The Detroit Pistons return to action tonight against a Philadelphia 76ers team that was kind enough to dispatch the Minnesota Timberwolves in their previous game, and with the added benefit of that game being Friday, and thus facing the East’s top team on the second half of a back-to-back. That means the Sixers will be playing without Joel Embiid, who has played pretty well in his four games since a long absence to injury. The Sixers will have both Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, however.
None of those
players was available the last time these two teams faced off, a 131-109 Pistons blowout in which the Sixers were so bereft of big men that they trotted out Dominick Barlow as a starting center. Jalen Duren played only 14 minutes in that game but scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Sixers have a bit more size suiting up tonight, including former Piston Andre Drummond, but Duren’s game also seems to have hit another gear lately. We will see what Duren, who played high school ball in Philly and grew up 45 minutes away in New Castle, Delaware, has in store for his return to his “hometown” team.
Game Vitals
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Watch: Detroit TV20, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons -3.5
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (56-21)
Daniss Jenkins, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
Philadelphia 76ers (43-34)
Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre, Paul George, Andre Drummond
