Who will win this series?
It is tough to pick who will win this series right now given Joel Embiid’s injury and him being questionable moving forward for every game in this series, but assuming he will be able to play at some capacity for the 76ers, they should be able to win this series in six games over the Hawks.
If Embiid is forced to miss time, the series will definitely shift in favor of the Hawks given all their offensive weapons and their physicality on defense, but right now, the 76ers have the slight edge over Atlanta.
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A bunch of the games in this series are going to be decided in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, but given their size and ability to score in transition, it is hard to choose against the 76ers right now. If Embiid is not 100% though, Atlanta could definitely take an early lead in this series.
The Hawks conquered Madison Square Garden and are not going to play in a tougher arena than there the rest of the playoffs, so they are more than capable of stealing a game or two on the road against Philly in this series. This Hawks team has many ways to beat their opponents on offense, which is why they remind me a lot of the 2020 Miami Heat team that went to the NBA Finals last year.
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That Heat team got things done defensively and they had numerous guys that could hit a big shot down the stretch to help them win games, which is exactly how this year’s Hawks team plays. Trae Young is the guy, but Bogdanovic, Gallinari, Huerter, Collins, and even Williams can all knock down big shots when it matters most and are not afraid of the moment.
This series has the potential to be a long, hard-fought series, but at the end of the day, it is hard to pick against the Philadelphia 76ers assuming that Joel Embiid will be on the court in some capacity in this series.
