Philadelphia 76ers vs Atlanta Hawks prediction for Wednesday’s game two of the Eastern Conference semi-finals at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. After losing game one, the 76ers are looking to tie the series against the Hawks in game two. Read on for our free prediction and betting tips.
Philadelphia 76ers have to come up with a better defensive display
It was a crazy game one, to say the least as the Philadelphia 76ers lost their home-court advantage after losing the first game of the series against the Hawks. Joel Embiid was clearly playing with his injury as the big guy tried his best to fend off the Hawks surge in the first half but couldn’t stop them from winning.
The deficit was 26 points at one time in the second quarter. But the 76ers kept on fighting and won the second half after stopping Trae Young’s offensive thread that had already killed the game in the first half. Embid’s game-high 39 points weren’t enough as the towering center dominated the offense in the third and fourth quarters.
The Hawks will be happy to go back to Atlanta with a win
In the first half of game one, Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks did whatever he liked and played with the 76er’s defense as if he was in a training session. In the second half, Young was defended fiercely and was neutralized. Bogdanovic and Collins with 21 points each made up for Young’s inability to cope with the Philadelphia defense.
Trae Young finished with 35 points and 10 assists in a match where the Hawks nearly lost their big lead in the final minutes of the game when the Philadelphia pressure from the players and the fans in the stadium were the reason for many mistakes by the Hawks players who are inexperienced under such circumstances.
Key Points
Philadelphia 76ers vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction
Despite his knee injury Joel Embiid had a heroic performance on Sunday and he single-handedly almost gifted his team the first win of the series. Embid needs more help from his teammates offensively as coach Doc Rivers could find a way to stop Trae Young.
Atlanta may not put all their energy into game two as game one was very tough physically. In the second half, the 76ers obliged the Hawks to make many mistakes with their intense defense, and that had its toll on the Hawks players and committed many turnovers which could have cost them the game.
We predict game two to be different than game one and if Embid is feeling better and doc Rivers can close down Trae Young early on, we think the home team can tie the series.
Philadelphia 76ers vs Atlanta Hawks Betting Tips
Match Result 76ers to win 1.50 at Vbet
Over 220.5 Points 1.70 at Vbet