Sixers Might Be Missing Two Stars Against The Hawks on Sunday

After a come-from-behind win over the Indiana Pacers at home on Friday, the Sixers are now headed back on the road to face the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. With a four-day break between that and their next game—thank you, NBA Cup!—the Sixers appear to be playing it safe with a few of their stars.

According to the Sixers' first injury report for the game, Joel Embiid is listed as questionable due to "left knee injury recovery." Meanwhile, Tyrese Maxey is listed as doubtful due to the illness that caused him to miss Friday's win against Indiana. The good news is that Paul George is not even listed on the injury report, so he should be good to go.

Embiid not being ruled out right away is somewhat of a surprise. This would be the first time all season that he'd play with only one day's rest between games. However, he told reporters after Friday's throwback performance against the Pacers that he felt "great" and would be fighting to reduce that restriction moving forward.

Unsurprisingly, Kelly Oubre Jr. (knee) and Trendon Watford (adductor) remain out. That means George, Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker will have their hands full with Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, who just became the first player in franchise history with three straight triple-doubles.

The good news for the Sixers is that the Hawks are also nowhere near full strength. Star point guard Trae Young remains sidelined due to an MCL sprain, while big man Kristaps Porziņģis is still listed as out with an illness. Many of the Hawks' back-of-the-bench guys are also listed as out, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker is questionable due to a right lateral ankle sprain, which means they could have 10 or 11 players at their disposal Sunday.

How Will Sixers Slow Down Johnson and Alexander-Walker?

With Young sidelined for the past month, Johnson has emerged as one of the breakout stars of the 2025-26 NBA season. He's averaging a career-high 23.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game while shooting 52.6 percent overall and 38.9 percent from three-point range. This is a bad game for the Sixers to be short-handed at forward.

Johnson isn't the only Hawks player having a career year in Young's absence, though. Alexander-Walker, who arrived in Atlanta this past offseason via sign-and-trade, is smashing his previous career high with 20.7 points per game on 46.7 percent shooting. Prior to this year, he had never averaged more than 11.0 points per game in any of his first six seasons.

Between VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes, the Sixers have bodies to throw at Alexander-Walker if he's able to suit up. They might not be able to stop him from getting his entirely, but challenging his looks and limiting his efficiency could go a long way toward stifling the Hawks' offense. With both Young and Porziņģis out, the Hawks don't have many other go-to offensive options.

Sixers' Bigs Facing a Tough Test Against Onyeka Okongwu

If Embiid doesn't play Sunday, Andre Drummond and Adem Bona will draw the primary assignment against Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu, who's also in the midst of a career year. Now that he isn't buried behind Clint Capela anymore, Okongwu is averaging a career-high 16.0 points and 1.8 made three-pointers per game. He's shooting a career-low 50.3 percent overall, but that's in part due to his massive uptick in three-point volume.

At 6'11" and nearly 280 pounds, Drummond should have a size advantage against the 6'10", 240-pound Okongwu, which should come in handy on the glass. However, he might have a tough time covering Okongwu on the perimeter. Bona (6'10", 235 pounds) is similarly sized as Okongwu and may be better suited to defending him out to the three-point line, provided he can stay out of foul trouble.

If Embiid is able to play Sunday, the Sixers should have a major frontcourt advantage over the short-handed Hawks, who've lost four of their past five games.