Philadelphia 76ers vs Atlanta Hawks 6/11/21: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Atlanta Hawks Matchup Preview

The Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks will square up for Game 3 of this highly volatile series. A quick recap: the Hawks came out firing on all cylinders in the first half of Game 1, scoring 74 first-half points and leading by 20 at the break. Despite the Sixers clawing back into the game, it wasn’t enough to overcome the massive deficit. Notably, Joel Embiid is playing on a partially torn meniscus and is still absolutely dominating opponents with totals of 39 and 40 points in his first two games of this series. In Game 2, the Sixers controlled the tempo and had much more of a sense of urgency than the Hawks did. Meanwhile, the Hawks have played exceptionally well at home thus far in the playoffs, and it may be partially attributed to the fact that State Farm Arena in Atlanta has increased capacity since the opening round against the New York Knicks. This could be an important catalyst in this series and bettors should keep an eye on this. Find matchup details for 76ers Vs. Hawks.

TV Schedule

Date: 6/11/21
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Arena: State Farm Arena – Atlanta, GA
Channel: ESPN

Live Stream 76ers vs. Hawks Free Online: Watch Every NBA Game

You can stream this game online for free. You can get a free 7-day trial and live stream NBA games from any device. Click the banner below and start watching.

76ers Starting 5

PG: Ben Simmons
SG: Seth Curry
SF: Danny Green
PF: Tobias Harris
C: Joel Embiid

76ers Analysis

What can we say about Joel Embiid that we haven’t already said? He had 39 points and 9 rebounds in Game 1 and 40 points and 13 rebounds in Game 2. Clearly Atlanta’s defensive strategy against Embiid is not working, but Embiid’s supporting cast was less than spectacular in Game 1. During that bout, the Sixers’ bench players all had negative plus-minuses during their time on the floor. Meanwhile, Embiid and Seth Curry had very high plus-minuses with +13 and +16, respectively.

The Sixers controlled the narrative for most of Game 2, and the bench stepped up, but Atlanta was already satisfied with stealing one in Philadelphia, so the sense of urgency was just not present. Therefore, I’m putting slightly less equity into the Hawks’ sub-par performance in that game.

Seth Curry has played a massive role in this series, dropping 21 points in both games. If he continues to play like this, it may be tough for any Atlanta guards to try and dig down on Embiid in the post, or off-the-dribble, because the fear of leaving Curry open from behind the arc (where he has hit 66.7% of his attempts this series) would be too great.

Hawks Starting 5

PG: Trae Young
SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic
SF: Solomon Hill
PF: John Collins
C: Clint Capela

Hawks Analysis

The Hawks are an interesting case study right now; they just recently lost a key starter and contributor in De’Andre Hunter to a torn meniscus. The team is also without one of their lengthy wing players, Cam Reddish, to a sore achilles. It sounds like he will be out for the foreseeable future. However, both players were not needed in the Hawks’ huge upset win against Philadelphia on the road. The Sixers were actually one of the three best teams at home this year, so was that key win a fluke, or are the Hawks on to something?

Trae Young is averaging 28.9 points and 10 assists per game during the playoffs so far. His splits right now are roughly 44/32/93, which feels low considering how widely regarded he is as a great shooter. Surprisingly though, these playoff splits are almost on par with his regular season splits of 44/34/89. Nonetheless, Young has been nothing short of spectacular as a young player leading an inexperienced team through the playoffs.

Kevin Heurter, John Collins, and Bogdan Bogdanovic all played key roles in the massive Game 1 win over the Sixers on the road. With that being said, I think the only real way for the Hawks to beat the Sixers in a seven-game series is to shoot the lights out for four games and try to contain Embiid to sub-Superman numbers. They got lucky in Game 1, almost blowing a substantial lead in the second half, but pulled it out. They will need to hold Embiid around 25-30 points and not let Green, Curry, and Harris get super hot from behind the arc to have a shot at winning the series, and not just a game or two.

76ers & Hawks DFS Angle

Obviously, with bonafide stat-sheet-stuffers like Trae Young and Joel Embiid playing, it may be hard to focus in on where the diamonds are in this game. One player you may be able to get for good value is Seth Curry. He has had back-to-back 21 point games, and in Game 1 he even snuck in four rebounds and three assists.

Another player I think will step up in the next few games of this series is Clint Capela. While he isn’t stopping Joel Embiid from doing anything, he’s at least not leaving your DFS team empty-handed. He’s a double-double machine, and because he hasn’t been all that efficient recently, you should be able to get him for great value. If he gets you close to his regular season averages, it will be well worth the investment.

In terms of the star players, I would lean towards going with Trae Young in this one. He didn’t play very well last game, and knowing him, he will want to put on a show in front of the thousands who will pile in to State Farm Arena to watch Game 3.

I have a very hard time betting against Embiid because he is such a monster, but at what point will the wear-and-tear of dropping consecutive 40 point games exhaust him? I’m not sure you want to use a huge allocation of your budget towards a player who could easily end up suffering a set-back with his knee at any point during the game. That kind of risk-reward deficiency creates a bearish sentiment for Embiid in Game 3.

76ers vs. Hawks Betting Odds

76ers Spread: -1.5
76ers Moneyline: -122
Hawks Spread: +1.5
Hawks Moneyline: +104
Over/Under Points Total: 225

This series could swing either way in the matter of mere minutes. One half of basketball will have you believe that the Hawks are in complete control and the next half is vice-versa, with the Sixers appearing dominant. Eventually, the dust will settle and things will become clearer, but for now, we must speculate.

The Hawks took care of the Knicks both times on their home floor in the first series, and Atlanta has already been fantastic on its home floor all year, but the increase in capacity at State Farm Arena is something to keep an eye on. Atlanta is on a hot streak, and because it stole a game in Philadelphia to a very solid Sixers team, it instilled more confidence in me to trust the Hawks in Game 3. I’m gravitating towards the Atlanta money line more and more every minute.

If I was to evaluate the over/under points total, I would lean heavily to the over. Game 1 was a shoot-out and will be more indicative of what we see in Game 3. The Hawks will try to stop the Sixers offense, but likely to no avail. Luckily, my anticipation is that Atlanta will shoot it even better. Both teams have had success this year with similar point total lines. When the line is between 223-226, the Hawks are 13-6 in favor of the over, while the Sixers are 9-5.