Atlanta vs Philadelphia: The Hawks will not be helped by Young or full stands of fans

The Hawks are doing great. They came away from Philadelphia with a home-court advantage. But can Nate McMillan's team build on their home success? Part of the answer will come in the third game of the series. We'll pick a few options to bet on at once.

Atlanta rips second top defense - Young steps out of Doncic's shadow

For the past 3 seasons, it has been commonly said that Trae Young would forever be in the shadow of Luka Doncic. That has certainly been the case. The Slovene, in particular, already made his playoff debut last season, something Trey could only dream about. Well, now that Luka has gone on vacation, having fallen in the first round for the second time in a row, Young battles the winner of the East, the Philadelphia 76ers, in the conference semifinals.

And how! Understandably, Trey still lacks stability, but he's looking more confident than Doncic at the end of games. In the first-round series against the Knicks, Atlanta had an easy outing, and Young's work in the closing minutes of Game 1 in Philadelphia was largely a factor in their eventual success - just 10 points in the second half, but 5 assists without a single loss. In addition, Young took on far fewer Luka snaps, distributing his shots evenly throughout the lineup. Overall, the Hawks point guard is averaging 28.9 points per game and a magnificent 10.0 assists on just 3.3 losses in seven playoff games. Chris Paul can end his career with peace of mind.

No doubt about it, Trey has put together a great team. Six players are scoring more than 10 points a game in this playoffs - Bogdanovic, Hurter, Hunter, Collins, Capela, Gallinari. In short, just a ton of options to move the ball.

Will Philadelphia add to its defense again as the series progresses?

The Philadelphia 76ers finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in defensive efficiency. How else could it be? With defensive genius Ben Simmons and a set of very high-quality personnel players like Matisse Thybulle or Danny Green. The class of Philadelphia's defense was confirmed by the first-round series with Washington, where Beal, Westbrook, and company could only marginally outscore their opponent's pass rush, and that at the expense of an unnecessary Game 4 with the score 0-3 in the series.
will be adding to the defense again as the series progresses?

In the second round, the task is more difficult. In fact, the Sixers missed 128 points in the first game against Atlanta. Trae Young and his teammates did whatever they wanted. In the second game, the Phils got it right, allowing just 108. What's the point? Doc Rivers miscalculated the rotation. The starting five finished with a nice plus in both games, but the backups just blew the first game. George Hill, Matisse Thybulle, and Shake Milton got more minutes in the second. That's all it took... Will the 76ers bench be a factor in Game 3 or 4 of the series?

Experts betting tips

After losing the first game, Philadelphia showed its best qualities in the second. In fact, they came close to a comeback in the first game as well, scoring 12 of their 16 points from a four-quarter deficit. If the 76ers continue to play as good a defense as they did in Game 2; if Joel Embiid, who scored 79 points in two games, continues to torment the offense, then neither Trae Young nor the home crowd can help Atlanta. The potential of the Pennsylvanians is simply much higher on both ends of the floor. The prediction is a win for Philadelphia.

Betting options:

• The victory of Philadelphia in the match at odds of about 1.83;
• Philadelphia Handicap under 1.5 with an index of around 1.909;
• Total points Over (224.5) at 1.91.