The Philadelphia 76ers may have gotten past the midway point of the season but they face yet another difficult challenge with the Nuggets awaiting them in Denver.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ slow, agonizing march through the 2024-25 campaign has mercifully passed the midway point, but another challenge awaits with the squad visiting the Denver Nuggets for their 42nd contest of the year on Tuesday night.
The Sixers’ lineup is slim due to injuries but what else is new. Joel Embiid, Kyle Lowry, KJ Martin and Caleb Martin are all out for this one. Paul George (groin soreness), Guerschon Yabusele (right knee contusion) and Andre Drummond (toe, injury recovery) are all questionable.
If that trio is unable to go, it will be another display of Tyrese Maxey leading a lineup of mostly Delaware Blue Coats-caliber players. Maxey looked stellar in this role on Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks, putting up 37 points on 50 percent field goal shooting along with six rebounds and seven assists. Even that wasn’t enough to carry the Sixers to an upset victory over the 24-17 Bucks, though, as they fell for their sixth straight loss. At this point, though, getting Maxey consistent reps leading the squad of young guys might not be the worst thing. What else are we going to get out of this season?
For Denver, Jamal Murray (calf tightness) and Peyton Watson (head contusion) are probable while DaRon Holmes II and Vlatko Cancar are both sidelined with long-term injuries.
The Nuggets are led by none other than Nikola Jokic. He is averaging a mind-boggling 30.1 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.9 assists this season, shooting 56.1% from the floor and a career-high 47.1% from long range on 4.4 attempts per game. On Tuesday, however, he may not be a hundred percent the player we are used to seeing. Jokic has been dealing with a right elbow sprain that has had an effect on the amount of shots he’s taking in the Nuggets’ last few games. Over the last four contests, the MVP candidate has been shooting about 10 field goals a night compared to his typical average of 21.7 attempts per game that he was throwing up before this recent stint. Even at his recent limited capacity, though, Jokic is still scoring nearly 20 points per outing. Yes, that’s Jokic being “limited”.
And Jokic has some good support around him on the Nuggets. Assuming Murray is able to go, it would be far from surprising to see him topping the scoring for Denver. Murray is averaging 20.1 points per game on 45.4% field goal shooting on the season overall, but has stepped it up further the last few games with Jokic nursing that elbow sprain. In the last four games, Murray is averaging 29.0 points on 57.5% shooting from the floor and 44.4% from beyond the arc on 6.8 attempts. A week ago, he put up 45 points on the Dallas Mavericks by way of 18-for-26 field goal shooting.
It’s no wonder why Denver has won 10 of their last 13 and are climbing their way up the Western Conference standings, currently in fourth. The Nuggets lead the league in field goal percentage (50.1) and in assists (30.9) and are third in the league in both three-point percentage (38.3) and points per game (120.1).
Is saying “this has the potential to be a bloodbath” even necessary?
It’s admittedly getting harder to write these game previews for the Sixers, though, as this season goes on. Everything about this team feels like it’s just getting harder — from being a fan to a writer and everything in-between — because there feels like there’s little to nothing good left to take out of this campaign. Most nights, we have no idea who will even be suiting up for the squad with injuries seeming to get to every player on this roster, sidelining them for weeks at a time. It is a weird sensation to simultaneously feel like this half of a season so far has taken forever while also feeling like this season never even began for the Sixers.
It reminds me of the feeling of winter around this time of the year. It feels like it’s been forever since long bright days and warmth — you almost forget the summer exists. This Sixers season feels a bit like a bitter, eternal winter that just won’t give way to spring. But enough of my analogies.
Oh, and the Sixers and Nuggets don’t even tip off until 10 p.m. ET.
Game details
When: Tuesday, January 21, 10 p.m. ET
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Watch: TNT
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers