Brandon Apter (@bapter23), Managing Editor
After a second half implosion on Monday against the Bulls, the Sixers (1-25) hit the road for a matchup with the Hawks (14-12) at Phillips Arena in downtown Atlanta, the final stop on their three-game road trip. Both teams are in their own respective slumps. The Sixers haven't won on the road yet this season and the Hawks, since starting the season 7-1, have lost 11 of their last 18 and three in a row. While Atlanta doesn't have a true superstar, their perimeter game and ball movement poses a tough test for a Sixers team that's coming off of another disappointing loss against Chicago.
The Sixers went into the half 56-51 on Monday, fresh off of a 37-point second quarter. They only mustered 12 points in the third though and the Bulls took advantage en route to a convincing 115-96 victory, outscoring Philadelphia 64-40 in the final two quarters. After turning the ball over just twice in the first half, the Sixers had six in the first six and a half minutes of the third quarter. By then, the Bulls had a 69-62 advantage and stretched it to an 85-68 lead after three, a quarter that saw the Sixers make just five of their 21 shots. Jahlil Okafor scored 22 points, 16 of which came in the first half, to go along with eight rebounds. Robert Covington added 15 points on 6-for-16 shooting. Jahlil Okafor and Jerami Grant will have their hands full with the Hawks front court of Al Horford and Paul Milsap tonight. Nerlens Noel is still out because of his corneal abrasion.
Meanwhile, the Hawks are 14-12 after winning 60 games a year ago. They are led by Al Horford, Jeff Teague Paul Millsap, who leads the team in scoring with 18 points per game. In addition to those two down low, they have long-ball shooting threat in former Sixer, Kyle Korver, who is averaging 10 points a game, two points lower than his last two years. His field-goal percentage (.457) is 30 points below last year's (.487) and his three-point game is down nearly 10 points from last season. Kyle is shooting just 39.7 percent from beyond the arc this year while he shot 49.2 percent from that range during 2014-15. The Hawks are looking to snap a three-game slide that saw them fall to the Thunder, Spurs and most recently the Heat. Like the Sixers, the Hawks rely heavily on their long-range game, but they only shot 8-for-33 from downtown in Monday's loss to Miami and 39.3 percent overall. The Hawks ranked second in the NBA last season in three-point shooting at 38 percent, but find themselves in 18th this year at 34.1 percent, which is likely the reason for their taking a step back.
Game Notes:
- Hawks starting point guard Jeff Teague is in a slump of his own, scoring only 11 points on 2-for-17 shooting over the last two games against San Antonio and Miami.
- Over the last four games, Jahlil Okafor has averaged 22.3 points and 9.5 rebounds. He's also hit 17 of 18 from the line in that span.
- The Sixers are looking to snap a 24-game losing streak against Eastern Conference opponents.
- Over the Hawks recent three-game slide, they've shot just 40.4 percent from the field and 27.0 percent from three-point range.
- Hawks forward Kent Bazemore scored a career-high 28 points on 11-for-18 shooting against the Heat on Monday night in his return to the starting lineup.
- Isaiah Canaan is shooting just 27.1 percent in the fourth quarter this season and 26.2 percent from beyond the arc.
- The Hawks have beaten the Sixers in seven of the last eight games played against one another, but Philadelphia has the most recent win, 92-84, back in March of this year.
- Both Brett Brown and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer left their jobs as assistant coaches in San Antonio during the 2013 offseason for head coaching jobs in Philadelphia and Atlanta.
- Former Sixers TV analyst Malik Rose is the Manager of Basketball Operations for the Hawks as of this season. Rose spent four seasons on CSN Sixers broadcasts with Marc Zumoff. He played eight years with the Spurs while both Brett Brown and Mike Budenholzer on the sidelines as assistant coaches
Lineups:
Sixers
PG – Tony Wroten - 6.8 ppg, 2.0 apg
SG – Isaiah Canaan - 10.4 ppg, 2.2 apg
SF – Robert Covington - 13.9 ppg, 2.3 spg
PF – Jerami Grant - 9.7 ppg, 2.2 apg
C – Jahlil Okafor - 17.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg
Injuries: Joel Embiid (broken right foot rehab, out), Carl Landry (torn ligament right wrist rehab, out), Nerlens Noel (left eye corneal abrasion, out)
Hawks
PG – Jeff Teague – 15.5 ppg, 6.0 apg
SG – Kyle Korver – 10.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
SF – Kent Bazemore – 12.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg
PF – Paul Millsap - 18.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg
C – Al Horford – 15.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg
Injuries: Tim Hardaway Jr. and Walter Tavares are inactive
Game Information:
Tip-off: 8:00pm
Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
