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Back to tonight’s games and the Hawks return to Atlanta with a 1-1 split, but can they defend their home court against Joel Embiid and the Sixers? Denver failed to fire in their two games in Phoenix, and with Chris Paul dominating the series, the Nuggets are finding it tough to stay competitive.
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Philadelphia 76ers @ Atlanta Hawks (Game 3) – 7:30pm EDT
The fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks return home with all they could have asked for, a 1-1 split with the East-leading Philadelphia 76ers. However, after an impressive game one victory, there has to be some alarm bells ringing after game two’s 102-118 loss.
The Hawks’ biggest lead throughout the entire game was just one point, and they led for a grand total of only 22 seconds. After scoring 35 points in game one, Trae Young managed just 21 points on Tuesday night and his inability to easily score translated to the rest of the starters. Atlanta’s starting five combined for 53 points on 21/52 (40.4%) shooting, relying on the bench to keep them in it.
Danilo Gallinari and Kevin Huerter came off the bench to combine for 41 points on 8/14 shooting from deep, scoring 21 and 20 respectively. The hot shooting from that duo was more representative of Atlanta’s game one shooting, where they made 20 threes, compared to just 11 in game two.
Given Philly finished the regular season with the second ranked defense, the effort in game two is much closer to what we expect from them on a nightly basis. One other aspect of their game that we expect is Joel Embiid’s high scoring offense.
Joel Embiid is the first Sixers player with 40 points in a playoff game since Allen Iverson in 2003 🔥 pic.twitter.com/iyCLH0euPG
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 9, 2021
Just hours after finding out he finished second in MVP voting, Embiid put up an MVP-like performance, scoring a playoff career high 40 points and adding 13 boards, two steals and a block. He had plenty of assistance as well with Tobias Harris finishing with 22 points while Seth Curry shot 5/6 from deep for his 21.
This series is very interestly poised, at 1-1, however when breaking the two games into four halves, Philly have won 3 of them. After Atlanta’s dominant first half in game one, this series has been dominated by the Sixers, who have outscored the Hawks by 188-156 over the last three halves of action.
However, the Hawks should relish getting back on their home floor, where they went 25-11 during the regular season, compared to 16-20 on the road. Even further to that, the Sixers were just 20-16 on the road during the regular season and have lost three of their last four when travelling. Atlanta seems to grow an extra leg on both ends of the floor in front of their home crowd fans and that should see them get over the line in this one.
NBA Pick – Atlanta Hawks (+102)
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Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets (Game 3) – 10pm EDT
While this week was massive for Nikola Jokic & the Denver Nuggets, with the Serbian center winning league MVP, the first two games of this series have belonged to the Phoenix Suns. A 17 point game one win was followed by a dominant performance that saw the Suns lead by as many as 31, eventually winning 123-98.
While no player reached 20 points for Phoenix, they had 10 score 7+, with six of those reaching double figures. The Suns ‘Big Three’ of Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul all had a double double with the latter having the standout performance on the night. Paul, who finished fifth in MVP voting, put up 17 points on 60% shooting, 15 assists and five rebounds, all while having 0 turnovers!
This was just the 10th time in league postseason history that a player has had 15 assists and no turnovers, it was Paul’s third. The ‘Point God’ has now dished out 26 assists through the first two games of the series and had just one turnover, showing his dominance and control.
Chris Paul is the first player with 15 PTS, 15 AST, 0 TOV in a playoff game since…
Chris Paul in 2014, who was the first player to do it since…
Chris Paul in 2008. pic.twitter.com/RNFYeCGHLL
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 10, 2021
Denver on the other hand has no control and looks lost on offense. After averaging 115.2 points per game during the regular season, seventh most in the league, the Nuggets have put up 105 and 98 through the first two games. Outside of Jokic, who had 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, no one on the Nuggets’ roster can consistently knock down shots and provide any assistance to their star.
Michael Porter Jr, who scored 25+ in three of Denver’s six opening round games, has managed just 15 and 11 points through the first two games, but has still been Denver’s second best scoring option. Will Barton returned after six weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury to give them a spark, putting up 10 points, three assists and a block, but was limited to just 16 minutes under a strict return to play plan.
Denver has clearly struggled offensively, and while they simply haven’t been hitting shots, we need to give some credit to Phoenix. The Suns finished the regular season with the 10th best defense while giving up just 108.4 points per game, equal-fifth best in the league. During the playoffs they have given up just 98.5 per game, allowing no more than 109 through their first eight games.
That defensive dominance, combined with Chris Paul getting any look that he wants, for himself or his teammates, has allowed the Suns to thrive and we don’t see that changing just because the location has changed to Denver. Phoenix is firing on all cylinders and they will be looking at this game as a must win, in order to put the Nuggets down and out.
NBA Pick – Phoenix Suns (+106)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
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