The Philadelphia 76ers are in Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon to take on the Bucks in a game that the team needs to have a better showing than they did on Friday against the Pistons. After seeing the return of Joel Embiid and Paul George, coupled with an uneventful trade deadline, the Sixers looked poised to start winning some games and making a march toward the playoffs. Instead, they came out lifeless against the Pistons on their way to a 125-112 loss. The Bucks don’t seem to be having much luck lately either, having lost to the Hawks on Friday, 115-110.
Sixers game information
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (20-31) at Milwaukee Bucks (27-23)
When: 2:00 p.m. EST
Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee WI
Watch: ABC, ESPN2
Latest on the Sixers
Heading into Detroit on Friday night, the Sixers were as close to their complete lineup as they have been all season. Joel Embiid and Paul George were playing, Andre Drummond would be available, and Guerschon Yabusele would miss the game. The Sixers anticipated a great game with their big stars all playing and the younger contributors available off the bench for a more complete team than they’ve had all year.
Instead, the team came out with zero energy. Embiid started the game 1-9 from the field, and Paul George was still dealing with the effects of his hand injury. The only player on the floor who seemed to care was Tyrese Maxey. After the first half, the team was down 29 points and looked like they had never played a game of basketball in their lives. Despite having Embid and Drummond back in the lineup, the team was outscored 52-36 in the paint, and that was probably the best part of their game.
The Sixers need to come together and play at a pace where ball movement and defense are the keys against the Bucks. They can’t be standing around the perimeter watching others miss long-range shots. Having a player like Embiid on the court is essential, but the effort needs to be there from the team’s biggest star. The Sixers need everyone to be on the same page if they’re going to have a chance against the Bucks.
Latest on the Bucks
The Bucks started off the season 2-8 and didn’t look anything like the team they thought would contend with the Celtics and Cavaliers for the top spot in the East. Once they got themselves together, the team went on a run of 21-1 and looked to be moving up the standings and ready to take their place near the top. Since January 25th, the team has gone 2-6 over its last eight games and hasn’t looked the same.
A big reason for the recent slide has been the loss of star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to a calf injury that will keep him out against the Sixers. This is his fourth straight game missing. Without Giannis, the team is not the conference heavyweight that they’ve thought they would be. Having traded franchise great Khris Middleton at the deadline for Kyle Kuzma may not have been the team-saving move they hoped it would be.
For today, they’ll rely on Kuzma to see more minutes and contribute more than he did against the Hawks, while Damian Lillard, Gary Trent Jr., Bobby Portis Jr., and Brooke Lopez will all have to be at the top of their game since Philly should be playing with a little extra attitude. What the Bucks do very well is shoot the ball, currently seventh in the league in shooting percentage and second in three-point shooting percentage. They may not have to stress too much, as the Sixers are one of the worst in the league at defending the three.
What to watch for today
The Sixers need to figure out who they are, and they need to have done that on Saturday before they face the Bucks today. They’ve found some true complementary players in Guerschon Yabusele and Justin Edwards, who provide scoring and defense, along with Ricky Council, who’s seen his production and play improve over the last few weeks. With newcomer Quentin Grimes, who shoots the three very well, the Sixers have some additional depth to a team that originally looked like the big three and spare parts.
Friday saw a meltdown between Embiid and Kelly Oubre Jr. after some lackadaisical defense by both on a transition play from the Pistons, although it seemed to be resolved immediately on the sideline. What the Sixers can’t have is Embiid, not playing at the pace or style that they’ve developed over the past month and having problems with players who have been there for almost every game. Embiid is listed as questionable for the game but should be playing if he’s the leader of the team and has only played 15 games all season. After the most recent month off, Embiid needs to be in game shape and working his best on both ends of the floor.
The Sixers need their head coach, Nick Nurse, to take a serious look at how the team is going to operate moving forward. The days of sitting around the perimeter and getting outrebounded by the opposition while firing three-pointers aren’t the way to move forward. Ball movement, athleticism, defense, and putting players in the best spots to take good shots have had the team looking better while missing their two biggest stars. His job now is to have Embiid and George buy into that and work on the same page while utilizing the younger, more athletic players on the roster instead of having Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry on the floor for any sort of minutes and never together.
The road to the playoffs is never an easy one, and the Sixers have faced insurmountable odds with all of the injuries that they’ve dealt with this season, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t make the playoffs or even do well. Despite all that has gone wrong for the team, getting all of their players healthy with 31 games remaining on the schedule, the team remains just one game behind the Chicago Bulls for the last play-in spot and five and a half games behind the sixth place Pistons for a regular position. It’s within their grasp, the question is will they be able to come together and move forward or will the implode and fall apart as they close out the season?
Prediction
Sixers 123 – Bucks 116
