Philadelphia 76ers Blow Out Atlanta Hawks 122-94
"The Hawks can't seem to get on track here." Truer words from Atlanta Hawks announcer, Dominique Wilkins early in the third quarter. There has been no offensive rhythm this season. The Hawks have been winning games with defense, but it never made the connecting flight from New Orleans to Washington, D.C as the team gave up 122 points in two consecutive games. Now they leave Philadelphia with a 3-3 record.
Everyone was hoping for a raucous rematch of last year's playoffs, but the 76ers put the game out of reach quickly. Clint Capela rebounded at a high rate, but got cooked by Joel Embiid on defense and struggled to hit close shots. The Hawks got outscored in the paint 60-36 and 34-14 on fast breaks.
But Capela doesn't even deserve most of the blame. The problems for the Hawks were more systemic than just post play. John Collins only posted 8 points and 7 rebounds. Trae Young shot 5-16 from the field. (Young did pick up his third technical foul of the season after waving off an official in the first quarter). And Kevin Huerter's play remains a mystery. 'Red Velvet' played just 13 minutes and scored 3 points.
Credit must go Matisse Thybulle who disrupted the Hawks offense all night long. Thybulle had 4 steals and 3 blocks to go with his 11 points off easy looks. Additionally, Tyrese Maxey is excelling in the role of starting point guard. Perhaps, when it comes to Ben Simmons, it's addition by subtraction for the 76ers.
After the game, Hawks Coach Nate McMillan gave some insight into what's going on with the team:
"Our offense is right now out of sync. That's leading to really no defense at all. We're turning the ball over. We're taking quick shots, which is leading to transition baskets. We really don't have a rhythm out there. What we got to continue to work on is this group (that we have healthy now) has to find chemistry together on the offensive side of the floor. We're really out of sync, and that's leading to poor defense."
It was without a doubt the worst game the Hawks have played this season. It's not even Halloween yet, so no need to hit the panic button. But this road trip has highlighted the problems this team must solve.
The Hawks head home now and get a day of rest before hosting the Washington Wizards on Monday night. Stay locked into AllHawks.com as we keep you updated with breaking news, highlights, and analysis for your Atlanta Hawks.
Hawks Stats Leaders
Cam Reddish - 16 PTS, 2 REB
Trae Young - 13 PTS, 10 AST
Clint Capela - 13 PTS, 4 REB
76ers Stats Leaders
Tobias Harris - 22 PTS, 11 REB
Joel Embiid - 19 PTS, 5 REB
Tyrese Maxey - 16 PTS, 3 AST
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