The Philadelphia 76ers, fresh off a win over the Utah Jazz, will visit the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. The team is in limbo between securing its first-round draft pick and climbing the standings to secure a spot in the play-in tournament. While Sixers fans are on board with the team tanking and falling as far as they can in the standings, the players on the floor are doing their best to show that they can compete in the league.
Sixers game information
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (22-41) at Atlanta Hawks (30-34)
When: 7:30 p.m. EST
Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, Bally Sports Southeast
Latest on the Sixers
The Sixers, coming off a victory over the Jazz on Sunday night, are traveling to Atlanta with serious implications on the line for the team to hold on to its first-round draft pick in this season’s upcoming draft. While most fans have embraced the “tank” and are looking for the team to lose as many games as possible, no one has told the players on the court, who’ve been doing their best to win games.
Quentin Grimes has continued to show that he can be a vital piece of the Sixers’ roster over the next few years if the team can re-sign him this off-season. Lonnie Walker IV has shown over the last few games that when given minutes, he can contribute to a team that needs all the talent it can get. Both Walker and Grimes finished with 25 points against the Jazz, and Walker also grabbed 11 rebounds in the win. Grimes contributed six assists on the night as well.
Rookie Adem Bona has shown growth and responded with 14 points and 14 rebounds to go along with five blocked shots in 32 minutes on the floor against the Jazz. Justin Edwards, who’s shown throughout the season that he belongs in the league and can be a valuable piece of the puzzle, had a horrible shooting night but still contributed 11 points as the team held on to beat the Jazz.
Latest on the Hawks
The Hawks are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, having won two games in a row and three of their last four, as they prepare to host the Sixers. They are coming off a victory at home against the Pacers on Saturday night, so they should be more rested than the Sixers and looking to put some space between themselves and the eighth-place Orlando Magic in the standings.
Trae Young is leading a Hawks team, but that’s not where they’d thought they’d be just a few years back. They’ve consistently underperformed and aren’t fairing much better this season. With 23.8 points and 11.5 assists per game, Young is doing his part, but the roster around him isn’t as qualified as they’d like if they’re going to compete with teams like the Celtics, Knicks, and Cavaliers in the East. Young is questionable tonight with a left quad contusion.
Against a Pacers team that’s six games ahead of them in the standings, the Hawks shot horribly on their three-pointers but wound up getting timely baskets and quality minutes from players other than Young. For his part, Young finished with 36 points and eight assists to lead the team, but 26 points from Caris LeVert and a huge 16-point, 16-rebound night from Onyeka Okongwu helped hold off the Pacers in the end. The team will need more of the same as they take on a Sixers team whose younger players don’t care about draft picks and are trying to win games.
What to watch for tonight
The Sixers are in a bad position this season as they’re not good or healthy enough to make or do any real damage in the playoffs while continuing to win games at various points and keeping themselves from a valuable first-round pick they could lose if they fall out of the top six in the draft order.
Philadelphia’s injury report has not come out yet, but Tyrese Maxey remains day-to-day and should be considered questionable for tonight. Should he return, Maxey would give the team a huge boost if he’s available to play against the Hawks, but no one has informed players like Quentin Grimes, Adem Bona, and Lonnie Walker IV that they shouldn’t be doing what they’ve been doing.
Grimes has continued to show that he can be a vital part of a starting rotation in the coming years, while Walker and Bona prove that they’ll provide the team with value in the future. The team has quite a few talented young players who could play a big part in its future.
The Sixers need some luck as they race toward the bottom, and they’ve done themselves no favors in playing for pride. With the Nets and Raptors losing games, the control over their first-round pick is slowly slipping away, and that should be just as disappointing as the entire season has been. Tonight, against a Hawks team that’s not much better than they are, the Sixers can again pull out a win if Grimes and company continue to play as they have done lately. Win or lose, the young players that the Sixers have have provided excitement and made their games entertaining for the fans.
Prediction
Sixers 112 – Hawks 119
