Pierce Discusses Matchup With Sixers
Two nights after losing to one of the Eastern Conference's top teams, the Hawks will be in for another tough challenge against the Philadelphia 76ers, who sport the fifth-best record and two of the best players in the East. Without Alex Len or Bruno Fernando, Atlanta could be in for a long night against Joel Embiid in the post, though the Hawks will counter by trying to push the tempo and launch 3-pointers with smaller lineups.
On Thursday morning, Lloyd Pierce discussed the Hawks' approach to tonight's game, the challenges the Sixers pose and more:
On the challenge of playing Philadelphia with a healthy Embiid:
Though the Hawks will look to create advantages on the perimeter, they must prioritize the interior to avoid being so thoroughly exploited by Philly's big men as to have no chance of staying in the game. That will require a group effort not just in defending Embiid, but on the glass, in transition, and against the Sixers' other large bodies.
Even without Embiid, Philadelphia has size advantages at nearly every position against most teams in the NBA. With the All Star in the lineup, those edges become even more pronounced.
"Healthy or not, this is a big team," Pierce said. "It’ll be tough for us just keeping them out of the paint, keeping them off the glass. So conversely, we have to be faster, we’ve gotta gang rebound, we’ve gotta try and rebound and run, try and speed the game up a little bit. But they’re a good team, they’re a physical team, they’ve got versatility with their size. So our challenge is taking the paint away from them and then limiting them [to one shot]."
Atlanta will undoubtedly send double-teams at Embiid, and possibly even Al Horford, which will require the Hawks to be smart and precise about when and where they help and staying in position on the weak side. At Thursday's shootaround, they spent most of their time working on those rotations and focusing on taking away the paint for one of the most imposing inside teams in the league.
On the duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid:
The Sixers' two best players are perhaps the most unique star pairing in the NBA. Both possess incredible physical tools, indomitable offensive skills, and an imposing defensive presence, yet the fit between the two isn't as seamless as most other dynamic duos around the league.
In spite of their flaws and perceived fit concerns, Simmons and Embiid are still two of the NBA's greatest talents, and Pierce sees their ability to play different styles as a weapon for Philadelphia rather than a hindrance.
"They’re two tough, dynamic players," he said. "A lot of people make it, ‘Can they play with each other?’ I don’t see it that way. I think they give their team a lot of dynamics in how they can play. The bottom line is when you get to the playoffs, you have to have versatility in how you play.
"When Ben and Joel are on the court, can they create opportunities early in the shot clock, and if they can’t can they play late in the shot clock? You want to be able have the option to say ‘Yes we can’ in both scenarios."
When Embiid was out with a hand injury, Philadelphia's offense was oriented more around Simmons and his preference to push the tempo. At 6-foot-10, he is a master at creating opportunities in transition for both himself at the rim and teammates spotting up for jumpers. Now that his teammate is healthy, the team also has the option of slowing down and playing through Embiid. The Sixers are still working on how best to deploy the two together, but the broad range of abilities gives them an uncommon flexibility.
"I think that’s the strength of their team," Pierce said. "The ability to play in multiple ways and try and take advantage of the size that they have."
"We're gonna try and shoot 70 3s tonight"
Atlanta's best hope on Thursday will be pushing the pace and trying to trade two points for three. Pierce knows that, and said Thursday morning that he wants his team to attempt 70 3-pointers.
"I’m not joking," he said. "We know this team is really gonna try and beat us up physically, so we want to beat them up with our pace and with our speed. We want to create opportunities that are early in the shot clock or move them defensively where we can get some 3s and some easy, uncontested shots like we had in the Toronto game. If we had 47 in that game, there’s no doubt in my mind we can get more tonight."
The Hawks took 47 triples in their last game against the Raptors, but made just 12 of them. They were 3-of-15 on uncontested 3s and 9-of-30 on what Pierce called "rhythm shots." Trae Young and Kevin Huerter shot uncharacteristically poorly, going just 3-of-16 on mostly makable looks. Cam Reddish didn't find his stroke until the game was well in hand, and John Collins only attempted a single long-ranger.
In Atlanta's first game agains the Sixers in October, Young only attempted five 3-pointers -- well below his season average of 9.3 -- and made two of them. Pierce expects that he'll fire up more attempts tonight, even as Philly traps and smothers him with giant wings.
"Everyone’s blitzed him, everyone’s thrown a bigger guy on him," Pierce said. "We’ve seen that, and he’s still averaging nine, 10 3-point attempts per game. So I have no worries or concerns about him being able to get a 3-point shot off."
