76ers' Keys to Reclaiming Home-Court Advantage vs. Hawks in 2021 NBA Playoffs

It took the Philadelphia 76ers all of the 2020-21 NBA season to claim home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference.

It took them 48 minutes to lose it in their series against a fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks team led by the flame-throwing Trae Young and a roster re-ignited by the midseason coaching change from Lloyd Pierce to Nate McMillan.

Splitting the first two games of any series is never reason to think about panicking, but the Sixers need to tread carefully as this battle shifts to Atlanta. Philadelphia needs to swipe at least one game (ideally both) on the Hawks' home floor, both to help control this series and to leave the fuel tanks as full as possible for future tussles with the Brooklyn Nets-Milwaukee Bucks winner or whichever club comes out of the West.

The following is a three-step process for the Sixers to reclaim control of this series.

Keep Feeding the Big Fella

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If the first two games have taught us anything about these teams, it's that the Hawks have zero answers for Joel Embiid.

The MVP runner-up has run all over Atlanta in this series. As good as he was in the regular season, he has leveled up his dominance against the Hawks. He's at 39.5 points per game on 54.3/37.5/83.9 shooting so far, and the rest of his stat line still has room for 11.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals.

"Obviously he's very skilled," Hawks center Clint Capela told reporters. "He's one of the best at his position."

The Sixers need to keep following Embiid's lead to take down Atlanta's 18th-ranked defense. He's in such a groove that force-feeding him touches over and over again keeps producing the right results, whether he's scoring out of the post, splashing in jumpers or spotting open teammates. It's hard to think of an adjustment for the Hawks that would force the Sixers to change their Embiid-heavy approach.

Shooters Making Shots

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As soon as president of basketball operations Daryl Morey took over his post last fall, he set about improving his club's spacing. The Sixers aren't overloaded with snipers, but they have a few ignitable ones now, led by Seth Curry and Danny Green.

If Philadelphia's shooters can keep opposing defenses honest, it's usually game over for the opposition. The more attention they require, the less the defense can give Embiid and, to a lesser extent, Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons. If the Sixers' stars have room to operate, their talent can take over and the triumphs pile up.

The Sixers' success often comes down to whether or not their shooters are finding their mark. In the regular season, Philly averaged 12.1 threes on 39.8 percent shooting in its wins compared to 9.5 on 32.1 in its losses.

The pattern has repeated itself in this series. The Sixers had 10 threes and a 34.5 splash rate in their Game 1 loss. In Game 2, they bumped those numbers to 12 makes and 46.2 percent, as Curry and Shake Milton combined to shoot 9-of-11 from long distance.

Have Trae Young Seeing Simmons and Embiid in His Sleep

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Atlanta employed a top-10 offense this season and showed it can overwhelm opponents from nearly every level of its attack. Nine different players averaged double digits for the Hawks this season, and even if you remove the injured De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish, that still leaves seven different scorers who can pop for 20-plus points on any given night.

The scoring depth is scary, but Trae Young is what makes this team potentially terrifying. He is the head of this offense, as everything runs through him. Even with the offensive balance, he averaged over seven points more than the next highest scorer (25.3, John Collins was second at 17.6) and nearly three times as many assists as the second table-setter (9.4, Kevin Huerter was next with 3.5).

In Game 1, Young was the puzzle Philadelphia couldn't solve. He tallied team-highs of 35 points and 10 assists while shooting 11-of-23 from the field, 4-of-11 from three and a perfect 9-of-9 at the line. Sixers veteran Danny Green, a three-time champion with 152 career playoff games under his belt, looked powerless to contain Young.

Game 2 was different. Young still put up numbers (21 points and 11 assists), but he lost the efficiency. He was only 6-of-16 from the field and 1-of-7 from deep. The Sixers altered their scheme, utilizing Simmons and Matisse Thybulle more but also getting more aggressive with their pick-and-roll coverage.

Philly should continue throwing big, long bodies in Young's path and making him work for every basket. So far in this series, he's a combined 2-of-10 when matched up with Simmons or Embiid.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.

Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.