The Philadelphia 76ers will finish up a successful West Coast road trip against a Golden State Warriors team that seems to be just as beat up as the current Sixers. The Sixers are coming off last night’s heartbreaking loss to the Sacramento Kings, in which the team was outscored in the fourth quarter by 15 points, and the Kings came back to win the game. The Warriors are beat up but still well rested, as they last played on Monday night, when they were blown out by the Cavaliers, 113.95.
Sixers game information
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (13-18) at Golden State Warriors (16-16)
When: 10 p.m. EST
Where: Chase Center, San Francisco CA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, TNT
Latest on the Sixers
Things seemed to be going the Sixers’ way against the Kings on Wednesday night until they completely fell apart in the fourth quarter. Paul George seemed to regain his shooting touch, hopefully leading to him continuing to shoot well, as he shot 11-20 from the floor and 4-7 on his three-point attempts, on his way to 30 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Tyrese Maxey struggled to start but finished better netting 27 points but only shot 30% from beyond the arc.
The Sixers were without Joel Embiid and Kelly Oubre Jr., which is a huge hole for the team to overcome, but they showed life with Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, and even Eric Gordon contributing well to the team. Gordon’s return from injury saw him shoot 5-9 from the floor and 3-7 on his threes for 14 points, which is an encouraging sign for the team as he’s returned.
The issue for the Sixers, as they’ve been for the past few years, is that when Embiid doesn’t play, the team doesn’t have much success. There’s not much you can do when the team is shorthanded, and the coach decides that the best option at point guard is Kyle Lowry, who hasn’t been good in over five seasons. Tonight, the Sixers will hopefully have Embiid and Oubre Jr. back, and if George can continue to shoot well, the team should have no problem with the Warriors.
Latest on the Warriors
The Warriors of this season are not the Warriors of the past. In a tough Western Conference the team is sitting in the 10th place but they’re only three games out of 4th place. It’s been a rough go of late for them as they’re just 3-7 over their last ten games including losing by 18 points on Monday to the Cavaliers but just two weeks ago they were blown out by 51 points by the Grizzlies.
Steph Curry has battled some injuries, along with Kyle Anderson, Gary Payton II, and Draymond Green. It wasn’t very long ago that the Warriors were just trouncing everyone, but as the times and roster have changed, so have the fortunes of the Warriors. Curry is averaging 22 points per game during the season, while Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins are just over 16 points per game. Buddy Hield had looked like a star to start off the year and has cooled down significantly. Then you have Green, who just can’t seem to get out of his own way.
Green is averaging just 8.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, as he’s looked like the West Coast version of Ben Simmons. While Green has never been a big scorer, he’s always done so much for the team to help them win games.
This year, he’s down in almost every statistical category, and he’s shooting just 41.1% from the floor, which would be his lowest since his second year in the league. It’s almost become common to see Green involved in some nonsense when the Warriors play, and that’s not helping them at all. This Warriors team is a shell of the dynasty they were in recently, and it’s getting tough to watch.
What to watch for tonight
If the Sixers are able to get Embiid back, then the Sixers shouldn’t have a hard time against an older and depleted Warriors roster. Embiid, after resting against the Kings, should be able to go. What you want to see is Paul George continuing the shooting touch he found against the Kings and hoping that Maxey just had an off-night shooting as the team was short-handed.
The Warriors are still in the top ten in defensive rating this year, so this will be no walk in the park for the Sixers, but if Embiid is able to play and does so as he has of late, the timing will be perfect to end their road trip on a high note before returning home to face the Nets. Embiid getting himself 35 points and 12 rebounds is not out of the question for the team tonight. What he needs to be careful about is the way that Green plays down low and the shots he’ll take in the paint.
What we should be looking for, most importantly, is that Kyle Lowry is on the bench for the game. Lowry returning to his hometown to play for the Sixers was a good story, but he’s well past his prime, and it’s seemed more and more that he’s well past his useful life, even at the end of the bench. His best days as a player are well behind him, and he hurt the team against the Kings. What Lowry can offer is guidance and knowledge from the bench, almost as a player/coach, and if he continues to get minutes, it will be to the detriment of the Sixers.
Prediction
Sixers 127 – Warriors 103
