The Atlanta Hawks are back in action tonight in their first game fresh out of the All-Star break.
Now that the trade deadline has passed, the 2025-26 Hawks are set in stone and rested for the final stretch of the season. At a 26-30 record, they are currently the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference and are still alive for the play-in. They are just a half game behind the 9th-seeded Charlotte Hornets and three games behind the Miami Heat for the 8th seed. Their chances of making the playoffs outright as a top-six seed seem very slim, but there’s a possibility the Hawks could make up five games on the sixth seed.
Coincidentally, the current sixth seed is the team they’re playing tonight. The Philadelphia 76ers started the season off slow, but they were playing better ahead of the trade deadline. Reasonably healthy play from Paul George and Joel Embiid, coupled with the backcourt of exciting rookie VJ Edgecombe and an All-NBA caliber effort from Tyrese Maxey, fueled a much better performance from Philadelphia than many would have predicted. However, they weren’t playing their best basketball right before the All-Star break. They got blown out twice before the deadline in games against the Trail Blazers and the Knicks.
Even though the 76ers are higher in the standings, the Hawks might be able to get a critical win against an Eastern Conference opponent who’s struggled as of late. They will need to play much better than they’ve shown as of late, but the time is now if they want to stack wins towards a possible playoff berth.
By the Numbers
Atlanta’s offense has been extremely inconsistent this year, but remain one of the better units in the NBA on average. The Hawks are 9th in points, 11th in FG%, 7th in 3P%, 19th in FT%, 25th in rebounds (24th in OREB, 18th in DREB), 1st in assists, and 5th in turnovers per game. They’re 20th in offensive rating this year.
Their defense is going to need to make a marked improvement in the second half of the year. On a per-game basis, the Hawks’ defense ranks 21st in points allowed, 18th in FG% allowed, 9th in 3P% allowed, 23rd in rebounds allowed, 4th in steals, and 12th in blocks. They’re 17th in defensive rating on the year.
There’s always the question of who’s going to be in the lineup for the 76ers, but they’ve managed to put a decent offense on the court most nights. They’re 13th in points, 24th in FG%, 16th in 3P%, 4th in FT%, 18th in rebounds (10th in OREB, 26th in DREB), 26th in assists, and 6th in turnovers per game. They’re 13th in offensive rating this season.
Philadelphia routinely used to have solid defenses when Joel Embiid was at his peak, but it’s been worse on that end this season. They are 16th in points allowed, 17th in FG% allowed, 11th in 3P% allowed, 19th in rebounds allowed, 7th in steals, and 5th in blocks. They’re 15th in defensive rating.
Reasons Atlanta Can Win This Game
Jalen Johnson had a pretty good first appearance in the All-Star game, which was emblematic of how well he’s played in the first half of the season. This second half will be critical for Johnson as he’s consistently gotten injured down the stretch. While any significant stretch of missed time for Johnson would basically end Atlanta’s season, the Hawks likely won’t be able to survive that loss tonight. He put up 41 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists against the 76ers last time he played them and made huge shots in overtime to win the game. The rebounding edge is going to be especially important against Philly because they’ve been 25th in rebounds per game since January 1st.
It’s a small sample size, but the 76ers made a move to trade Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the deadline, and they’ve really missed having an extra guard in the rotation. They’ve shot 28.7% as a team in the four games since the trade deadline, largely because they’re so reliant on Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe getting hot from deep in order to make threes. They don’t have a deep bench, and the bench players they do have aren’t really shooters. If the Hawks can get out to a lead early, there’s a good chance the 76ers can’t claw back into the game due to their lackluster shooting from deep.
Reasons Atlanta Might Lose This Game
The Hawks’ perimeter defense has often been a problem, but the presence of Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker usually means that the Hawks are a bit better against lead ball-handlers. Tyrese Maxey is not one of those matchups. He’s averaged 30+ points in his last three games versus the Hawks and went toe-to-toe with Johnson during their last matchup, scoring 44 points despite not having an efficient game. He’ll be fully rested coming into this game, meaning that there’s a good chance that he torches the Hawks once again and leads Philly to a win.
At their best, Philly is an excellent ball-control team. Embiid does have a few careless turnovers a game, but the 76ers are a top-10 team in both steals and turnovers. They clearly value the possession battle and while the absence of Paul George hurts in that regard, this isn’t going to be a game that the Hawks should expect to win due to getting a ton of extra chances. Keep in mind that the Hawks aren’t a very good rebounding team either, so it’s hard to expect them to take advantage of Philly’s lack of prowess on the defensive boards.
Injury Report
Atlanta Hawks: Jonathan Kuminga is out for the Hawks
Philadelphia 76ers: Paul George and Joel Embiid are out for Philadelphia
How to Watch
Here is how you can watch tonight’s game:
Tip-off time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Where to Watch: FanDuel Sports Network and NBATV
Projected Starting Lineups
Hawks
G – Dyson Daniels
G – Nickeil Alexander-Walker
F – Zaccharie Risacher
F – Jalen Johnson
C – Onyeka Okongwu
76ers
G – Tyrese Maxey
G – VJ Edgecome
F – Kelly Oubre
F – Dominick Barlow
F – Adem Bona
