The Philadelphia 76ers are closing out a five-game Western Conference road trip against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night, hoping to finish the trip with a 4-1 record. Their only loss was to the Lakers, with wins over the Kings and Warriors, and, finally, a 109-103 win over the Suns on Saturday night. The Blazers had lost six straight games until back-to-back wins over the Memphis Grizzlies this weekend.
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (30-22) at Portland Trail Blazers (25-28)
When: 10 p.m. EST
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Or.
Watch: NBA League Pass, NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers are heading into Portland after a busy week of play and travel and will look to finish their road trip with a big win over the Blazers, then face another hectic stretch of back-to-backs before next week. Joel Embiid is listed as questionable for tonight's game, but that's been on par with how they've treated the star center. He's played more consistently over the past two months than at any time over the past few years and should be on the floor tonight.
Embiid is coming off a 33-point performance in Phoenix that helped the Sixers score the victory, while guard Tyrese Maxey was having a poor shooting night. Maxey still finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, and six assists on the night, but shot just 8-21 from the floor and 3-10 from long distance. In addition to Maxey, VJ Edgecombe had a quiet five-point night, and Quentin Grimes had six points to show that his rise to mediocrity last season was no flash in the pan.
The Sixers will need Embiid, Dominick Barlow, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Adem Bona to all work their best in the front court as the Blazers are one of the top rebounding teams in the league. If the Sixers can manage to win that battle and Maxey can start to get his groove back shooting the ball, they should have no problems tonight.
The Blazers have been a streaky team this season, pulling off a four-game run to get above .500, only to drop their next six games. Then the Grizzlies come to town for back-to-back games, and the Blazers look like they have it all together, again. They shot over 40% from three in the two games, which is stunning, given they're 30th in the league in long-range shooting this season.
Deni Avdija has led the way for the Blazers this season with 25.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.7 assists, but has missed the last four games with a lower back strain and is questionable for tonight's game. With Avdija out and the second-leading scorer, Shaedon Sharpe, missing tonight's game, the team will be left with Jrue Holiday, Jerami Grant, and Donovan Clingan to try to keep up with the Sixers.
Grant and Holiday are a good enough combo to weather an injury storm to the top two players on the team, but younger players like Clingan, Toumani Camara, Caleb Love, and Sidy Cissoko are going to have to step up into bigger roles if they're going to survive the Sixers and a tough upcoming schedule.
The hope, among Sixers fans, is that Tyrese Maxey can regain his shooting touch and break from the slump he seems to have been in for far too long now. For Maxey, pushing through and finding a rhythm are key; if he can't do that, the shooting woes will continue. If he can use Embiid off the ball and get himself good looks, Embiid's improved passing would really help him move forward.
A huge part may not be the looks; it may just be that Maxey is tired, having played 50 of the team's 52 games this season and leading the league in minutes per game. Maxey needs a respite, and the team may not have the pieces to provide it.
Tonight, you should get a nice bounce-back game from VJ Edgecombe as the Blazers will be moving all over, trying to contain the young star guard. Edgecombe, besides the nightly highlights, has shown that if he's having a poor game in one area, he steps up in the other areas and doesn't let himself get overwhelmed. Maxey and Edgecombe highlights are a certainty with the team moving the ball and taking advantage of a Blazers team that's not very good on defense.
Also, Embiid probably scores 40 points tonight.
Sixers 117 - Blazers 99
