Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers (28-19) take on Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (24-24) at 7:30 PM tonight at the Wells Fargo Center. This will be the first of two meetings between these squads, with the Sixers sweeping the series last season.
The 76ers are coming into this matchup with the Lakers on a two-game winning streak, most recently defeating the Spurs and Pelicans. The Sixers slept-walk through three quarters against the Pelicans, so let’s hope they come out with energy and effort early on. The home team will still be without Seth Curry (ankle), Shake Milton (back), and Ben Simmons (personal). Danny Green has been upgraded to questionable; he has been out dealing with a nagging hip injury.
The Lakers have had an up and down season thus far, and their issues have been well documented. They have dealt with major spacing issues due to roster construction and have looked to many different lineups to try to fix it. The Lakers come into tonight’s game-winning two out of their last three while on their season-long road trip. Anthony Davis has returned from his extended absence on Tuesday against the Nets and is probable for tonight’s contest.
Take a look at some things to watch for tonight:
STAY FOCUSED
The Sixers have had a habit this season of coming out in some games and not being focused and lacking energy and effort. They have lost to undermanned teams and have blown games with big leads. Let’s see if the Sixers can come out focused on the task at hand and handle business against a mediocre Lakers team at home.
CONTINUED DOMINATION
Can Joel Embiid keep up the dominance he has displayed the last six weeks? Scoring seems to come so easy to him now, and the Sixers will need him to play like an MVP in order to defeat the Lakers. The Lakers don’t have the best crop of bigs, and Anthony Davis may be on a minutes restriction, so expect Embiid to get what he wants on offense.
THE WASHED KING
LeBron James is 37 years old and in his 19th NBA season, but if someone didn’t tell you, you might not know that based on the way he is playing. LeBron James is having one of the best seasons of his career statistically and averaging the most points per game since 2009. Throughout all the issues that the Lakers have faced, the constant has been James. We haven’t seen a decline in his game yet, and we may not. You can expect James to get his and try to put on a show in Philadelphia.
You can catch all of the action on TNT and 97.5 at 7:30 PM.
