Hawks lose Hunter but confident vs. 76ers
The Hawks return to Atlanta beaming with confidence in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers despite their inability to slow down, much less stop, Joel Embiid.
The 76ers big man has scored 79 points in the first two games at Philadelphia to open the series, which is tied 1-1 heading into Friday’s Game 3 in Atlanta — where the Hawks have won 13 consecutive games.
It’s the longest active home winning streak in the NBA.
“I hope fans are ready to rock the house on Friday,” Trae Young said after Philadelphia’s 118-102 win in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
The Hawks will need their fans — but they also know they have to correct some issues on the court.
They expect better outside shooting from Young and his backcourt partner Bogdan Bogdanovic. And until they find a defensive combination to slow Embiid, Atlanta will have to do a better job of containing his teammates.
The challenge of containing the 76ers’ outside shooting grew Wednesday when the Hawks announced De’Andre Hunter will miss the remainder of the postseason.
Hunter, the team’s top perimeter defender, has been scheduled for surgery on his right knee in Los Angeles on Tuesday. He was held out of the first two games due to soreness in the knee. After he had swelling in the knee, the Hawks say tests found a new small tear of his lateral meniscus.
Hunter averaged 15 points in his second season but was limited by the knee
injury to only 23 games.
After finishing second to Denver’s Nikola Jokic in MVP voting announced before Game 2, Embiid had 40 points and 13 rebounds. The 7-foot Embiid, listed at 280 pounds, has simply overpowered Atlanta center Clint Capela (6-10, 240).
Embiid recognizes the challenge that awaits the 76ers in Atlanta.
“The series is only 1-1,” Embiid said. “There’s nothing to really be happy about. We have to go over there and try to win both and take one of them at a time.”
Embiid is playing with a cartilage tear in his right knee.
“I’m trying to do the best I can, limited movement and all,” Embiid said.
The loss of Hunter only adds urgency to the challenge of making it tougher for Embiid to score.
“He’s a problem down in the post,” said Hawks coach Nate McMillan. “We’re trying to mix up our defense with him. At times he’s getting too deep. Our double teams are not getting there quick enough . ... He pretty
much has had his way in the first two games down on the block.”
The Hawks expect there to be lot of energy at State Farm Arena, where their last loss came on April 15 against Milwaukee. Atlanta won both home games while taking its first-round series against the New York Knicks in five games.
But despite Atlanta’s recent home dominance, the 76ers are favored by 1 1/2 points in Game 3, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Atlanta is looking to beat the odds and continue to exceed playoff expectations. GOBERT WINS DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD, DRAYMOND THIRD >> Utah’s Rudy Gobert won his third Defensive Player of the Year award after helping the Utah Jazz to the best record in the NBA.
Gobert received 84 firstplace votes and 464 points. Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons was second with 287 votes, while the Warriors’ Draymond Green was third with 76 points.
NETS’ HARDEN TO MISS GAME3>> Brooklyn’s James Harden will miss Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals because of the right hamstring injury that forced him out of the series opener.
Harden left 43 seconds into that game with tightness but the Nets haven’t missed him, taking a 2-0 lead over the Bucks. Game 3 is tonight in Milwaukee. PACERS FIRE COACH AFTER JUST 1 SEASON >> The Indiana Pacers fired Nate Bjorkgren on Wednesday after missing the playoffs in his only season as coach. The Pacers went 34-38 and their season ended with a 142-115 loss to Washington in the play-in tournament that ended their run of five straight playoff appearances.
Bjorkgren was previously an assistant in Toronto and Phoenix.
NBA SUMMER LEAGUE SET FOR AUGUST IN LAS VEGAS >> The NBA Summer League is returning to Las Vegas this summer, with all 30 league teams taking part. The league was idle last summer because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Games will take place Aug. 8-17 at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of UNLV. Each team will play five games. The two teams with the best records will meet for the summer championship on the final day of competition. An unspecified number of fans will be allowed into the arenas.