the first double-double of his career, came back on Sunday and scored 29 points. In four of his previous five games and three straight, Milton has scored 20 points or more. Milton is dictating the tempo out there and making it difficult for opponents to predict how he’ll exploit defenses.
Atlanta has had trouble this year against opponent’s zone defenses from the perimeter. The Hawks only made 39.8% of their field goal attempts on Sunday. For the season they are 22nd in the league with a 46 percent success rate. Trae Young scored 22 points but only went 4-for-16 from the field, and Dejounte Murray went 5-for-16. Trae Young leads the team in scoring with 28.2 points.
In Friday’s 128-122 loss to Houston, Young and Murray accounted for 83 of the Hawks’ points. On Sunday, however, the shots weren’t landing. Atlanta head coach Nate McMillan acknowledged that his team cannot get down when the shots aren’t falling. McMillan switched up the lineup as a result using Trent Forrest and Frank Kaminsky more. Forrest made his first basket of the year in the process.
This season, Philadelphia and Atlanta have split their two games. The Hawks won 104-95 at home on Nov. 10. The Sixers won at home 121-109 two nights later. Philadelphia is now 6-2 SU and 7-1 ATS in its last eight games. The Sixers are now 11-9 on the season.
The Hawks are also 11-9, but they are just 2-4 SU and 1-5 ATS in their last six games. The total has gone Under in four of Atlanta’s last six games. However, the Over has hit in seven of the Hawks’ last nine road games. Against Philadelphia, the Under has cashed in eight of the last nine games and five of the last six when the game has been in the City of Brotherly Love. The last ten games in the series have averaged 209.1 points per game.
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