The Sixers will take on the Chicago Bulls today in an early afternoon matchup on the road. It will be the first contest between the two teams, who have both faced up-and-down seasons, injured stars, and ever-changing rotations. Read on for what to expect today.
Sixers/Bulls Game Information:
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (6-15) at Chicago Bulls (10-14)
When: Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1p.m. EST
Where: United Center, Chicago IL
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Injury Report:
Sixers: OUT: Adem Bona (left knee contusion). QUESTIONABLE: Joel Embiid (left knee injury management)
Bulls: OUT: Patrick Williams (left foot injury management). PROBABLE: Lonzo Ball (left knee injury management), Nikola Vučević (low back tightness), Coby White (left ankle sprain).
If any team can empathize with what the Sixers are going through right now, it’s the Chicago Bulls. The loss of Lonzo Ball has kept the team from securing a playoff berth for the past two seasons. Even with his cautious yet optimistic return this year, the 10-14 Bulls are still looking to find their identity both when Ball is and is not on the court.
What’s more, Chicago’s swap of Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey has not exactly worked out in their favor – Giddey is averaging an underwhelming 11.8 points, 6.7 assists, and 6.2 rebounds per game. Those wouldn’t be bad numbers for a bench role player, but they don’t cut it for a starting guard.
The Sixers’ best option for winning today’s contest is, therefore, to play highly physical offense and use their speed and athleticism to their advantage on both ends of the court. As skilled of a defender as Lonzo Ball still is, he’s not quite as fast as he used to be, and Giddey lacks the athleticism to keep up with the likes of Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr.. Using both Maxey and Jared McCain’s ability to change speeds and throw off a defender will be essential to either creating shots or kicking the ball out to Paul George on the wing.
The Sixers should play highly physical defense as well. Obviously, their ability to do so depends greatly on whether or not Embiid is playing. If he is, using him as a perimeter defender can be helpful in shutting down the Bulls’ leading scorer, Zach LaVine, from getting open looks. But if Embiid is out – or honestly, even if he’s limited – Nick Nurse will need to be strategic in setting his lineups from a defensive standpoint.
Guerschon Yabusele has been excellent at hustling against guards at the rim and fighting to get the ball back but struggles against bigger guys – especially when they can shoot well like Nikola Vučević can. On the other hand, Andre Drummond excels at rim protection and can shot-block with the best of them but lacks the explosiveness needed to defend shifty players like Zach LaVine.
Other players like Caleb Martin and KJ Martin can be very successful on one end of the court but struggle on the other – the former, for example, has recently been a strong defender who misses wide-open looks. Creating and deploying highly strategic lineups to maximize speed, athleticism, and defensive prowess will be a key challenge for Nick Nurse to win today’s contest. We’ll see if the team is up for the challenge.
