The Philadelphia 76ers return home on Wednesday night to take on the New York Knicks, after finishing 3-2 on their western road trip. While home may be nice, they won't have any rest as they kick off four games in five nights. The Knicks are coming down I-95 after taking a tough, 137-135 loss to the Pacers at home last night. Neither team has seen much rest over the past two weeks, but that won't calm what's become a heated rivalry over the past few years.
Who: New York Knicks (34-20) at Philadelphia 76ers (30-23)
When: 7:30 p.m. EST
Where: XFinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, Pa.
Watch: ESPN, MSG
Center Joel Embiid is listed as questionable as the Sixers return home, but the team will need him if they expect any chance against the Knicks. Without their star and questionable depth, the team has struggled. The Sixers are 19-12 with Embiid in the lineup this season, despite him not being close to himself until the past month or so.
Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are tired. There's no other way to say it: with Maxey leading the league at 38.7 minutes per game and Edgecombe ninth at 35.4 minutes per game, Nick Nurse needs to give them a bit of a break, even ahead of the All-Star break.
The problem is that Quentin Grimes is battling an illness and is still questionable for tonight's game. Kyle Lowry just gave the team 18 minutes, but the 39-year-old guard has played little this season, and after him, there's no one else. The more you see of the new backcourt duo, the more you love them, but you have to feel for them as they're being run into the ground.
With all that being said, the Sixers can still give the Knicks a good game, except that the Knicks are the third-best three-point shooting team in the league. The Sixers have done well throughout the season defending the three, but they are also capable of making teams like the Trail Blazers look like their rosters are made entirely of multiple Steph Currys.
The Knicks are coming off a tough loss to the Pacers on Tuesday night, when they struggled from long range while the Pacers shot 40%. Jalen Brunson scored 40 points to lead the team, with Mikal Bridges dropping 22 points and Landry Shamet scoring 17.
The Knicks are a little banged up with OG Anunoby and Miles McBride both battling injuries and set to miss tonight's game, but they still have the aforementioned trio, along with Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Jordan Clarkson, to give opposing teams fits. Brunson and Shamet combined to shoot 8-25 against the Pacers and will look to improve that number against a Sixers team that seems to allow as many open threes as possible, lately.
If Joel Embiid is able to play, he gets up for the Knicks games and loves to put on a show. As his health and game have returned this season, so has his enjoyment of playing, especially in front of the home crowd. After such an embarrassing end to the road trip, the Sixers will want to make a statement against their conference rivals.
There will be plenty to keep an eye on in addition to Embiid, as the counter for who draws the most ridiculous fouls will be spinning with Brunson on the floor. If there were a separate counter, it should be for Karl-Anthony Towns's discussions or complaints with the referees.
The key will be if Edgecombe and Maxey are able to stifle the duo of Brunson and Shamet. The game will come down to which set of guards performs best, and despite the Sixers having the more talented duo, their legs may not be under them right now.
Knicks 122 - Sixers 107
