Philadelphia 76ers @ Atlanta Hawks
Over/Under: 221
Spread: PHI -3
Game 6
After an epic comeback in Game 5, the series shifts back to Atlanta as the Hawks look to close things out tonight.
Injuries:
*Joel Embiid – Questionable (knee)
*Trae Young – Probable (shoulder)
*Danny Green – Out
*De’Andre Hunter – Out
*Cam Reddish - Out
Player Breakdown:
Joel Embiid – We know that Embiid has been dealing with a knee injury, but it’s not like it has slowed the center down. He played a series high 39 minutes on Wednesday and with a 37-point, 13 rebound performance (along with five assists and four blocked shots) you would never know there was anything ailing him. It was the best game of the postseason for Embiid and if the 76ers want to force a Game Seven, they will need a repeat of that performance out of their superstar. With four games of at least 61 FD points, Embiid certainly isn’t having any issues asserting his dominance against Atlanta.
Trae Young – I think it’s pretty clear that even though Young is listed on the injury report, there shouldn’t be any concerns with his shoulder. It also shouldn’t be surprising that Young was a large part of Atlanta’s comeback in Game Five as he scored 39 points in leading the Hawks to victory. Young also added seven assists, but he has been putting his full assortment of skills on display with three games of double digit assists against Philadelphia with a high of 18 two games ago. He continues to make this postseason his own personal coming out party for those who weren’t truly aware of what he is capable of.
Ben Simmons – From a salary cap perspective, it really is a startling drop from Embiid/Young to everyone else. Simmons does a lot on the court but his scoring has gone from four to 18 points so far this series which makes it quite difficult to rely on him from a DFS perspective. From floor to ceiling we are talking about a 25-to-30-point swing for Simmons which could look nice in a GPP lineup but also carries a fair amount of risk and should be avoided in cash games. The good news is that he usual ends up in the mid-30’s as far as minutes go so there is ample opportunity to fill the stat sheet.
John Collins – Of the two Atlanta big men, Collins has been the more consistent so far against Philadelphia. Collins is coming off a 19-point, 11 rebound performances in Game Five and he has really stepped up as a legit option for Young. Capela on the other hand hasn’t had more than 12 points against Philadelphia and has only reached double figures twice.
Tobias Harris – What happened? After being a legitimate offensive threat through the first four games of the series, Harris scored just four points on Wednesday after four straight games of at least 20 points. Harris is too good of a player to have another dud, and Philadelphia needs a rebound out of him in order to see Game Seven.
Seth Curry – We know that Curry can score, but he is stepping up front and center so far this postseason. Philadelphia’s loss on Wednesday can’t be pinned on the guard as he scored 36 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. Not to pour cold water on Curry’s offensive explosion, but we can’t go chasing a repeat performance. Either way, we can expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 points and the bulk of Curry’s value will be come from his offense.
Bogdan Bogdanovic – It wasn’t a great day for Atlanta’s wing players as both Bogdanovic (six points in 27 minutes) and Kevin Huerter (scoreless in 27 minutes) struggled. Of the two, Bogdanovic will be the one to target as he consistently been performing at a higher level. Lou Williams did step up on Wednesday as he played a postseason high of 22 minutes while scoring 15 points and keying Atlanta’s comeback. We know that Williams can score in bunches and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Hawks lean on him again.
Danilo Gallinari – Gallinari might be the better mid-range option for Atlanta as the Hawks have been leaning on him more so against Philadelphia and he has been coming through both offensively and on the boards.
Furkan Korkmaz – With Danny Green out, the natural thought would be to see who will step up in his place. Korkmaz moved into the starting lineup and played 28 minutes, but with eight points and five rebounds, he didn’t do all that much to really standout. Matisse Thybulle didn’t do as much with his 23 minutes (six points, one rebound, and one assist) and I would look Korkmaz’s way again tonight if you want a piece of this.
Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Clippers
Over/Under: 219
Spread: UTA -1
Game 6
The Clippers were able to overcome the loss of Kawhi Leonard to come out victorious in Game Five and now they travel back home in attempt to close out the series and move on to face Phoenix in the Western Conference Finals. We will have to keep an eye on Mike Conley’s status to see if he plays for the first time this series.
Injuries:
*Kawhi Leonard – Out
*Donovan Mitchell – Questionable (ankle)
*Mike Conley – Doubtful (hamstring)
Player Breakdown:
Paul George – With Leonard sidelined, George certainly stepped up in a bit way and made a believer out of me. It’s not like George was a non-factor previously, he was coming off back-to-back 31-point games, but with 37 points and 16 rebounds he took things to the next level. George will continue to be the go-to option for the Clippers but I’m not sure we should plan for a repeat on the boards. With five turnovers on Wednesday, that is something we will have to continue to be aware of with George as well.
Donovan Mitchell - The ankle injury will remain as something in the back of our minds but it hasn’t limited Mitchell from a playing time perspective yet this series. We are also operating under the assumption that Conley will once again be out so Mitchell does get a bump in that respect but it isn’t anything we haven’t seen. Offensively, he did struggle on Wednesday scoring just 21 points after scoring at least 30 in the first four games against the Clippers but he should bounce back while adding about five rebounds and five assists.
Rudy Gobert – After grabbing 20 rebounds in Game Two, Gobert has been more pedestrian on the boards which has limited his upside in the last three games. Gobert will still end up with a double-double, but he doesn’t bring much in the way of offensive upside (his 17 points on Wednesday was the high mark for the series). With Embiid playing tonight, we don’t need to worry about forcing in Gobert at center as he doesn’t exactly come cheaply and he isn’t blocking shots to the level we need to be successful.
Marcus Morris – Morris benefited from Leonard’s absence on Wednesday as he put up 25 points. That offense outburst shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise as it was on the heels of a 24-point performance in Game Four so we know he is capable of repeating it. With 40 minutes of playing time, opportunity won’t be an issue either for Morris.
Joe Ingles – Ingles has been running the point with Conley out and it hasn’t come at the expense of his offense. After three straight games of 19 points each, Ingles put up 12 points on Wednesday to go along with six rebounds and six assists. He now has four straight games with between 30 and 32 FD points as the perfect measure of consistency.
Nicolas Batum – Batum is going to get all of the playing time he can handle once again tonight and has proven to be a capable contributor throughout the series against Utah. The forward has seven rebounds in three straight games and with Leonard out, he will have ample chance to fill the box score.
Reggie Jackson – Jackson has been up and down so far this postseason when it comes to offensive consistency, but we know that the skill set is there. Now with Leonard sidelined, the Clippers will have make a concerted effort to lean on Jackson and he came through on Wednesday picking up 22 points in 36 minutes of action.
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