Sixers head to Atlanta with just a dismal dozen games remaining
Tonight’s game in Atlanta begins an incredibly soft stretch of the schedule which may determine the Sixers’ lottery fortunes.
Mercifully, we are entering the home stretch of the season with the Philadelphia 76ers having just 12 games left on the regular season slate. The Tankathon watch is getting hot and heavy, with the Sixers currently sporting the sixth-worst record in the Eastern Conference, nestled a half-game “ahead” of Brooklyn and a full game “behind” Toronto. These final dozen games will determine whether the Sixers have a 63.9 percent, 45.8 percent, or 31.9 percent chance of retaining their top-six-protected first-round pick. Philadelphia better strap on its tank helmets.
Tonight’s opponent, the Atlanta Hawks, played last night, hosting the Warriors and coming away with a 124-115 victory. Atlanta now sits at 34-36, good for seventh place in the Eastern Conference, meaning they’re likely looking at a couple cracks at getting a win during the Play-In Tournament to secure a spot in the playoffs. Granted, Jalen Johnson’s season-ending injury was unfortunate, but have the Hawks overtaken the Chicago Bulls as the league’s preeminent “treadmill of mediocrity” team? I guess it’s tough to throw stones from inside the glass house that the Sixers have built, but I wonder if Hawks fans have caught Play-In Tournament fever.
The Sixers’ injury report for tonight is as lengthy as we’ve become accustomed to, with a reminder that the below group does not include the handful of guys already deemed out for the season. The only thing I ask is that Philadelphia’s medical staff gathers up enough common sense to not allow Tyrese Maxey to take the floor using 8.5 fingers for the rest of the year.
