The Philadelphia 76ers have finally taken the driver’s seat in the series against the Atlanta Hawks. How will the Hawks respond in Game 4? Will they even the series up? Or, will Philly race to a 3-1 lead? Check out our preview of this game below.
The Sixers are oozing with confidence right now after winning two games in a row to grab the series lead. In Game 3, the Sixers defeated Atlanta on the road, 127-111, with Joel Embiid coming up with another great performance. Despite not being 100 percent healthy, Embiid scored 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and had three blocks in 34 minutes. Tobias Harris chipped in 22 points to continue his terrific form in the series. With some more rest, Embiid’s knee should feel better in Game 4, and that’s not going to be good to hear for the Hawks, who are allowing the center to score an average of 35.3 points on 53.3 percent shooting from the field so far in the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
The Sixers are 5-1 against the spread in their last six when their opponent surrendered 100 points or more in their previous game.
Trae Young scored 28 points in Game 3, but was held to only 9-of-17 shooting from the field. The Hawks’ outside shots also refused to fall for them in that game, as they went just 6 of 23 from behind the arc. John Collins had an impressive performance, though, as he had 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting. The Hawks need to recover their outside shooting, as it’s key in opening up their offense. Without it, it’ll be hard for Young to set up easy baskets for Clint Capela and John Collins around the rim as a result of looser defensive coverages down low. The Hawks are still shooting a respectable 37 percent from the 3-point area in the series and 36.3 percent in the playoffs, so far. Young leads the Hawks in the playoffs with 28.8 points per game to go with 9.8 assists per contest.
The Hawks are 4-1 against the spread in their last five home games against a team with a winning record on the road.
