The regular season is winding down. After splitting a tough back-to-back vs. Minnesota and Detroit, they Sixers travel to San Antonio to kick off their final regular-season road trip — a three-game stretch away from home.
The Spurs are putting the cherry on top of a dominant season, with many considering them one of the two best teams not just in the West, but in the league period. A win tonight would be their 60th of the year, joining the Oklahoma City Thunder and possibly the Detroit Pistons as the only
teams to accomplish that feat. Standings-wise, there isn’t much for them to play for here — they sit nine games above the contested three seed and three games behind the Thunder for the one seed. Barring some crazy circumstances, the Spurs are going to be the two seed out West. We’ll see how far they push their starters tonight if this game is close down the stretch.
Heading into this game, the Sixers are slated to take on the Spurs at seemingly full strength. The only listees on the injury report are G League assignments, meaning you can expect the Sixers to be on the wrong end of their gauntlet of Victor Wembanyama and a deep stable of guards.
These two teams faced off not too long ago, resulting in a blowout win for the Spurs in Philadelphia. However, the Sixers were without Paul George and Joel Embiid — both of whom should be available this time around. The Sixers struggled offensively with Wemby’s massive frame mucking up their paint-based offense, and the Spurs had no shortage of firepower either, with eight players scoring in double figures.
With the regular season in crunch time, it’s hard to keep up with all the games — especially in the cluster where the Sixers are packed in with five or six teams. Last night the Toronto Raptors lost to the Boston Celtics, putting the Sixers in the driver’s seat for the six seed due to tiebreakers once again. A win tonight would help solidify their standing, while a loss would make things interesting with the Raptors and Charlotte Hornets lurking close behind.
The good news is that, like the Spurs, the Sixers should be close to full strength as well. Both George and Embiid are not listed on the injury report heading in, and Tyrese Maxey has also been cleared. The lone listees are rookie Johni Broome and Cameron Payne, who is out with a hamstring strain and expected to be sidelined for a minimum of two weeks.
On paper, this will be a seriously tough game to win, and that’s only more true depending on how far the Spurs go to lock up a win. If the Sixers can manage the not impossible but very hard task, it’ll go a long way in the standings battle. After this, they’ll travel to Houston to play the Rockets on Thursday, then follow that up with two games against tanking opponents in the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks. At worst, you’re probably looking at 2-1 for that stretch. Factoring in the schedule strength of the teams they’re jockeying with, a win tonight would seriously put pressure on them.
The Spurs have been an elite team all year, so this won’t be an easy game. Let’s see if their added reinforcements can shift the tide and the Sixers can make a big dent in their postseason seeding aspirations.
Game Details
When: Monday, April 6, 8:00 PM ET
Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers
