Atlanta Hawks vs. Philadelphia 76ers Game 5 Odds, Betting Trends and Picks

Tied at two games a piece, the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks head back to Philly for a pivotal Game 5. 

After coming back from down double digits in Game 4, can the Hawks take a surprising 3-2 series lead, or will the Sixers bounce back and take control back in the Eastern Conference Semifinals?

Keep reading to get BetQL Model trends and our game preview!

Philadelphia 76ers (-6.5, 223.5) vs. Atlanta Hawks - 7:30 PM EST

BetQL Model Trends and Plays:

• The Philadelphia 76ers are 10 - 2 ATS off a upset loss as a favorite this season
• Final score projection: Sixers 116 - Hawks 109.5
  
  For all of BetQL’s NBA Playoff top plays click here.
  * These are the model's ratings at the time the article was published. Star ratings can change due to line changes, injuries, and other breaking information.

The Sixers squandered a 17-point lead to Atlanta in Game 4, a blown opportunity to separate from the Hawks and take a commanding 3-1 series lead. 

Joel Embiid, who has been playing with a partially torn meniscus, was laboring through the second half, missed all 12 of his shots after halftime. Embiid went to the locker room briefly in the second quarter and admitted after the game it’s bothering him. 

The Sixers offense flows through Embiid on the block and he was dominant all series before Monday night’s second half. With his knee flaring up and only one day of rest, can we expect him to get back to his early series self? I'm not confident.

On the other end, Trae Young is now dealing with a shoulder strain, which hampered his scoring ability, shooting 30% from the field and 27% from three. However, Young was an excellent distributor, tying his career high with 18 assists. There’s no worry Young will miss Game 5, but he’s going to lean on players such as John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic -- who scored 14 and 22 points in Game 4, respectively -- to step up. 

As for Wednesday night, the Sixers are heavy favorites on the premise that Embiid is going to continue to play through his injury. He’s listed as questionable right now, but based on how the injury report has been released this series, the expectation is that he will play. 

The MVP runner up's injury concerns make me queasy backing a side in this one, but I do lean towards the under. Since the Hawks torrid shooting performance from beyond the arc in Game 1, they are shooting 31%, which is the worst clip of any team in the second round. 

Meanwhile, the Sixers offense came to a screeching halt with Embiid’s knee flaring up in the second half. What’s more impactful to me besides the team’s dismal offense -- 20% from deep and seven turnovers -- is that the pace slowed. 

The second half of Game 4 was played at what would be the slowest in the league in the regular season.

I’m going to bet into this trend of slowed play, as well as compromised offense on both ends with Atlanta’s role players going cold from deep and the Sixers playing slow, bogged down basketball with Embiid’s knee issues. 

Pick: Under 224, play to 223