Hawks vs. Sixers Live Notebook

Live updates and insights from Atlanta's meeting with Philadelphia.

The Eastern Conference’s only two unbeaten teams will face off Monday night in Atlanta as the Hawks face their stiffest test of the season to date in the Philadelphia 76ers.

Stocked with size, skill, and athleticism at most every position, the Sixers figure to have one of the stingiest defenses in the NBA this year and one of the more unique offenses we’ve seen in the pace-and-space era. Center Joel Embiid, who was listed as questionable coming into Monday, will play and anchor Philly on both ends of the floor. That significantly alters what Atlanta will be able to do offensively and places quite a responsibility on its bigs defensively. Without rookie center Bruno Fernando, the Hawks will be ill-equipped to match Embiid’s force down low.

Ben Simmons will be a problem if the Hawks don’t keep him out of the transition game, and both Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, and Al Horford are capable of inflicting damage as secondary playmakers. Philadelphia’s physical defense will provide an important test for Trae Young, who has looked the part of an All Star in his two outings this season. The game has clearly slowed down for Young, but the Sixers are the type of team that can speed it back up. They’ll take away his angles and lanes more effectively than Orlando or Detroit could, though a hobbled Embiid could augment Young’s quickness advantage.

Also worth monitoring will be the availability of Kevin Huerter, who dealt with knee soreness through training camp and the preseason and been on minutes restrictions in Atlanta’s first two games. When healthy, he should start and close games, but rookie Cam Reddish has stepped in capably while Huerter works his way back up to speed.

Pregame

As expected, Reddish starts for Huerter, who will have a (minutes)-minute limit tonight. Embiid warmed up and will play, though likely not at 100 percent; both Horford and Kyle O’Quinn could see more time at center as a result. Fernando is available for the Hawks, though his effectiveness on a sprained ankle remains to be seen. 

First Quarter

Trae Young, Cam Reddish, De'Andre Hunter, John Collins, and Alex Len start for Atlanta against Ben Simmons, Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, Al Horford, and Joel Embiid. 

I'm interested to see who defends Trae Young -- and vice versa. He'll be a challenge to defend in the pick-and-roll, and the Sixers play a coverage that should allow him to step into open pull-up 3s. I'd expect Philly to attack him frequently in the post and in pick-and-rolls, and it will be crucial for Young to bring the same sort of effort he did in the first half against Orlando. 

The Hawks are sizzling to start the game and creating pretty good looks even against the duo Richardson and Embiid. Young dusted Richardson on a right-to-left crossover -- one of his favorite moves -- for an open 3 and has set up teammates a few times by pulling other defenders toward him. 

Ben Simmons is using his speed and physicality early, bullying De'Andre Hunter in the post and blowing past Atlanta's defense in transition. Embiid went to the bench early and has been relatively quiet. 

De'Andre Hunter, continuing to impress with his passing and patience, hits Bruno Fernando with an accurate and well-timed pocket pass out of the pick-and-roll for a dunk. Young hits a pull-up 3 on the next play and finds Jabari Parker for an open corner 3 in transition on the next. The Hawks also ran a Warriors-style split cut between Young and Huerter, which Parker capitalized upon with a nice pass to Huerter for two free throws. 

Lloyd Pierce is living on the edge by closing the first quarter with a frontcourt of John Collins and Damian Jones, but Atlanta scored enough to mitigate the damage Philly inflicted. At the end of one, the Hawks are scoring 1.46 points per possession, per Cleaning the Glass, with an effective field goal percentage over 70. They are 4-of-4 at the rim. The Sixers, meanwhile produced 1.12 points per trip with an eFG percentage of 57, but actually created better shots than the Hawks, according to pbpstats.com. 

Second Quarter

The Hawks begin the second quarter with Collins at center, even with Embiid on the court. The theory, presumably is that they'll be able to score enough to outweigh the heaps of points they'll allow. 

Midway through the second, the game feels as though it's turning in Philly's favor. The Sixers have found a rhythm which has helped create open 3s and opportunities early in the shot clock, and they're simply making a higher percentage of their shots. It helps that the Hawks seem to have gone cold. 

Bruno Fernando has given the Hawks a nice lift off the bench as Alex Len has been limited to just five first-half minutes. Playing on a sprained ankle, the rookie has nine points and four rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting in 10 minutes. Len has three fouls and Damian Jones struggled on both ends. 

