Sixers, still aiming for first win of season, head to Indiana

After a disappointing first two games without Paul George and Joel Embiid, can the Sixers get their first win of the season as they face the Pacers?

Well, it’s not exactly been the first two games of 2024-25 that Sixers fans would’ve been envisioning this summer. Joel Embiid and Paul George have been out, and the team has lost its first two contests following Friday’s ugly, foul-heavy slog of a game against a shorthanded and inferior Raptors squad.

Friday’s game wasn’t entirely without positives, though. Kelly Oubre Jr. showed off some versatile scoring from creating out of drives to his off-ball cutting with an efficient 28 points. Guerschon Yabusele continued to show some of the qualities he brings as a physical, strong-screening 4 who’s aggressive rolling to the rim and finishing. Kyle Lowry was yet again one of the best Sixers of the early season — he entered the starting lineup and finished with 14 points on just five shots to go along with two assists and three steals.

The Sixers are going to need more production from their supporting cast on Sunday, though, as they complete their two-game road trip with a matchup against the Pacers.

It’s going to be another shorthanded affair for Philly, too. We’re still waiting for George to return as he’s set to be reevaluated after the team’s road trip, and Embiid is expected to remain out as well (as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported when covering the news of the league’s investigation into Embiid’s player participation).

The Pacers are entering Sunday with a 1-1 record, having just been dominated by the Knicks in a 123-98 loss on Friday. Tyrese Haliburton is coming into the game in bad form as well. He’s been settling for lots of threes so far, and shot just 6-of-18 in the Pacers’ season opener against Detroit before going scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting against the Knicks. Nevertheless, if Haliburton can turn things around, the Pacers can give the Sixers more of a challenge along with Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, and solid backups like Bennedict Mathurin and former Sixer favorite T.J. McConnell.

After Nick Nurse put Caleb Martin back in the starting lineup over KJ Martin against the Raptors, it will be interesting to see if there are any more lineup changes against the Pacers’ size. With Siakam to compete with at the 4, plus the length of Turner defending the paint, perhaps we’ll see Nurse employ a little more size in the frontcourt again with KJ Martin. The size and power of the 6-foot-8 Yabusele could be useful guarding Siakam, too.

Heading into Sunday’s game, the main thing the Sixers need to get back on track is a more characteristic performance from Tyrese Maxey. It’s been a cold start to the season offensively for him, as he’s shot just 29.6 percent from the floor and 19 percent from three through the first two games. The aggressiveness hasn’t gone anywhere and he’s been firing away from three, but the shots haven’t fallen yet (an adjusted shot diet may help as well). If he’s back to his usual self on Sunday, that alone would go a long way to giving the Sixers a chance to pick up their first win.

Let’s see if the Sixers can get on the right track and enter next week on more of a high as the debut of their new Big 3 (hopefully) won’t be far away.

Game Details

Who: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Indiana Pacers
When: 3:30 pm ET
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers