Sixers need to make most of matchup vs. league-worst Wizards

The Sixers’ matchup against the Wizards is one of two easier matchups before their schedule ramps up, and they need to make the most of it.

This is a game the Sixers should be able to win. There really haven’t been many times you could say that this season with how poorly things have gone so far, and they’re coming off another bad loss against the Suns and will yet again be shorthanded. But it should be true for Wednesday’s game. The Wizards have the worst record in the NBA at 6-28, with the worst offense and 28th-ranked defense.

Unsurprisingly, they’ve routinely been routed this season with a -12.2 net rating — comfortably the worst in the league ahead of the 29th-ranked Pelicans.

The Wizards even have the rest disadvantage heading into this one. They’re on the second night of a back-to-back after a 135-112 loss against the Rockets on Tuesday. On top of all that, the Wizards are missing several players right now. As of Tuesday, Marvin Bagley III (right knee sprain), Saddiq Bey (left knee, ACL surgery), Malcolm Brogdon (right foot pain), Johnny Davis (non-COVID illness), Tristan Vukcevic (right ankle sprain) and the team’s top scorer Jordan Poole (left hip contusion) were all out.

Unfortunately for the Sixers, they have some new injuries of their own. Because of course they do… Joel Embiid remains out with a left foot sprain, and Paul George is now out with left groin tightness. They join Kyle Lowry (right hip soreness), KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction) and Jared McCain (left knee meniscus surgery) on the sidelines, while Andre Drummond (left toe sprain) is questionable to return.

There are a couple of key players to watch in the Wizards’ frontcourt rotation. 2024 No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr has been having a pretty exciting rookie season and just won December Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, averaging 13.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Apart from his versatile defense, he’s also been coming along offensively over the last two months with some improved ball-handling and passing flashes.

With Embiid remaining sidelined, it’ll be interesting to see how Sarr fares against the smaller Guerschon Yabusele, who has an obvious edge in strength and continues to be a bright spot this season.

Otherwise, Jonas Valanciunas off the bench is always a physical handful. He’s strong, a quality finisher, and an excellent rebounder, so could cause some issues against the Sixers’ smaller non-Embiid lineups. If Drummond is back, it would help to have another big body in the paint and to cover the glass.

Kyle Kuzma missed 12 games through December with a sprained rib cartilage, but returned on Dec. 30 and is the team’s top scorer in Poole’s absence. How the Sixers’ forwards switch across Kuzma and contain his drives to the rim will be the main concern for the defense — he’s taking even more of his shots within 10 feet of the rim this season, accounting for 57.1 percent of all his field goal attempts.

If Poole returns, which could be possible, the Sixers will need to be wary of how quick he is to fire in various situations from three. He’s shooting a career-high 40.6 percent from three on 8.9 attempts per game this season.

With Embiid and now George out, more pressure obviously falls on Tyrese Maxey to carry the load offensively. Maxey wasn’t at his best against Phoenix and largely got going late in the game, but has still averaged 26.7 points, 6.8 assists and 2.2 steals with 44.4/39.7/82.3 shooting splits over the last 13 games. He should be able to give the Wizards’ poor defense and guard defenders all sorts of problems.

Hopefully Kelly Oubre Jr. can continue showing up too and follow up his solid 26-point, 11-rebound performance against the Suns.

We’ll see if the Sixers can capitalize with a matchup against the league-worst Wizards to help their climb towards a .500 record. Philly should still have enough to go for a win here, if Maxey can stay in form and others like Oubre and Yabusele can continue stepping up.

The Sixers have to make the most of games like this, as their schedule gets brutal quickly. After weak matchups against Washington and the 7-29 Pelicans on Friday, their next seven-game slate (including two back-to-backs) features the Magic, Thunder, Knicks, Pacers, Bucks, Nuggets and league-best Cavaliers.

The Sixers can’t afford to let easier opportunities for wins pass them by right now — shorthanded or not.

Game details

When: 7:00 p.m. ET

Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Follow: @LibertyBallers