Hawks vs Sixers: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

The Atlanta Hawks are back in action tonight against a very familiar opponent in the Philadelphia 76ers. Ever since the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs where the Hawks upset the 76ers on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals, these two teams have gone into this matchup with something to prove. Recently, Atlanta has gotten the better of them. They beat the 76ers in both of their last two games and split the season series with them, 2-2.

Tonight's game will be their first matchup with the 2024-25 iteration of the 76ers. Fortunately, this is a matchup that the Hawks should comfortably be favored in. Philadelphia currently sits at the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22-41. It's a disappointing season for a team that came into the year with title hopes around a trio of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.

Unfortunately for them, Embiid only played 19 games and looked physically limited before being shut down due to his knee injuries. George has looked like a shell of himself immediately after inking a four-year max deal while Maxey has been in and out of the lineup with injuries of his own. To add insult to injury, promising rookie guard Jared McCain is also out for the year with a meniscus injury. Because Maxey is questionable against Atlanta and George has already been ruled out, there's a very good chance that neither of Embiid, George or Maxey are in the lineup against the Hawks. Their rotation has also really struggled to handle the absence of their three best players. In short, this is a team that does not have a lot of talent and actually is incentivized to lose games. They will lose their first-round pick to the OKC Thunder if it falls outside of the top six picks.

The 76ers did pick up a 126-122 win over the Utah Jazz yesterday, but the Jazz are one of the worst teams in basketball and the Sixers narrowly squeaked by. Conversely, the Hawks are coming into this matchup after a solid win against a playoff team in the Indiana Pacers. It was their straight straight win over Indiana and clutch fourth quarters from Caris LeVert and Trae Young propelled the Hawks to a win. Young finished the game with 36 points and eight assists on 11-24 shooting while LeVert scored nine in the fourth and 26 in the game on 10-17 shooting. Onyeka Okongwu also had 16 points and 16 rebounds, as well as three blocks and three steals. Atlanta also turned in a solid defensive effort against one of the better offenses in basketball. That should serve them well heading into this matchup against a team that they need to handle in order to hold onto the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference standings.

Game Preview

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 5th in the NBA in PPG, 14th in FG%, 15th in 3PA, 20th in 3P%, 2nd in FTA, 26th in turnovers, and 13th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 17th in points per 100 possessions, 17th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 13th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 6th in free throw rate.

Currently, the Hawks rank 27th in PPG allowed, 28th in field goal percentage allowed, 17th in three-point attempts allowed, and 28th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 18th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 28th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

The 76ers are one of the worst offenses in the NBA. They are 26th in the NBA in PPG, 22nd in FG%, 17th in 3PA, 24th in 3P%, 8th in FTA, 7th in turnovers, and 30th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Philadelphia is 22nd in points per 100 possessions, 23rd in effective field goal percentage, 9th in turnover percentage, 25th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 3rd in free throw rate.

They also struggle mightily on defense. They rank 16th in PPG allowed, 30th in field goal percentage allowed, 13th in three-point attempts allowed, and 27th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Sixers are 26th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 30th in effective field goal percentage allowed. However, they do have the third-best TOV% on defense with a 16.8% mark.

Trae Young should be able to have his way in this game with little resistance. The Jazz's backcourt of Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier had 25 points and a 13 point, 10 assist double-double against a hapless Philadelphia defense. Quentin Grimes is a decently effective defender on the perimeter and Kelly Oubre gives a ton of effort on that end, but both are having their minutes monitored and will be heavily relied upon to create offense for the 76ers. Given that Young is coming off a fantastic scoring performance and the Hawks can bury this team early, it would not be a surprise if he has a hot start to this game. There is also a chance that he's ruled out for this matchup due to being questionable with a left quad contusion. In that case, expect a big game on offense from Dyson Daniels as he handles a larger role.

This is an interesting matchup for Onyeka Okongwu - he's coming off of back-to-back good games against Indiana and should face limited resistance against starting center Andre Drummond. Drummond is a solid rebounder, but he's too athletically limited to offer legitamate rim protection. Philadelphia is likely going to give rookie center Adem Bona a lot of minutes on Okongwu. If Okongwu can bait him into some easy fouls, that is another advantage that the Hawks can press.

The two biggest threats for Atlanta to watch on the perimeter are Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele. Despite the disaster season the 76ers have had, both are strong shooters (north of 37% from deep on solid volume) and they can give Atlanta some trouble if they get hot. In particular, Grimes is a high-volume shooter who has lit up Minnesota, Golden State and Utah for 25+ points in his last five games.

Zaccharie Risacher went 3-3 from deep against the Pacers in their first matchup, but cooled off in the second game. He did not hit any of his three attempts from deep and hasn't looked the same since his 27-point explosion against Memphis. This is an excellent get-right game for him, especially considering he'll be matched up against fellow rookie Justin Edwards. Edwards has shot the ball well to begin his NBA career (37.5% from deep on 3.9 attempts a game), but he struggles on defense.

Even though Atlanta's rebounding hasn't been as strong as it has been in years past, the 76ers are more than capable of getting beat up on the boards. This is one of the worst rebounding teams in basketball and the Hawks should be able to get a lot of second-chance points. There's also a lot of inexperienced ball-handlers on this roster, so this could be a big game for Daniels on defense. He's coming off a five-steal game against the Pacers and this is an excellent opportunity to pad his numbers.

Atlanta's bench unit should also have a massive advantage in this game. This is a matchup where Georges Niang's questionable defense shouldn't be a big issue and he can put up a lot of threes with little repercussions. Caris LeVert's activity on both sides of the ball is a nice counter to Kelly Oubre while Terence Mann should be able to guard Philly's second-unit ballhandlers like Jared Butler and Jeff Dowtin Jr.

Injury Report

Trae Young (left quad contusion) and Vit Krejci (lumbar fracture) are questionable for tonight's game.

For Philadelphia, Paul George (groin) and Eric Gordon (wrist) are out while Tyrese Maxey (back) is questionable.

Odds

According to Fanduel Sportsbook, the Hawks are 9 point favorites against the Hawks tonight and the total is set at 230.5.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Projected starting lineups

Hawks:

G- Trae Young

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Mouhamed Gueye

C - Onyeka Okongwu

76ers

G - Quentin Grimes

G - Kelly Oubre Jr

F - Justin Edwards

F - Guerschon Yabusele

C- Andre Drummond

Additional Links

The Recent Injury To LeBron James Could Have Big Implications On the Atlanta Hawks 2025 NBA Draft Position

Updated NBA Rookie Grades: B/R Gives Zaccharie Risacher An Interesting Grade For His Season

RECAP: Trae Young And Caris LeVert Combine For 62 Points To Lift Atlanta To Second Straight Victory Over Indiana