The Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers cross paths for the first time since their heated series in the 2021 NBA Playoffs. Read on for more about this Hawks vs. Sixers game this Sunday.

Catch this game live on Sunday, October 31, at 7:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Atlanta Hawks (3-2/1-2 on the road)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Trae Young
  • SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic
  • SF: De’Andre Hunter
  • PF: John Collins
  • C: Clint Capela

Trae Young and the Hawks take the court this Sunday after a 122-111 road loss to the Washington Wizards that prevented them from a three-game win streak. Nevertheless, the Hawks will come into this game with some sort of psychological advantage, knowing that it was them who eliminated the Sixers from the playoffs last season. John Collins will look to build on his sensational performance in the Wizards game, wherein he dropped a huge double-double of 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Young hopes to shake off the rust from his 6-of-17 shooting performance in the loss to Washington. 

Young is unsurprisingly leading the Hawks with 24.2 points per game this season, but he’s struggling to find his shots from deep, where he’s making just 29.6% of his attempts. But seeing the Sixers again might be enough to light fireworks inside Young, who’s got plenty of good memories from that playoffs series against Philly. It’s also well documented that Joel Embiid is not feeling 100%, which is especially not ideal for Atlanta going into a game where he’ll get matched up against Collins and Clint Capela. 

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Home: Philadelphia 76ers (3-2 / 1-1 at home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Tyrese Maxey
  • SG:  Seth Curry
  • SF: Danny Green
  • PF: Tobias Harris
  • C: Joel Embiid

It’s been a mixed bag of good and bad so far this season for the Ben Simmons-less Sixers. But at least, they’re over .500 through five games and are coming off a 110-102 home win against a lowly Detroit Pistons last Friday. Despite issues with his right knee, Embiid managed to roast the Pistons for 30 points to go with 18 rebounds in 31 minutes. He has a questionable label for Sunday’s game against Atlanta, but most signs point to Embiid ready to play and take on the Hawks. 

Atlanta could find it extra difficult to cover Embiid because of how good the Sixers have been knocking down their 3-pointers. The Sixers are 10th in the NBA with 13.6 triples per game on 40% shooting — third overall. What’s more impressive is that Philly isn’t all that crazy in taking 3-pointers, as the team is in the bottom half of 3FG frequency. In other words, the Sixers are simply in the zone. They are also no. 1 overall with a 59.5 TS%. Philly can cool off soon, but the Hawks have also just allowed the Wizards to shoot 13 of 34 (38.2%) from behind the arc. 

PREDICTIONS:

Spread:

The Sixers must have this game circled on the calendar a long time ago. Even without Simmons, Philly’s offense has been flowing nicely, though their defense has taken a hit. Take the Hawks to cover (+3.5).

Over/Under:

We got two teams here inside the top eight of adjusted offensive rating. Take the Over (218.5).