By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
The Philadelphia 76ers (28-46) return to Wells Fargo Center for the first time in five games tonight to play the Atlanta Hawks (38-36).
The Sixers went 2-3 on their recent road trip, with victories in Brooklyn and Chicago. The Hawks have lost seven of their last eight games.
Last Meeting:
The last time these two teams met, the Hawks defeated the Sixers 110-93 on January 21. The Hawks dominated inside, with Paul Millsap (22 points and 10 rebounds) and Dwight Howard (13 points and 15 rebounds) both registered double-doubles
The Hawks have won all three meetings against the Sixers this season. The Hawks have outscored the Sixers 331-261 in three meetings.
Teacher Versus Student:
The last time these two teams played each other, Ersan Ilyasova led the Sixers in scoring with 21 points. Dario Saric only scored three points that night.
Things are certainly different now.
Ersan Ilyasova was traded to the Atlanta Hawks prior to the NBA trade deadline for a draft pick and Tiago Splitter. Ilyasova has provided much needed depth for the Hawks, and will start opposite his replacement, Dario Saric, tonight at power forward for the injured Paul Millsap.
In the month of March, Dario Saric is averaging 19.3 points with 7.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Ersan Ilyasova is averaging 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. A major factor in trading Ersan Ilyasova was the thought that Dario Saric was ready to be the full-time starter at power forward, and Saric has not disappointed. Ilyasova was valuable to the Sixers, but Saric has proven to be a significant upgrade.
Walking Wounded:
Both teams will enter Wednesday night's game with a laundry list of injuries.
The Sixers will be without center Jahlil Okafor , small forward Robert Covington and point guard Sergio Rodriguez. The Hawks will miss All-Star power forward Paul Millsap and starting small forward Thabo Sefalosha as well.
Gerald Henderson (hip) and Tiago Splitter (calf) are probable to play. Henderson sat last night's game with Brooklyn and Tiago Splitter did not play in the second half against Brooklyn.
If Henderson and splitter cannot play, the Sixers will only have seven players available on the tail end of a back to back.
Richaun Holmes has settled in as the starting center in Okafor's absence and Shawn Long has exceeded expectations. Nik Stauskas played well filling in for Sergio Rodriguez as the backup point guard against Brooklyn scoring 11 points with 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Justin Anderson will be making his first start since being traded to the Sixers in place of the injured Covington.
The aforementioned Ilyasova will start in place of Millsap and rookie Taurean Waller-Prince will start in place Sefalosha. Former St. Joe's star DeAndre' Bembry should play a good amount with Sefalosha out of the lineup as well.
Prevous Game Rewind:
Sixers: The Sixers are coming off of an exciting 106-101 victory in Brooklyn last night. Dario Saric led the way with 23 points, bouncing back from a disappointing 9 point performance on 3-15 shooting in the previous game against Indiana. Robert Covington poured in 21 points to go with 13 rebounds and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 17 points. The Sixers finished their road trip with a 2-3 record.
Hawks: The Hawks also played last night, snapping a seven-game losing streak after a 95-91 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Dennis Schroder's 27 points and nine assists led the way for the Hawks. Ersan Ilyasova (18 points and 12 rebounds) and Dwight Howard (15 points and 11 rebounds) both contributed double-doubles. Rookie Taurean Prince was also in double figures with 15 points.
| Matchup Preview | March 29th, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Philadelphia 76ers (28-46, 17-19 Home) |
Atlanta Hawks (38-36, 18-18 Road) |
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Game Information:
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Stream Live: CSNPhilly.com, NBC Sports Life Extra
