The perpetually shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers will host the red-hot Houston Rockets in Philly on Wednesday night, hoping to cool them off and get back into the win column. The Rockets have won eight of their last ten games on their way to the third-best record in the Western Conference, while the Sixers have lost eight of their last ten games and sit just one game above the Wizards for the worst record in the league.
Sixers game information
Who: Houston Rockets (13-6) at Philadelphia 76ers (3-13)
When: 7:00 pm EST
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass, AT&T SportsNet Southwest
Latest on the Sixers
The Sixers are again without Joel Embiid and Paul George, in addition to Kyle Lowry, for tonight’s game against the Rockets. George continues to deal with the hyperextended knee that he re-injured last week against the Grizzlies. Embiid, who’s been dealing with his “injury management” plan to start the season, experienced some swelling in his knee last week and remains out. Kyle Lowry has been battling a hip injury and remains out, while Caleb Martin is questionable for the game with a back issue.
The injuries have played a big part in the way the Sixers’ season has gone so far, with the above-mentioned players missing most of the start of the season, in addition to guard Tyrese Maxey having missed some games. In their absence, rookie Jared McCain has stepped up after getting limited minutes to start the season and has averaged 24.3 points per game over his last nine. The Sixers have found a perfect partner for Maxey in the backcourt, with both having exceptional speed, shooting, and ball movement.
The real issue for the Sixers is that they can’t seem to get the team they envisioned on the court to play together. The team was expected to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference with the addition of George, Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon, and Guershon Yabusele, yet it hasn’t happened for them. Head coach Nick Nurse has failed, so far, to get the team to operate well without Embiid and George, which should have been an off-season priority, given the two players’ injury history.
The season so far has been a huge failure, and despite having games against the Hornets and Pistons upcoming, they also have back-to-back games against the Magic and face the Bulls, Cavaliers, and Spurs over the next couple of weeks. With no clear picture of the two stars returning to action, the Sixers could be looking at a lost season if they can’t figure something out quickly.
Latest on the Rockets
The Rockets are in third place in the Western Conference and despite a loss to the Trail Blazers on Saturday, have been mostly on a roll over the last month. They will be a little bit tired, having won in overtime against the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Tuesday night, 117-111. The Rockets have Alperen Sengun leading the team in scoring at 18.5 points per game, followed closely by Jalen Green at 18.2 and Fred VanVleet at 15.2 points per game.
The big three on the Rockets are leading a team that has seven players scoring in double digits and guard Dillon Brooks shooting a career-best 40.6% on his three-point attempts. While the team rests in the middle of the pack, offensively, they’re the second-best defensive team in the league with a 103.8 defensive rating, trailing just the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Rockets are also one of the top rebounding teams in the league and turn the ball over less than most teams in the league. While they don’t have a true “star” in the sense of the Sixers having Embiid, George, and Maxey, they have a team that’s come together very well and is doing enough of the little things to make them a very tough opponent for anyone in the league.
What to watch for tonight
At this point in the season, despite only being 16 games into the season, the Sixers are awfully close to the edge of a cliff that they’re slowly slipping off. They can’t get their star players on the floor, they’re not clear about what is actually wrong with their biggest star, and the coach doesn’t seem to have any answers on how to manage the squad that he’s able to put on the floor. With each passing day, the Embiid situation is becoming more and more critical, as the former MVP has only appeared in four games the entire season so far.
When Embiid was on the court, he didn’t look at all like the player who had dominated the league on both ends of the court for the past few years. Despite missing time each season, Embiid has always been a hugely impactful player when on the court. This season, his last game played was the closest anyone has seen to that player when he scored 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Grizzlies. Even during that game, Embiid had too many shots hit off the front of the rim, and it still looked like he was out of place on the floor.
The Sixers’ only hope going forward is that coach Nick Nurse is able to quickly, and by quickly, I mean tonight, a strategy and gameplay that will maximize the players he has on the court. Playing to the strengths of McCain and Maxey while utilizing Kelly Oubre Jr., Yabusele, Martin, and even maybe KJ Martin and Ricky Council IV, inject some youth and speed into the team. They’ll need near-perfect games from Maxey and McCain, while the rest of the squad needs to be at their absolute best, with no exceptions. If they’re not able to have it figured out to start tonight, the Sixers season will continue to slip away with each passing day.
