The Philadelphia 76ers (11-10) take on the Boston Celtics (11-10) tonight at 7:30PM. Each team has been inconsistent early on this season and looks to begin to gain some ground in the standings.
The 76ers will be starting a four-game road trip in Boston against the Celtics. They were 1-1 in their last two games at home, winning against the Magic on Monday evening. The Sixers were on the road for 13 days before returning back to Wells Fargo Saturday evening and will now be away from home for another 8 days. The Sixers will have their full roster (minus Ben Simmons) available for only the 8th time this season.
The Boston Celtics are coming in 2-2 in their last four games, with wins over the Rockets and Raptors and losses against the Nets and Spurs. The Celtics have had their own early-season turmoil with internal issues between Marcus Smart and young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. There were also rumors that the Sixers and Celtics had trade discussions surrounding Ben Simmons. The Celtics look to have the majority of their rotation available for tonight’s game, although Jaylen Brown is questionable due to injury maintenance.
Take a look at some things to watch for tonight:
Team Chemistry
The starting lineup looks to regain some of the early chemistry it had. With the lineup fluctuating due to injuries and health and safety protocol, Doc Rivers has played 11 different starting lineups.
Now that Embiid and Harris back in the fold, Tyrese Maxey has to find a way to fit back in the pecking order of the offense. He was the first option a week ago, and now he is just trying to fit in and make sure Joel Embiid gets his touches. As they play more games together, they will get their chemistry back, but Maxey must stay aggressive.
Bench Mob
The Sixers bench has improved from last season, but these last few weeks, main contributors haven’t performed well. Furkan Korkmaz has been downright bad for about three weeks now, Shake Milton has been inconsistent, and Andre Drummond’s energy level fluctuates every night.
The play of these guys needs to improve, so the starters won’t have to go beyond their minutes load just to pick up wins. If Korkmaz continues to struggle, look for Isaiah Joe to come in and steal some minutes.
You can catch tonight’s action on NBC Sports Philadelphia or NBA TV at 7:30PM.
