Hopefully two days off was enough time for the Philadelphia 76ers to flush the memory of their last performance.
The Sixers are back in action on Friday night, kicking off a five-game road trip with a visit to the Chicago Bulls. Their last game, arguably their worst loss so far this season, saw the Sixers fall 114-106 to a borderline-tanking Brooklyn Nets squad on Tuesday. Quite a way for them to end 2025 in South Philadelphia.
But, as we all know, the NBA season is long and they’ll have plenty of
opportunities to make up for it. It — fortunately — just counts as one loss, no matter how embarrassing.
We move on to Friday. The germs seem to still be making their way through the Sixers’ roster, with VJ Edgecombe, Dominick Barlow and Quentin Grimes questionable for Friday’s contest for illness. The trio missed Wednesday’s game. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford remain out for injury.
Joel Embiid is also questionable to face the Bulls for right knee injury management. It’s worth noting that Embiid seemed to have tweaked the knee in Tuesday’s contest on the below play. He briefly headed to the locker room and was checked out, but returned to the game after.
Embiid told reporters postgame, “I just hyperextended it, and then went to the locker room and checked it out” and that he’d see how it responded the following day. So, we will have to wait and see on that. We will bring you updates on Embiid and the other questionable players as the information becomes available.
The last time these two teams met, back on Nov. 4, things went the Bulls’ way in dramatic fashion. Chicago had the lead just once, and incredibly briefly — the final 3.2 seconds of the contest, completing an impressive comeback win. The Bulls held the Sixers to just 36 points in the entire second half of that game, erasing what was once a 24-point Philadelphia advantage.
Fond memories for us all.
Back to the present. The 14-15 Bulls come into Friday’s contest with momentum on their side, having won their last four contests. This has been a change of pace for Chicago, who had dropped eight of nine games prior to this winning streak. Their game against the Sixers will begin a six-game homestand for the Bulls.
Chicago is led by Josh Giddey, averaging 20.o points, 9.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game across 27 contests. He’s shooting 40.2% from long range on 4.9 attempts per game. Back in that November win over the Sixers, Giddey put up a 29-point, 15-rebound, 12-assist triple-double.
Other Bulls players stepping up include Coby White, who has been making up for lost time after having the start of his season delayed for a few weeks due to a calf strain, averaging 21.4 points in 13 games. League vet Nikola Vucevic (the Sixers’ 16th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft) is contributing 16.1 points and 9.2 rebounds at 35 years of age in his 15th season. Matas Buzelis, in his sophomore season at age 21, is chipping in 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 27.8 minutes per outing, averaging 50.0% field goal shooting on 10.5 attempts per game (35.6% on 4.6 average attempts from three-point range).
Chicago relies on a fast-paced offense and getting out in transition to wear down opposing teams, with the squad ranking third in the association in defensive rebounds (34.7) and second in pace (104.06). That being said, the Sixers have had two days of rest to help them keep up.
This game offers a good opportunity for the Sixers to get back on track and back into the win column, rinsing the sour taste of Wednesday’s loss from their mouths. Following Friday, Philadelphia’s next contest is Sunday afternoon against a tough 26-5 Oklahoma City Thunder team. That bodes to be a much tougher challenge.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Sixers and Bulls tip off in Chicago at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Game Details
When: Friday, December 26, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: United Center, Chicago, IL
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers
