The Sixers are once again without Joel Embiid as they travel to Houston tonight to take on the Rockets as the NBA season winds down and the playoffs rapidly approach. Philadelphia is coming off a 115-102 loss to San Antonio on Monday night, while Houston enjoyed a 119-105 victory over Phoenix Tuesday. The Sixers have lost two games in a row, the Rockets have won their last seven games and eight of their last 10.
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (43-36) at Houston Rockets (50-29)
When: 8 p.m. EST
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, TX.
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass
The Sixers have faced a tough final stretch to their season as of late. This matchup against the Rockets is the final of four games against top-level opponents, as teams fight for playoff seeding. A win over the Timberwolves helped, but they followed it with losses to the Pistons and Spurs and now sit in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with three games left to play.
Being as healthy as the Sixers are heading into the playoffs is a huge bonus for a team that has been anything but healthy over the past few years. With the return of Paul George, this late in the season, the team should be able to win some games, but the lack of cohesion and overworking of some players like Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe could come back to haunt them.
The Sixers have three games, starting tonight, to get themselves ready for the play-in tournament and figure out which rotation and lineup will be best for the next several weeks. Losing Cam Payne put their guard rotation in a bad spot.
The Sixers own the Rockets' 2026 first-round pick after the Jared McCain trade with the OKC Thunder. Any loss for Houston is a potential win for Philly, especially tonight. The team was injured and not playing very well. All of that has changed of late as the team is healthy and has won seven games in a row.
After a huge win over the Suns Tuesday, the Rockets seem to be heating up at the right time with the playoffs around the corner. Led by Kevin Durant and his 25.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.7 assists, the team is loaded with players who are all having great seasons. Alperen Sengun is averaging 20.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game, with Amen Thompson averaging 20.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. The three give the Rockets as deadly a frontcourt trio as you'll find in the league.
With the big three, there's also Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard, who are having good seasons in their own way, and as the playoff rotations get smaller, the Rockets are in a great position to make a longer run than almost any time in recent memory.
As they host Philadelphia, the Rockets are the eighth-best shooting three-point team in the league at 36.7%. They've shot well as a team, but they're still not among the league's elite scoring teams. They make up for that with the fourth-best defense in the league, allowing just 109.9 points per game, and are the top-ranked rebounding team. The Rockets do a lot of things very well that teams like the Sixers struggle to handle, and that's been shown over the past several weeks.
This is the last big test for the Sixers, prior to the playoffs, as they finish out the season with games against the Pacers and Bucks. Head Coach Nick Nurse has to find a way for the team to play to its strengths if they're going to hang in against a very good Rockets team. Ball movement and defense will be the key as the Rockets turn the ball over quite a bit, ranking near the bottom of the league. Disrupting passing lanes, pressure, and transition are what the Sixers need in order to steal a victory tonight.
Edgecombe, Maxey, George, and Kelly Oubre Jr. will play a lot of minutes and need to be at the top of their games on both ends of the court to control the pace and limit the Rockets' firepower. After a rough shooting performance against the Spurs, the Sixers need to find their stroke early and use tonight as a launching point for a continued playoff run. If they get off to a poor start, the game could quickly go out of control and set a bad tone for what's to come over the next few weeks.
These are the games the players should be up for and ready to prove they belong among the top teams in the conference and league, but it's truly up to the coach to get them working together to sustain their success. While there have been small successes, individual achievements, and promising returns throughout the year, the team has yet to consistently come out on top against strong opponents. Tonight is the start of a new day, and the team is healthy and ready to show that they belong.
Sixers 119 - Rockets 114
