After a day break for Thanksgiving, the Philadelphia 76ers (12-6) look to shake their road woes as they travel to New York to take on the Knicks (4-14). The Sixers are expected to play potentially without three starters Friday night at 7:30 at Madison Square Garden.
Coverage will begin at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Radio coverage will be on 97.5 The Fanatic.
Despite the injuries, the Sixers are still seven-point favorites with the over/under set at 208.
First meeting
The Sixers held off the Knicks 109-104 back on November 20th.
“Hold me back, fam!” 76ers announcer Marc Zumoff exclaimed on the TV call as Ben Simmons hit the first three of his young career that night.
The Sixers displayed a solid, well-rounded team performance. Embiid was the Sixers leading scorer and rebounder, with 23 points and 12 boards. Simmons led the way with 13 assists.
Injuries
Per Keith Pompey, the Sixers are battling the injury bug. Three starters could be out tonight, as well as Kyle O’Quinn.
Expect Simmons to take the court to start, but if the Sixers pull away, Brett Brown should give him fewer minutes. Josh Richardson is not expected to play but did participate in this morning’s shootaround.
The Shayok era begins
Due to the all-so-familiar injury trend for Philadelphia, they officially have called up Marial Shayok from the Delaware Blue Coats.
The 6’5 guard/forward swingman has been dominant for the Blue Coats. The former Iowa State Cyclone is coming off an injury to his right quad, however, was unstoppable in his four games for Delaware. In 31.2 minutes a night, the big man was averaging 29.5 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
Expect Shayok to play some about 15 minutes off of the Sixers bench tonight, due to Horford and O’Quinn both being out.
Prediction
A mere nine days ago, the Sixers allowed Marcus Morris to drop 22 points but held rookie RJ Barrett to a mere eight.
The Knicks are a far inferior team to Philadelphia, and the Sixers bench can hold off New York even with their bench. As long as Embiid doesn’t allow Morris to take him out of the game via foul trouble or fights, Philadelphia should get back on track and win on the road. Sixers win in a low scoring matchup, 102-93.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
