GRADES: Atlanta Hawks 112, Philadelphia 76ers 94
By Sam Coltrane
The Philadelphia 76ers continue their road woes in Atlanta amidst rising DNP’s due to health and safety protocols.
Philadelphia fans have rightly been questioning why their team is taking the court seemingly at half availability while other games are being postponed. It is a legitimate question to ponder the fairness to the Philadelphia 76ers and their fans.
None of that matters, though, once the two teams do take the floor as they did last night.
The short-handed Philadelphia team started Tyrese Maxey, Dakota Mathias, and Mike Scott in place of Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Tobias Harris, respectively.
Despite being depleted, Philadelphia came out strong and Joel Embiid showed off his dominance. He chipped in 16 points during the first nine minutes of the game.
A Dwight Howard dunk with 1:09 remaining in the quarter pushed the score to 32-23 in favor of Philadelphia before ending the first leading 32-28.
The second and third quarter were all Atlanta. A 15-3 run helped open their lead to eight points, a lead they wouldn’t surrender the rest of the way.
Atlanta proceeded to outscore Philadelphia 69-33 over the next two quarters, including doubling Philadelphia’s output each quarter.
The fourth quarter was all Philadelphia. It didn’t matter. The game was out of hand and came to a merciful ending with a final of 112-94, Atlanta.
B+. <strong>23 mins | 24 pts | 11 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO | 8-17 FG | 1-4 3PT| 7-8 FT | 2 PF | -27 |</strong><p>Embiid showcased some of what makes him nearly untradeable and some of why people question if he can be the best player on a championship team. Embiid was absolutely dominant in the first quarter. Atlanta’s run in the second quarter also directly coincided with Embiid returning to the game. Embiid is excellent, but games like tonight are a reminder that his conditioning isn’t perfect and that big men typically need help.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID
<strong>28 mins | 2 pts | 3 reb | 3 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 0-9 FG | 0-7 3PT| 2-2 FT | 2 PF | -24 |</strong><p>Wow. Especially awful. Green made two free throws on the night. That’s all he made. Zero from the field, zero from three. Green is a good fit on the roster, but only if he’s making shots. The only positive is that a strong Green performance wouldn’t have been the difference tonight.</p>. SF. Philadelphia 76ers. DANNY GREEN. F
Philadelphia 76ers. TYRESE MAXEY. B. <strong>31 mins | 15 pts | 6 reb | 4 ast | 0 stl | 2 blk | 2 TO | 7-14 FG | 0-1 3PT| 1-1 FT | 1 PF | -24 |</strong><p>Maxey continues to show that he probably shouldn’t have fallen to #21 in the NBA draft. He is still raw and will need to tighten his handle, but he shows the ability to create, a scoring mentality, and tenacity. All but his shot making was on display tonight.</p>. PG
SG. Philadelphia 76ers. ISAIAH JOE. B+. <strong>28 mins | 18 pts | 2 reb | 4 ast | 2 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 6-9 FG | 4-7 3PT| 2-2 FT | 5 PF | +4 |</strong><p>Joe likely won’t play meaningful minutes for Philadelphia come the postseason. It doesn’t matter. When you get an opportunity, it’s important to capitalize. Joe shot 4-7 from three and made plays for others. A great showing for a younger guy.</p>
B. <strong>13 mins | 6 pts | 8 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 2 blk | 0 TO | 3-6 FG | 0-0 3PT| 0-0 FT | 0 PF | +12 |</strong><p>Very similar to Joe, Bradley made the most of his minutes. In limited action, Bradley scored six points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked two shots while having the best +/- on the team.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. TONY BRADLEY
The Philadelphia 76ers face the Miami Heat tonight, Jan. 12, at 7 PM E.T.
Next. Top 30 scorers in Sixers history. dark