Atlanta Hawks vs Philadelphia 76ers: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineup for Tonight's Matchup

Other than a third straight triple-double for Jalen Johnson, there weren't many positives from the Hawks' blowout loss to the Detroit Pistons. Detroit has been a machine the entire year thus far and they showed it against Atlanta, dropping 142 points on a night where practically every player in the Pistons' rotation gave them something on offense. No single Pistons player had over 20 points, but eight players finished with double-digit points and Detroit as a whole shot 41% from deep.

It also wasn't an inspired night for Atlanta's defense and they'll need to get better on that end in their next few games. The Hawks allowed a staggering 72 points in the paint, which is among the highest amounts they've given up in the paint all year. On the perimeter, Duncan Robinson also torched them for four threes, Kristaps Porzingis hasn't been himself this season, but if he was avaliable, he'd have made an impact as a rim deterrent

Atlanta can't afford to dwell on it for too long - they have a matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers tonight that could be rather difficult considering the Hawks are on a back-to-back and the 76ers have been playing better basketball as of late. They've won four of their last five games and almost beat the fully healthy version of the Lakers, 112-108. The last game these two teams played ended up in double overtime and while it went Atlanta's way, there's no guarantee the Hawks execute the same way in the rematch.

By the Numbers

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Alexander-Walke — Nov 30, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) controls the ball against Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) in the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Atlanta's offense has been surprisingly solid without Trae Young, but the Pistons game was a poor showing. The Hawks are 12th in points, 10th in FG%, 10th in 3P%, 17th in FT%, 25th in rebounds (24th in OREB, 22nd in DREB), 1st in assists, and 18th in turnovers per game. They're 16th in offensive rating this year.

On a per-game basis, the Hawks' defense rank 21st in points allowed, 18th in FG% allowed, 9th in 3P% allowed, 23rd in rebounds allowed, 4th in steals, and 12th in blocks. They're 14th in defensive rating on the year, which puts them in a slightly above-average tier despite their recent run of poor performance on end.

Philadelphia is still figuring out how their offense operates when everyone is healthy, but Tyrese Maxey is always dangerous and they quietly have a reasonably deep roster. They're 16th in points, 24th in FG%, 17th in 3P%, 6th in FT%, 9th in rebounds (10th in OREB, 9th in DREB), 20th in assists, and 11th in turnovers per game. They're 15th in offensive rating this season.

After a difficult night against a tough Detroit defense, the matchup gets slightly easier against the 76ers. Even so, they've been playing good defense as of late - albeit against poor competition. They are 12th in points allowed, 8th in FG% allowed, 8th in 3P% allowed, 21st in rebounds allowed, 19th in steals, and 2nd in blocks. They're 9th in defensive rating, so this would be the second straight game for the Hawks against a top-ten defense by defensive rating.

Three Reasons Atlanta Can Win This Game

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Embiid, Joel Embiid, — Nov 30, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) drives against Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) in the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

As usual, the 76ers are on injury watch. While Joel Embiid's health is always a question mark, he had easily his best game of the season last night against the Pacers. With Tyrese Maxey sidelined, Embiid torched Indiana for 39 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Paul George was also excellent against his former team and scored 23 points while connecting on four threes. However, it wouldn't be entirely surprising if neither of them played against Atlanta. The problem for the 76ers is that Maxey might join them on the bench. He missed the last game with an illness, so it's unclear if he'll be ready to rejoin the lineup against the Hawks. If all three are out, this should be a very easy matchup for the Hawks.

Jalen Johnson was incredible against the 76ers and he's continued his dominant stretch of play since his 41-point explosion. Johnson has recorded three straight triple-doubles and there's no reason that streak can't continue against the 76ers. Dominick Barlow and Paul George are reasonably solid, but neither are truly capable of shutting down Johnson. He's a massive reason why the Hawks are 7th in AST/TO ratio, which is important against a 76ers team that has a few pesky defenders on the perimeter. Quentin Grimes, Barlow, George and VJ Edgecombe are capable of bothering the Hawks on the perimeter and turning them over, so ball security will be paramount against Philadelphia.

One of the bigger advantages the Hawks have is that the 76ers offense is wildly inconsistent. Since they scored 135 points against the Hawks, they've only scored over 120 points once in their four games since against a slew of poor defenses. The Bucks, Lakers, Warriors and Pacers all have rather poor defenses and the 76ers' offense struggled in all of those games.

Three Reasons Atlanta Might Lose This Game

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, Barlow, Dominick Barlow, NB — Nov 30, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) controls the ball against Philadelphia 76ers forward Dominick Barlow (25) in the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

While the 76ers aren't a particularly good team when trying to score around the rim (20th in paint points per game), they are a very physical team that hustles for rebounds and put themselves in positions to alter shots. They are a top-10 rebounding team on both ends and they are tied for the NBA lead in blocks per game. A lot of that comes from having a ton of high-motor complimentary talent around their three main guys. Kelly Oubre and Trendon Watford won't be available, but the forward tandem of Barlow and Jabari Walker, a talented guard rebounder in Edgecombe and a healthy center duo of Adem Bona and Andre Drummond are going to clean a lot of opportunities off the glass.

Speaking of Edgecombe, he didn't have his shot going at all against the Hawks. He only scored seven points in 21 minutes and while he had nice moments in the clutch, the overall impact was not there in his first game against Atlanta. He looked much better against the Pacers - he scored 22 points and grabbed five rebounds. If the 76ers get that type of player against Atlanta, this could be a hard game for the Hawks to handle.

The defensive engagement for the Hawks has continued to be a problem. One of the biggest reasons why the 76ers-Hawks game went to double OT was a lack of defensive awareness from notably Jalen Johnson, but other players also struggled to make the right plays on defense. They need to show more cohesiveness on that end and prove they can clamp down on a legitimate NBA offense.

Injury Report

Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young, N'Faly Dante, Jacob Toppin and Kristaps Porzingis are all out for the Hawks today. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is questionable.

Philadelphia 76ers: Kelly Oubre and Trendon Watford are out and Tyrese Maxey is doubtful while Joel Embiid is questionable.

How to Watch

Here is how you can watch tonight's game:

Tip-off time: 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA

Where to Watch: FanDuel Sports Network and NBATV

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks

G - Dyson Daniels

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Onyeka Okongwu

76ers

G - Quentin Grimes

G - VJ Edgecombe

F - Paul George

F - Dominick Barlow

C - Andre Drummond