Scene Setter:

The 76ers (1-25) wrap up their three-game road trip at Philips Arena on Wednesday at 8:00 PM EST, taking on the struggling Atlanta Hawks (14-12). In the previous two stops along their current trek, the Sixers faced the third and second-best teams in the Eastern Conference, respectively, in the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls. Atlanta finished first in the conference a season ago, but has gone 7-11 since compiling a seven-game winning streak during the first two weeks of the new campaign.

On Monday at United Center, the Sixers were blitzed by Chicago in the middle of the second half. The Bulls strung together a pivotal 26-1 run that extended their lead from three to 28 points, in what ultimately ended up being a 115-96 defeat for the Sixers. Jahlil Okafor, appearing in Chicago for the first time since turning pro, produced 22 points and eight rebounds. Tony Wroten tacked on 12 points, his highest total in four outings since returning from a right knee ACL tear.

Atlanta is enduring a three-game slide, its longest regular season skid since the final three outings of the 2014-2015 slate. The quality of competition the Hawks have faced over the course of this rut, however, should be noted. In taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and Miami Heat in the last six days (all three teams have winning percentages above .600), Atlanta’s had its work cut out for itself. Case in point, the Hawks were outscored by a combined margin of 47 points their past two tilts. Forward Paul Millsap, a two-time All-Star, paces Atlanta with 18.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Kyle Korver, the NBA’s leader in three-point field goal percentage the past two years, has converted 39.7 percent of his perimeter shots so far, which ranks 33rd in the league.

Series:

The Sixers capped last season’s four-game set versus Atlanta with a 92-84 victory on March 7th at The Center. Prior to that win, the Hawks had beaten the Sixers in seven straight match-ups. The winning streak was Atlanta’s longest over the Sixers since the Hawks ran off nine wins in a row in the early 1970s. Looking back on the March triumph that the Sixers posted over Atlanta, Nerlens Noel registered a double-double with 11 points and 17 rebounds. He also came up with five steals. Hollis Thompson contributed 19 points, hitting five of his seven three-point tries.



Subplots:

Tony Wroten goes fast, not just when he plays, but, as he said recently, in many other aspects of his life as well. For that reason, it should be no surprise he’s been itching to begin competing at full speed, without a restriction on his playing time. Monday night at United Center was the first instance in which the fourth year point-guard was given clearance to step onto the floor no holds barred.



“It’s a great feeling, great opportunity to actually be back 100 percent with my team to help them, help us get better,” said Wroten, who has appeared in four contests so far since returning from his right knee ACL tear.



The Seattle native scored a season-best 12 points in 18 minutes versus the Bulls. Nine of his points, however, were generated in the span of 79 seconds during an 11-0 spurt that propelled the Sixers in front.



“I wasn’t coming back until I was mentally, physically, and spiritually there,” Wroten said about his rehab approach. “Now to be all the way there, and be off minute restrictions, it’s a great feeling.”



Wroten recognizes that it might take him a few outings to get rid of some rust. He went four for 11 from the field in the Windy City.



“I got to realize I’ve been gone 10, 11 months,” said Wroten. “It’s not all going to come back in one game, or two games, or three games. It’s going to take weeks, and a few days. You just got to be patient. And the good thing is, I’m always confident, and I feel great.”



In recent days, Jahlil Okafor has projected a sense of calm, poise, and easiness, whether it be on the court, or in other settings with teammates, friends, or family. The third overall selection in this past June’s NBA Draft has scored at least 22 points in his last four games, while sinking 48.0 percent of his shots. “I have everything that I need,” Okafor said before Monday’s homecoming visit to United Center in Chicago. “If I need help, I can just ask somebody. I can ask our coach [Brett Brown], I can ask our GM [Sam Hinkie]. I have everything that I need.” By a wide margin, Okafor paces all members of the 2015 rookie class in scoring, averaging 17.8 points per game. The next closest person to him on the first-year player points list is Karl-Anthony Towns, who generates 15.0 points per game. “Living my dream,” Okafor said. “It’s been a lot of fun. It’s my rookie campaign, working on improving, and having a lot of good days. And Coach always talks about good days adding up, and that’s what I’ve been doing.” Okafor turned 20 years old on Tuesday, which was a travel day for the Sixers.



For all 12 years that Brett Brown was a member of the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff, Mike Budenholzer was an assistant for Gregg Popovich as well. Brown and Budenholzer each left Texas during the 2013 off-season after accepting NBA head coaching opportunities. Brown landed with the Sixers, while Budenholzer linked up with the Atlanta Hawks. Brown and Budenholzer were both on San Antonio’s sidelines during Malik Rose’s eight-year stint with the Spurs. The Overbrook High School and Drexel University product acted as the analyst for Sixers’ television broadcasts the past four seasons. In August, following Budenhozler’s promotion to the role of Hawks’ President of Basketball Operations, Rose was tapped to be the franchise’s new Manager of Basketball Operations. Rose, who had also hosted shows on the SiriusXM NBA Radio channel, originally confirmed the news via Twitter:







Rose was spotted at the Sixers’ November 16th home game against the Dallas Mavericks. Atlanta was in the area, playing in Brooklyn the next night.



Sixers Health Report:

Carl Landry (right wrist)

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