Tonight, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks will engage in a Game 7 matchup for the ages. The 76ers are the clear favorites to win the series although the Hawks have been sneaky all series long. There is a belief that the Hawks could pull off the upset, and if they want to do it, they will need some top-tier performances from Trae Young and John Collins.
In Game 6, Collins was able to get into Joel Embiid's head as he dunked on him in one of the best posters we've seen all playoffs. Later in the game, Embiid ended up falling on Collins which led to an altercation between the two where Embiid used his size to intimidate the Hawks star. While it was a harmless run-in, the NBA has now decided to fine Embiid $35,000 due to the fact that he escalated the situation.
Embiid has a pretty hefty contract so the fine certainly won't hurt his bank account that badly. Regardless, this does seem to be an annoying and unnecessary punishment given the circumstances. Players have run-ins all the time with one another, and it was simply a heat-of-the-moment ordeal that ended up harming nobody.
With Game 7 just hours away, we're sure both Embiid and Collins will be ready to up the intensity as a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals is on the line.
