What the Atlanta Hawks need to do to win this series
One of the biggest advantages the Hawks have in this series against the 76ers is momentum. They have won three straight games against the Knicks heading into this series against the 76ers and they did so by being fantastic defensively.
The Hawks held the Knicks under 100 points in three of the five games played in their first-round series and the Knicks only averaged 97 points per game over the course of this series. Having De’Andre Hunter back on the wing is a big boost to this Hawks’ defense and in this series against the Sixers, Hunter is definitely going to be a guy to watch as he will likely guard Tobias Harris at times.
Trae Young is going to do his thing offensively and Atlanta is going to get big shots from guys like Bogan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari, but their defense is going to have to carry them in this series. Philadelphia has a lot of ways to beat their opponents, especially if Embiid is on the court, which is why Clint Capela, De’Andre Hunter and John Collins have to step up in this series.
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They have the length to change and alter Philly’s play-style on offense in this series, which is why they need to be the focal point of the Hawks on defense. Clint Caplea is going to continue to be a big bodied shot-blocker in the paint, but Collins is the main guy that will need to step up. He did a decent job against the Knicks on Julius Randle and Taj Gibson, but he will need to be even better when he is assigned guys like Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris.
In order for Atlanta to win this series and pull off a huge upset over the 76ers, they are going to need to shoot over 37% from three-point range, compared to the 36% they shot from deep against the Knicks, and they will need to hold Philly under 115 points per game on average for the series.
The 76ers averaged 124 points per game against the Wizards, the most points per game in a series by any team in the playoffs this year, which is why defense is going to be the key for Atlanta in this Eastern Conference Semifinals series against Philly.
