The well-rested Philadelphia 76ers are home to take on the visiting Indiana Pacers, looking to get back to winning after a 112-108 loss to the Lakers this past Sunday. The Pacers have won their past two games, over the Bulls and Kings, and will be looking to extend that winning streak against a Sixers squad that could be missing Tyrese Maxey.
Who: Indiana Pacers (6-18) at Philadelphia 76ers (13-10)
When: 7:00 p.m. EST
Where: XFinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBA League Pass
News of guard Tyrese Maxey being downgraded to questionable for tonight's game will put a damper on things for the team, but they should have Joel Embiid and Paul George available with Quentin Grimes, Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe all ready to step up should Maxey truly miss the game. The guard has played every game this season, but with his recent downgrade and the Pacers' poor play, this shouldn't be a major issue for the team.
The bigger issue, with the way the team has played, seems to be its biggest player. Embiid, who is still appearing sporadically, seems to be the issue for a team that has found an identity without him. In his past two games, a close loss to the Lakers and a dramatic one-point win over the Warriors, Embiid has been flat-out terrible. Against the Lakers, he shot just 4-21 from the field and 0-6 on his three-point attempts. It was his second game in a row, shooting a goose egg on six attempts. His combined 26.5% from the floor over the past two games has cost the Sixers one game and almost another.
While Paul George will never be the same player he once was, he's contributed well since his return and fits better with what the Sixers have been doing this season. George has averaged 14.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists over his eight games this season, and despite having some up and down shooting nights, he's fit in much better than whatever head coach Nick Nurse is doing with Embiid. The struggle to get the former MVP, Embiid, into some sort of flow with the squad is real, and it's not getting any better.
Much like the Sixers of the past few years, the Pacers are a completely different team when their superstar, Tyrese Haliburton, is missing. Haliburton tore his Achilles in the playoffs last season and isn't slated for a return anytime soon. That leaves the Pacers with Pascal Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin, and Andrew Nembhard leading the team. Not the recipe for success that the team that finished fourth in the conference had in mind before losing their star player.
Despite having won their past two games, the Pacers aren't a very good team, and that will benefit them in the draft and future, much like the Sixers did last season, but, for this year, the expectations shouldn't be high.
The Pacers are near the bottom of the league in most statistical categories, except for turnover percentage, which they rank in the top ten. Handling the ball is fine, but it doesn't help when the team is the second-worst offensive team in the league. This season, despite all of the hopes and dreams, should be looked at as like the Sixers of last year. Give some players a chance, see if you can find a diamond in the rough, wait for Haliburton to return, and use their first-round draft pick to secure a top young talent for the future.
Despite what Joel Embiid has meant to the team over the past decade, the team has to figure out how to keep him from destroying the team in a year when the Eastern Conference could be there for anyone to take. If the Sixers can get completely healthy, Paul George continues to play his role well, and the guards continue to do what they've been doing, then the team really has a good chance to make some noise in the postseason.
Over his last five games, dating back to Nov. 4, Embiid has shot just 37.6% from the floor and 8.3% on his three-point attempts. The last time he made a three-pointer was Nov. 8 against the Raptors. Yet he's constantly chucking them up, even though it's detrimental to the team.
Not to question Embiid; he's out there to compete, and the only way to improve is to get more shots up, but the coach needs to recognize that when Embiid starts 1-14 from the field against the Lakers, it's not a bad idea to coach the player to help in other ways. This season and going forward, the team has to use him as a complementary piece and recognize he's not who he once was.
Pacers 121 - Sixers 109
