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The Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers will meet in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semi-final series at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.
The Hawks are coming off a dominating 4-1 series win over the New York Knicks. The young team showed a lot of confidence and grit to prevail over the Knicks, who had homecourt advantage due to their higher seeding.
Trae Young has been the Atlanta Hawks' most valuable player so far in the 2021 NBA playoffs, averaging 29.2 points and 9.8 assists per contest. Nate McMillan's men will be eager to snatch homecourt advantage off the Philadelphia 76ers, as they did against the New York Knicks in round one.
The Philadelphia 76ers, on the other hand, played five games in their first-round series, winning 4-1 against the Washington Wizards.
Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid led the way with 25 and 24 points per game, respectively. The Sixers performed well as a team to breeze past the Wizards. Head coach Doc Rivers will be hoping for the same in this semi-final series.
Atlanta Hawks Injury Report
The Atlanta Hawks have listed De'Andre Hunter as questionable because of right knee soreness that kept him sidelined for the majority of the regular season. He has managed it well, though, and should be able to play on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Cam Reddish (Achilles) has lately progressed to two back-to-back full practice sessions but is still sidelined out for the game.
Philadelphia 76ers Injury Report
Joel Embiid is listed as questionable for Sunday's game because of a small meniscus tear in his right knee that he suffered during Game 4 of the series against the Washington Wizards. He hasn't been able to fully participate in any practice sessions with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Atlanta Hawks vs Philadelphia 76ers - Predicted Lineups
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks will likely deploy the same starting lineup that they used in the series against the New York Knicks.
Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic will start the proceedings in the backcourt, while De'Andre Hunter, John Collins and Clint Capela will complete the rest of the lineup.
Meanwhile, Kevin Huerter and Danilo Gallinari are expected to play the most minutes off the Atlanta Hawks bench.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers could be forced to play without Joel Embiid yet again as he continues to recover from his injury.
Doc Rivers' switched to a small-ball lineup in his absence in Game 5 of the series against the Washington Wizards, with Ben Simmons taking up the center position. The 76ers played well with the lineup and could stick to that combination for this game as well.
Meanwhile, Matisse Thybulle could retain his place alongside Seth Curry in the backcourt. Thybulle could be a great option for the 76ers to contain Trae Young, who has been stellar in the post-season so far. Seth Curry, Tobias Harris and Danny Green will form the rest of the lineup.
Dwight Howard and Mike Scott could play a key role for the Philadelphia 76ers off the bench. Meanwhile, Tyrese Maxey and George Hill could also earn a decent amount of playing time.
Atlanta Hawks vs Philadelphia 76ers - Predicted Starting 5s
Atlanta Hawks
Point Guard - Trae Young | Shooting Guard - Bogdan Bogdanovic | Small Forward - De'Andre Hunter | Power Forward - John Collins | Center - Clint Capela.
Philadelphia 76ers
Point Guard - Seth Curry | Shooting Guard - Matisse Thybulle | Small Forward - Danny Green | Power Forward - Tobias Harris | Center - Ben Simmons.
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