As the Atlanta Hawks prepare to face off with the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals beginning Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center, both Hawks players and coaches welcome the challenges that await them.
One of the biggest questions heading into the series, is about the health of the 76ers MVP candidate Joel Embiid. When healthy the 7-foot Embiid is a matchup nightmare for the Hawks frontcourt rotation.
But the health and availability of Embiid for Game 1 on Sunday and throughout the remainder of the series in the million-dollar question with just over 24 hours to tipoff remaining.
Hawks coaches and players have repeatedly expressed that they are preparing as if Embiid will indeed be on the floor come Sunday afternoon. So with that in mind, the question now becomes,
How do the Hawks defend Embiid?
Atlanta Hawks power forward John Collins joined Dukes and Bell Friday afternoon, and spoke about the challenge Embiid will present in the Eastern Conference Semis.
Collins was very complementary when speaking about Embiid, recognizing his size and his ability to shoot and how Embiid uses his body will pose a great challenge for himself and teammate Clint Capela as the primary defenders.
Collins went on to state that he looks forward to the occasions when he will face Embiid, one-on-one. He also emphasized that as a team they will need to try to keep Embiid out of the paint and force him to shoot as many jump shots as possible.
Sounds like, GAME recognizes GAME, as the Hawks will once again try to steal home-court advantage away from a higher-seeded opponent just as they did in Round 1 versus New York.
Is it Sunday yet?