NBA: Atlanta Hawks vs. Philadelphia 76ers Game 2 Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Atlanta Hawks immediately shocked the Philadelphia 76ers, taking the opening game of the Eastern Conference semis. Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic have inflicted several blows to the Sixers on Sunday night, and we are sure that Doc Rivers’ side prepared something special for the Hawks’ backcourt duo. Though, Atlanta is so much more than these two guys, but on the other side, the 76ers are way better from what we saw two days ago. After all, this unit earned the top spot in the conference, being consistent throughout the entire campaign.

Preview

Atlanta Hawks (+190) opened Game 1 furiously, packing basket after basket, leaving the 76ers’ fans and players in disbelief. Trae was pouring baskets, Bogdan added a few downtown shots of his own, and suddenly, the guests had twice as many points as their rivals.

Three points were the main difference, with Atlanta dropping 20 downtown shots in 47 attempts, twice as many as Philly had. But what we didn’t like is that for the first time in the playoffs, the Hawks stiffed in clutch moments. Both Young and Bogi made some turnovers near the end, which could easily end as one of the Hawks’ biggest failures ever.

Young scored 35, a vast majority in the first half with 10 assists. Bogi had 21, five threes, one clutch, which practically sealed the game. John Collins dropped 21 also, while Kevin Huerter added 15.

Philadelphia 76ers (-220) were shredded into pieces in the first half, even though Joel Embiid played. The drama about Process’s health and status before Sunday’s game was the no.1 thing in the media, and once he stepped on Wells Fargo Center’s floor, the Sixers’ fans believed their team wouldn’t have any problems against Atlanta.

Embiid did his thing, scoring 39 points with nine boards, but somehow, even though he had a masterful performance, Philly remained empty-handed. Tobias Harris had a double-double – 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Ben Simmons had 17 with 10 assists.

Seth Curry was the 76ers’ big comeback generator, with him having a very good role and scoring 21 points. Seth hit five threes, which was 50% of the team’s long-distance baskets. We have to say that the hosts’ bench failed to be useful with just 23 points.

Head to Head Games

Hawks won the first match in the regular part of the season, played in Georgia. After that, Philly triumphed in the next two in Massachusetts.

About Game 1, it ended 128-124 for Atlanta. The Sixers were shooting 68.6% from the free-throw line, 24-for-35, while on the other hand, the Hawks were incredible, 20-for-21. The difference in the paint was obvious (58-40) because of Embiid’s dominance,

Prediction

We are more than certain that both sides will play exactly the same way as they did in Game 1, meaning that we should expect a high-scoring affair. Philly is going to try to speed up the tempo, with or without Embiid, while Hawks have a superb shooting in the playoffs, and logically, it is something that increases the efficiency. Obviously, the offense will be critical for winning the series, which forces us to bet on Over with the line set at 223 points.

Pick: Over 223 points