The Sixers call timeout after what they perceived as a couple of tough calls. Atlanta executed a beautiful after-timeout play that sprung DeAndre' Bembry open for a lob off a backscreen, but Young's pass was errant and the Hawks came up empty. 

After getting out of position and committing a bad foul on Joel Embiid, Damian Jones puts together a nice sequence that included an alley-oop finish, an impressive verticality play at the rim on defense, and a steal at mid-court (the result of a bad pass) that resulted in a flagrant two foul by Mike Scott. Scott is ejected, Jones split the free throws, and the Hawks lead 58-57. 

The Hawks close the half strong on offense, but Embiid continues to dominate with 19 points on6-of-7 shooting. He has four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block, and none of Atlanta's centers have stood much of a chance defending him. 

The frenetic scoring from the first quarter steadied in the second. Both teams scored 118.9 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass, and while Atlanta is still outshooting the Sixers, Philly's expected shot value is still slightly higher. The Hawks are 10-of-14 at the rim, but just 4-of-14 from floater range -- an indication that Embiid's presence is forcing and bothering plenty of those shots. Hawks lead 65-63. 

Third Quarter

Philly comes up empty on its first two possessions of the half while the Hawks score on their first two. After Young turns the corner and hits Collins on a lob, Brett Brown calls a quick timeout just 1:02 into the half. 

Young is really making a point to control his defender as he goes over the top of screens. He has drawn a couple of fouls on Richardson by stopping short and flinging shots at the rim, and repeatedly gotten defenders on his back with patient hesitations. 

Embiid gives the Sixers the lead by pulverizing Collins on a driving dunk after pump-faking Len into oblivion. Got T-ed up for taunting, but it's hard to blame someone capable of doing that sort of damage for reminding his opponent of it. Sixers lead 70-69. 

Vince Carter and DeAndre' Bembry have helped Atlanta stretch its lead to six with Young on the bench. The Hawks have been more active on defense and are making enough smart drives and passes to keep the offense moving. 

Shake Milton stumbled on a post-up attempt and seemed to twist his knee fairly badly. He was down for a while before walking off the court. Milton hasn't been a huge part of Philadelphia's rotation, but if he's unable to return, the Sixers will be down two contributors for the final quarter of the game -- one of whom came into the game with a bum ankle. The Hawks lead 83-82 after three. 

Fourth Quarter

Embiid picks up his fourth foul with 8:36 to play on a dubious call as he challenged Alex Len's dunk attempt. Len split the pair, but the cost of not having Embiid could hamper the Sixers down the stretch. At the next dead ball Embiid checks out and John Collins enters for Len. We'll see how long Lloyd Pierce chooses to play small with Embiid off the floor. 

Atlanta calls timeout with 6:18 to play and a four-point lead. Some interesting coaching decisions at play here: how long does Brett Brown decide to leave Embiid on the bench with four fouls and how does that affect the Hawks' willingness and ability to play small? If Pierce goes back to a center (he probably should), is it Len or Fernando? In addition to Young, Hunter, and a center, who will be in Atlanta's closing lineup? (For what it's worth, I'd close with Young, Huerter, Carter, Hunter, and Fernando.) 

In what may have been the biggest sequence of the fourth quarter, Bruno Fernando blocks Tobias Harris' driving dunk attempt after Carter runs him off the line with a beautiful closeout. Bembry pushes and finds Carter, who makes the extra pass to Hunter for a left-corner 3. Hawks lead 98-90. 

Hawks put together maybe their best defensive possession of the night, forcing Embiid into a tough stepback 3 with 12 seconds left on the game clock. Set up by Carter doubling Josh Richardson and forcing Philly to scramble. After a tussle for the loose ball, Atlanta gains possession and calls timeout to set up a potential game-tying play. 103-100 Sixers. 

Carter inbounds to Trae Young who is fouled and makes the first free throw. Intentional or not, he misses the second but John Collins tips in the miss to tie the game. 103-103. 

Sixers inbound to Embiid, who is fouled and makes both shots. Hawks get one final chance, which ends in Carter firing a contested 3 as time expires. No good. Sixers win, 105-103.