Trae Young Credits 76ers’ Defensive Adjustments

The Philadelphia 76ers struggled to find success against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night. In their first matchup against the Hawks on the road, the Sixers’ offensive attack wasn’t sharp.

Taking 83 shots from the field, the Sixers struggled as a team, averaging 38 percent overall. From deep, the team hit on just 20 percent of their threes. Also, the Sixers turned the ball over 17 times, which helped Atlanta generate 19 points in the 104-95 Atlanta victory.

While offense certainly played into the Sixers’ Thursday night struggles against the Hawks, the team still pointed to its struggles on defense as a primary reason they lost in Atlanta, as their progress on defense tends to dictate how well they play on the other side.

On Saturday night, the Sixers returned home but faced the Hawks once again. After getting Friday off to re-group and review the film to pinpoint what they can do better, Philadelphia made some fundamental changes, which stood out to Atlanta’s star guard, Trae Young.

“They changed a lot of defensive schemes from last game,” Young said after Saturday’s rematch. “The offensive things we tried last game didn’t necessarily work tonight. We got to do a better job at making reads and switching things up throughout the game and make it more difficult for them to guard us.”

The Hawks managed to shoot 44 percent from the field on Saturday, but the Sixers held them to just six three-pointers off 24 total attempts. In addition, Philadelphia won the turnover battle as they forced 19 from the Hawks, which helped Philly create 34 points.

Despite trailing nearly 30 points in the second half, the Hawks put up a solid effort to attempt a comeback against the 76ers in South Philly. Ultimately, they came up short, though.

“It’s harder coming back against any team in the league,” Young said. “Everyone’s so good. You don’t want to give teams a lead and get behind too much. They did a great job of responding, and we came out too slow to win tonight’s game.”

The Sixers got payback against Young and the Hawks and put them away with a 121-109 victory. With that win, the Sixers collect their sixth of the year and have a quick turnaround as they are set to host the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.