Can Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers bounce back against Trae Young's Atlanta Hawks?
Not even a career-high playoff performance from its superstar player could protect the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed from a playoff upset Sunday.
Joel Embiid put up 39 points to lead all players in Game 1 of the Philadelphia 76ers' conference semifinal series against the Atlanta Hawks. The 7-footer also hauled down nine rebounds and dished out four assists, leading his team with 38:08 played.
To make it all the more impressive, he did that while dealing with an ailing right knee.
But the Sixers still fell short, which has to be worrisome for Philly and its fans.
That knee issue doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, either, even though Embiid made it clear that he isn't going to let up.
If the Sixers get a superstar performance out of said superstar and still don't get a win, what does that mean going forward?
Well, for one, the Hawks also got a stellar display from their budding young superstar, Trae Young.
After averaging 29.2 points and 9.8 rebounds against the New York Knicks, Young's momentum from a sensational first-round series carried over to the conference semis against Philadelphia.
With 25 points in the first half, Young blitzed the Sixers en route to a 74-54 first-half margin.
It looked like the rout was on until Sixers coach Doc Rivers mixed up his defense to give Young different looks.
For the most part, it worked, at least in terms of keeping Young from going nuclear as a scorer. But as Philadelphia brought extra bodies at Young, the 22-year-old Hawks guard found his teammates, and they converted enough to make the Sixers pay.
In addition to Young's 10 second-half points, a trio of Hawks players reached the double-digit mark in scoring in the final two quarters.
Another issue for Rivers' team was the "full bench" lineup that got smoked for a stretch in the first half. For a few minutes at the end of the first quarter and the start of the second, a lineup of Matisse Thybulle, George Hill, Dwight Howard, Tyrese Maxey and Furkan Korkmaz — all non-starters — were on the floor.
They did not find much success.
How concerned should Philadelphia be about its playoff livelihood?
On "Undisputed," Shannon Sharpe said he thinks the Sixers could be in "big trouble."
"They're going to need this type of performance from Joel Embiid every single game," Sharpe said. "Because everybody that's waiting for the Hawks to cool off — I wouldn't hold my breath. … This is going to be a long series. In actuality, I would be less surprised if the Hawks won [the series] than if I saw Milwaukee beat the Nets."
Shannon Sharpe: Even with a healthy Embiid, 76ers are in "big trouble" as Hawks take Game 1 | UNDISPUTED
Of the teams remaining in the playoffs, Atlanta is tied for the fourth-best shooting percentage from behind the arc (37.3%) ahead of Monday's slate of games.
The Sixers are right on their heels at 37.2%, but the Hawks are taking 7.5 more and making 2.8 more 3-pointers than their series opponent.
As far as the oddsmakers are concerned, this series is the definition of a coin flip.
According to FOX Bet's insights, both teams are priced at -110 to win the series, with Game 1's result accounted for as of Monday.
It seems this Eastern Conference semifinal could go either way, which suggests that a lengthy series could be in store.
Considering the firepower on both sides, that might not be the worst thing in the NBA.
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