The Philadelphia 76ers continue their season-long road trip with a visit to Oklahoma City on Sunday to take on the league's best team, the Thunder. The Sixers are coming off two losses to the Nets and Bulls, while the Thunder just split two games with the Spurs.
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (16-13) at Oklahoma City Thunder (26-5)
When: 3:30 p.m. EST
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass
This year's Sixers team is virtually impossible to figure out. There are nights where they look like one of the best teams in the league, then there are nights that they look like they've never played the game at all. One thing for certain is that head coach Nick Nurse still hasn't figured out how to integrate Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey into a seamless unit, as they're 0-4 together this season.
The styles of play are entirely different with Embiid on and off the court. They're mobile, athletic, and move well when they're playing with more of a "smaller" unit, which resorts to the slower, lumbering pace that suits Embiid better when he's on the court. All of the progress that the team and its younger players are making is undone when Embiid is playing. When the argument becomes that Embiid is the only one putting up points, then you know it's a lost cause because that's been the losing style for years now.
The Sixers need to embrace the more athletic style that they play well with, while incorporating Embiid into the lineup. If they limit his minutes so he can participate in the new style, it could work to their advantage, but going back to the offense that runs through Embiid is a recipe for failure, the coach keeps cooking up.
The Thunder are hosting the Sixers while holding onto the league's best record, a wealth of young talent, a title from last season that could turn into two in a row, and six first-round picks over the next two seasons. They're everything that the Sixers' "process" was supposed to be and failed to live up to. They've done so well that they traded Josh Giddey, who's averaging close to a triple-double in Chicago, for Alex Caruso to improve their defense.
With an offensive rating of 120.0, good enough for fifth in the league, and players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Ajay Mitchell all playing well, along with quality role players like Isaiah Joe and Alex Caruso, the team also boasts the league's best defense.
Despite going just 3-3 over their last six games, including two losses to the Spurs, the Thunder are easily the best team in the league, and that doesn't look to be changing any time soon. Armed with a bunch of first-round picks over the next two years, you have to get down to their tenth leading scorer to find anyone over the age of 27.
Despite the absence of Joel Embiid, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford, the Sixers should have the bulk of their lineup healthy and ready to play the style they've grown accustomed to. Paul George has looked better physically than at any time in his Sixers career and needs to start getting his shots to fall. With the Sixers' four-guard rotation all healthy, George could get some cleaner looks and have himself quite a game against his former team.
Despite the differences in record and success, the teams match up very well, and it'll be interesting to watch how the Thunder defense adjusts to having Maxey, George, rookie VJ Edgecombe, and Quentin Grimes or Jared McCain on the floor at the same time. This Sixers team plays well at both ends of the floor, and the game will be a learning experience throughout.
The key will be to shoot well from long distance against the Thunder, and that's not going to come easy. Ball movement, while limiting turnovers, will be massive for the Sixers if they're to get back into the win column against the defending champions. Today, despite the excitement that this game will bring, it doesn't seem like it will end favorably for the Sixers, as the Thunder have too many weapons on both sides of the ball.
Sixers 113 - Thunder 121
