Preview: 76ers host the Atlanta Hawks in first of a five-game home stand

The Philadelphia 76ers will host the Atlanta Hawks tonight in their second matchup over the past three days.

On Thursday night, the Hawks beat the 76ers in Atlanta 104-95, knocking Philadelphia down the Eastern Conference standings to 11th place with a 5-7 record on the year. For Joel Embiid and the 76ers, it’s time to get things back on track and moving in the right direction. Tonight will be the first of a five-game home stand and this team desperately need to “get in sync”. 

Sure, the obvious question is why a team that had a full offseason to prepare and work in the new additions to the roster still needs time to find themselves in the middle of November, but everyone’s eyes are already pointing at Doc Rivers so we don’t need to dive into that subject right now. 

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Tonight, the 76ers main focus needs to be on the offensive side of the court. I know, it sounds almost stupidly simple, but this team looks lost with the ball in their hands. On Thursday night, the Sixers shot a miserable 38.6% from the floor and just 6-for-30 from beyond the arc while committing 17 turnovers, which led to 19 Atlanta Hawks points.

No one actually played well outside of Joel Embiid, who scored 26 points while adding 13 rebounds in the losing effort. 

The Hawks didn’t exactly win the game offensively either. They shot 44.3% from the floor and just 6-for-26 from three point range while committing 18 turnovers on the night.

76ers Numbers vs Atlanta Hawks

• Tobias Harris: 12 PTS (5-15 FG) 
• Tyrese Maxey: 15 PTS (5-17 FG) 
• Georges Niang: 9 PTS
• De’Anthony Melton: 5 PTS, 10 REB

Tyrese Maxey continued to struggle in Atlanta, extending his brutal stretch of shooting to 19-for-64, and 6-for-23 over the last three games. For Maxey, who started off the season shooting 51.6% from the floor and 46.8% from beyond the arc through the first nine games of the season, the last three games have been pretty disheartening, even more so with James Harden sidelined. 

Without Harden, the 76ers need better production from Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey. Harris is what he is and some nights, he’ll be able to score 20+ points and other nights, like last Thursday, he’ll struggle shooting from the floor and infuriate an entire 76ers fanbase that’s constantly looking for a reason to bring up his contract and a reason to hate him on social media.

This is where the 76ers will run into issues yet again with the Hawks. Atlanta has too much talent on the floor and without Harris and Maxey aiding Embiid offensively, this team struggles. Atlanta is certainly capable of holding the 76ers in check tonight and it’s really hard to back Embiid and the 76ers given how they have played through the first 12 games of the 2022-23 season. 

TEAM	SPREAD	MONEY	TOTAL
Atlanta Hawks	+3 (-110)	+128	O 222.5 (-110)
Philadelphia 76ers	-3 (-110)	-152	U 222.5 (-110)

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With that, I like the 76ers getting SOMETHING better than what we saw Thursday night in Atlanta. I’ll be in attendance tonight and there’s no shot I’m betting against the 76ers. It might not be the smart move, but it’s the right move.

Good defense. Low scoring game. 76ers win.

Picks: Philadelphia 76ers: -3 (-110) and Under 225.5 (-110)