Sixers looking for second win of the season in Los Angeles

Paul George will square off against his old club and the Sixers will be up against a familiar face in James Harden.

We made it! At least for a while, we can view sporting events again without being subjected to an onslaught of political ads. Now the only depressing thing we’ll be forced to watch is Sixers basketball (ba-dum-tss). Which, to be fair, looked a lot better in Paul George’s team debut Monday night in Phoenix. Philadelphia did squander a late lead and lose by two to the Suns to drop to 1-5 on the season, but things unsurprisingly looked a lot more cohesive with a six-time All-NBA player in the mix.

George showed some rust in shooting just 4-of-14 from the field on Monday, but you can bet he’ll be highly motivated to improve upon that performance tonight in Los Angeles. As you may recall, PG left his home in LA because the Clippers were lowballing him in contract negotiations. They started out only offering him two years, $60 million, then worked up to three years, $150 million, near what Kawhi Leonard signed for, but wouldn’t provide George with the no-trade clause he wanted if he was going to take below a max deal. Tonight will be his shot to show Steve Ballmer and company firsthand that they made a big mistake, as he’s currently listed as probable.

Paul won’t be joined by his new star teammate, Joel Embiid, who will begin serving his three-game suspension tonight. The currently 3-4 Clippers will be without their own load management king, as Kawhi Leonard remains out to due lingering inflammation in his surgically repaired knee. Some more familiar faces are also out for Los Angeles: Mo Bamba is out due to a knee injury and P.J. Tucker is away from the team until he comes to the realization that nobody wants to trade for his $11 million contract.

Speaking of which, including Tucker as part of the James Harden trade was masterful work by Daryl Morey. The System is carrying a heavy load as the lone member of LA’s Big 3 from last year playing right now, averaging 21.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 9.9 assists. However, he’s also shooting just 38.1 percent from the field, including 29.5 percent from three, and averaging 5.0 turnovers. We’ll have to see more of one game of the Paul George era to say for sure, but trading Harden and Tucker for expiring contracts (who were helpful players too) and freeing up enough cap space for a max free agent, couldn’t have gone better from the Sixers’ perspective.

Tonight will be our first up-close and personal look at The Wall in the newly constructed Intuit Dome. It definitely looks like a cool fan experience, and it’s nice for there to be something that distinguishes the new arena for the Clippers from other places. I’ve always liked that aspect of baseball where every park has its own little quirks.

It’s the second of three games out West for the Sixers. We’ll see if they can break a three-game losing streak and grab that elusive second win of the season.

Game Details

Who: Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Clippers
When: 10:00 p.m. ET
Where: Intuit Dome, Los Angeles, CA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers