It may only be from wins against the Nets and Wizards, but the Sixers have still won two of their last three games. It’s an improvement at least after the recent slump of losses and injury woes, and Tyrese
Maxey even got to ease off from heavy minutes with only 28 in Tuesday’s win against Washington. That shouldn’t be the end of his increased rest either.
Next up, the Sixers are taking on the 11-11 Warriors, currently sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture in eighth place.
It’s going to be a shorthanded affair all around on Thursday. Joel Embiid is listed as doubtful, with both left and right knee injury recovery. Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain) are still out as well, while Paul George (left knee injury recovery) and Quentin Grimes (right calf tightness) are both questionable.
No opponent is exactly easy for these Sixers right now, although they have caught a big break with Steph Curry being sidelined. It seems he’ll be putting up 25 points a night on phenomenal efficiency until he chooses not to — he’s averaged 27.9 points with a 64.1 true shooting percentage (both numbers are his highest in three years) through the 16 games he’s played so far. But he’s out for Thursday with a right quad contusion.
Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable with left knee soreness after leaving the Warriors’ last game on Tuesday (a 124-112 loss to the Thunder). If he’s active and PG plays, we could be in for a fun matchup there, and how well PG can body up and defend Butler’s physical drives will be key to slowing down Golden State’s offense in Curry’s absence.
Along with Butler, Trayce Jackson-Davis (right knee patellar tendonitis), Quinten Post (left ankle sprain), Al Horford (right sciatic nerve irritation) and Jonathan Kuminga (right ankle soreness) are all questionable. Hopefully for the Sixers, they can take advantage of the Warriors’ diminished size and frontcourt depth to make life easier for Andre Drummond and Adem Bona, and give the team’s guards more opportunities to have their way attacking the paint. How they handle Draymond Green anchoring the defense will be interesting to see.
The Warriors are always a smart, cohesive defensive team, and yet again rank seventh in that department this season. But they won’t be the same without Butler and Kuminga on the wings, and Horford and sophomore big man Post (who’s been having a strong season despite not hitting many of his threes yet) potentially sidelined.
There are plenty of former Sixers to keep track of in this contest, including Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton and Seth Curry. The younger Curry brother just signed with the Warriors at the start of December and made his debut on Tuesday, scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Melton is set to make his season debut on Thursday, after only getting to play six games for the Warriors last season.
Curry and Hield won’t be offering much resistance against the Sixers’ explosive backcourt, and Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jared McCain and (maybe) Grimes should find more opportunities to consistently attack the rim in this one.
The Warriors have been struggling on offense this year in general, currently sitting at just 23rd in offensive rating. With no Steph on Thursday, this should give the Sixers and the remarkably in-form Maxey a good chance to pull ahead. Nevertheless, the Warriors — from those mentioned, to others like Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski — will at least be ready to launch a healthy dose of threes without Curry (they rank second in attempts at 44.1 per game). The Sixers will still need to be switched on with their off-ball rotations and fight around screens to keep shooters in check.
Edgecombe may not have have been very efficient or productive as a scorer in his last two games since returning, but he’s been active and still flashing lots of exciting stuff. Hopefully for the Sixers his scoring can get going again vs. the Warriors’ weakened defense.
The Sixers have a chance to take advantage of the Warriors’ own injuries and maybe grab their second straight win in this one. Especially as Maxey should be primed to continue his All-NBA First Team type form with the matchups he’ll have to face.
Game Details
When: Thursday, December 4, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers
