The Sixers (barely) hung on against Washington on Wednesday and will look to make it two straight wins against bottom-feeding teams as they host New Orleans tonight.
On Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Washington Wizards, who currently sit in last place in the Eastern Conference, and barely pulled out a win in the final minute. Tonight, they’ll host the New Orleans Pelicans, who hold the bottom rung in the Western Conference, hoping for a similar result if not an entirely similar means of getting there. You couldn’t have asked the scheduling-making automatons for an easier week than what the Sixers have to work with at the moment.
One minor caveat, as the 7-31 Pelicans team that will take the floor tonight will deviate slightly from the group that compiled that record. Zion Williamson will be available for the second time since returning from a 27-game absence due to a strained hamstring. The 24-year-old former first overall pick scored 22 points in Tuesday’s loss to Minnesota, before sitting out the second night of a back-to-back Wednesday against Portland. Zion has averages of 31.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in five career games against Philadelphia, leading the Pelicans to a two-game season sweep of the Sixers last season.
New Orleans will still have plenty of injuries to contend with, as Brandon Ingram (ankle), Herb Jones (shoulder), and Trey Murphy III (ankle) are all out, and Dejounte Murray (elbow/shin) is questionable. That’s 80 percent of a pretty good lineup that could be on the shelf, a situation Philaelphians know all too well can be difficult to overcome.
Of course, the Sixers are no strangers to injuries themselves and the headline in that department is Joel Embiid continuing to be sidelined with a sprained foot. Andre Drummond (toe), Kyle Lowry (hip), KJ Martin (foot), and Jared McCain (meniscus) remain out; McCain was officially announced out for the season yesterday, but his social media tutelage of Kyle Lowry will continue. If you’re looking for a silver lining, Paul George has been upgraded to probable with his groin injury. Even if George makes his return to the court, Philadelphia will be relying once again on heavy contributions from Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr, and Guerschon Yabusele. Thank goodness Daryl Morey hit on late-summer minimum signings each of the last two years.
The Sixers are still on the outside looking in of even the Play-In Tournament and really need to nail down these sorts of wins with a tough schedule through the rest of the month. They didn’t blow the Wizards game, but did lose a late lead against the spiraling Sacramento Kings a week earlier. Given the hole the Sixers dug for themselves during the first month of the season, the margin for error is razor thin. Zion may be back, but this is still a New Orleans group missing a ton of talent and Philadelphia needs to take full advantage and begin another one of those newfangled winning streaks that seem to be all the rage these days.
Game details
When: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: The Center, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers