Hawks Shut Down Embiid To Tie Series! Are The Jazz In Serious Trouble? 6.14.21
It’s a Monday night of NBA basketball and we have two game 4’s on the schedule tonight.
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs (5) Atlanta Hawks
Philadelphia 76ers (2-2)
The 76ers led by 18 in the first half. Their defense was all over the Hawks as they couldn’t get going offensively and the offensive Big 3 of Harris, Embiid, and Curry combined for 37 points in that first half as the 76ers were cruising by the Hawks. But then their offense, mainly Embiid, shut down in the 2nd half. Embiid was 0/12 in the 2nd half, maybe bothered by that right knee meniscus injury. Philly shot just 32% in the 2nd half and watched as the Hawks pulled away to even the series at 2-2.
That first half was how Games 2 and 3 went. Simmons and Thybulle did a great job shading Trae Young in the pick and rolls and Embiid contested his shots well as Young was 3/12 from the floor. The Hawks went 33% from the floor in that first half as Philly hit 7 3’s and dominated. They led by 18 at one point but then things just fell apart in that 2nd half because of the Embiid struggles.
Embiid is obviously the leader of their offense and he had been dominating Capela so far in this series. But in this 2nd half, it was either the knee, good defense, bad shot selection, maybe all 3? He was just off. He was 0/7 from the field in the 3rd but my problem was that he took all jumpshots. 0/2 from 3 and then 0/5 from mid-range. None of his shots were in the restricted zone, he was settling and missing.
The Hawks outscored Philly by 11 in the 3rd and the lead was just two in the 4th. The offense continued to struggle. Embiid couldn’t make anything and the Hawks went on a 7-0 run take a 3-point lead with 49.6 seconds left. With 17 seconds left, the 76ers were down by one. They went to Embiid who just blew the open layup. He just missed and it was open. But he missed and Atlanta won.
The 76ers blew this game because they couldn’t score and now instead of it being 3-1, it’s 2-2.
Embiid was 0/12 in the 2nd half, 4/20 overall. He was awful. Tobias Harris had 20 points, another good game. But he only got 5 shots in the 2nd half, only 2 in the 4th quarter. Far too low for him, especially with no De’Andre Hunter in this series. Curry had 17 but did most his damage in the first half.
Simmons and Korkmaz were good enough offensively, Simmons did most of his work guarding Trae Young. The bench was solid, although 7 shots for Matisse Thybulle? Not great.
The 76ers lost this game on their own accord with a terrible 2nd half. No real sugarcoat here. They have to win Game 5 and get Embiid healthy and back in rhythm overwise they might lose this series.
(Embiid’s 0/12 2nd half was the most attempts in a half without a make over the last 25 postseasons, making it the worst shooting half in the last 25 years of playoff basketball. Yikes).
Atlanta Hawks (2-2)
Finding a way to win. That’s what Atlanta needed to do in this game, but it wasn’t looking good when they were down 18 in the first half. But they found a way to win this game. The name of the game? Embiid defense. Capela did a much better job keeping Embiid out of the paint and the Hawks came back to win this game even with Trae Young struggled and Atlanta shooting 33% from the floor in the first half. Impressive to say the least.
That first half was ugly. Trae Young was 3/10 and John Collins was 2/8. The Hawks shot 33% from the floor and they couldn’t stop Philly, who hit 7 3’s in the first half and got 37 combined from Harris, Embiid, and Curry. It was ugly and it seemed like when they were down 17, the game was over.
But the Hawks refused to give up. They held Embiid to 0/7 shooting in the 3rd and Philly had just 20 points in the 3rd. John Collins got going inside a bit and the Hawks trailed by just two entering the 4th.
The 4th was slow offensively for both sides and the Hawks trailed by 4 with 2:44 left. But then they went on a 7-0 run, a Collins 3 and 4 straight points from Young gave them the lead. They held a one-point lead with 17 seconds left and then Embiid just missed the layup, making him 0/12 in the 2nd half as the Hawks survived to tie this series at 2-2.
Trae Young struggled, but he still had 25 points and 18 assists, very good game as a playmaker for Young. Bogdanovic had 24, Collins was solid with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Capela was great on Embiid on the 2nd half but I love what Nate McMillan did with his rotations.
Kevin Huerter started in place of Soloman Hill, who wasn’t good when he started in Games 2 and 3. Huerter hit a couple of 3’s, much better as a starter. Okungwu played 6 minutes but he had 2 blocks. Gallinari and Williams were ok but that Huerter adjustment was big.
The Hawks scraped out a big-time win to tie this series as they came back from 17 points to keep their season alive. They now have a best of 3 series with the 76ers as they try and pull off the upset.
(1) Utah Jazz vs (4) LA Clippers
Utah Jazz (2-2)
Yeah, Utah’s in trouble. The Clippers are just loading up on Mitchell and then zoning up everywhere else, hardly moving as they can just easily contest 3-PT shots. They aren’t having to work and Utah isn’t moving the ball. Bad shots, no fluidity, and now their defense is swiss cheese. Without a secondary ball handler like Mike Conley, don’t see this series changing.
The Jazz need to move the ball more and get better shots. But I just don’t see them winning this series unless Mike Conley comes back. I was never a fan of Utah because what they did offensively was so simple and now you’re seeing the flaws in their modern offense.
Defensively Gobert is useless with the 5-out offense. He can’t run out to the shooters on the perimeter when the ball is swung and he’s only really good when Zubac is on the floor. The bench is awful as Jordan Clarkson is taking stupid shot after stupid shot, 3/12 in this game.
The Jazz need Conley back like I said, but I don’t know if they can adjust from this paired with the fact that PG and Kawhi are out for blood. I doubt this series is anything by Clippers in 6.
LA Clippers (2-2)
What is this? The Clippers dominating a team using an excellent gameplan? Impossible. But they did it. The gameplan was great again by Ty Lue and the Clippers routed Utah again. Their defense just lasered in on Mitchell and they did a good job contesting shooters. They shut down Jordan Clarkson and Rudy Gobert down low as they have the Jazz’s number. Even Donovan Mitchell is struggling now after dominating the first two games.
Offensively, the shooting has been great with the smaller lineups that expose Gobert and Kawhi and PG have been incredibly aggressive. If the Clippers do this the rest of the way, aggressive, urgent play? I find it hard to believe the Suns can beat them.
They just have to keep this up, this defensive pressure and offensive aggressiveness. It’s that simple, keep doing this. I don’t know why a 0-2 hole brings out the best in this team, but hey, whatever works. I expect Clippers in 6 with the way things are going. I just don’t see them losing if they continue to play like this.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 2 Games Tonight? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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