The Philadelphia 76ers will try to keep themselves in the win column on Sunday afternoon with a matinee battle hosting the Indiana Pacers. This is the first game of a somewhat stretched back-to-back for the Sixers, with the squad facing the Pacers early afternoon Sunday and then hitting the road to take on the Nets on Monday night.
This is the second meeting of the year between the Sixers and Pacers, with Philadelphia taking the 114-109 victory in the first matchup — helped mightily by a six-triple
night from Anfernee Simons.
For this one, we already know that Joel Embiid will be out for plantar fasciitis management. LeBron James, who missed the Sixers’ last contest for sciatica management, is not on the injury report and is good to go for Sunday. Adem Bona and Dominick Barlow remain sidelined. This means the possibility of seeing some more time at the five for James Sunday afternoon, one would imagine. Well, someone is going to have to stand up to Pacers’ 7-foot center Ivica Zubac…
The Pacers are trying to manage things without Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered a hamstring strain just a few games into the season and has not played since. He remains out for Sunday. Ben Sheppard and Johnny Furphy are also sidelined with knee injuries. Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith are both questionable and T.J. McConnell is probable, so a lot of things up in the air for the Indiana side as it stands.
Missing Hali hasn’t meant being completely unable to win, however. Despite being under .500 with a 5-8 record, the Pacers are coming into Sunday with a two-game win streak under their belt, the most recent of which being a close victory over the New York Knicks in NBA Cup action back on Friday night. The team is still working on finding their footing as they navigate this prolonged period without Haliburton, but they’re finding ways to snag some wins along the way. Their victory over the Knicks was result of a widespread effort, with all five Indiana starters scoring 12 or more points.
And that’s been the story with the Pacers without Haliburton. Six Indiana players (not including the sidelined star guard) are averaging double-digit scoring to start this season. Pascal Siakam has been leading the squad averaging 22.4 points per game. Nembhard leads the playmaking charge with 9.5 dimes a night in addition to his 16.6 points and 40.3% shooting from long range. Obi Toppin, Nesmith, Zubac and former Sixer Kelly Oubre Jr. round out the supporting cast all averaging around 10-12 points per night. It’s not a matter of slowing down one player with the current Pacers, it’s about slowing them all down.
But the bottom line is that, on paper, this is a game the Sixers should be able to win even without Embiid, especially if a few of the Pacers’ currently questionable players are forced to miss this one. However, don’t be surprised if it’s another close one, with the Sixers needing to be on their A-game to make sure this one doesn’t slip away. Even this early in the season we’ve already seen examples of the Sixers playing down to their competition and making games harder than they needed to be. I’m sure the Pacers would be thrilled to take advantage of that to extend their current win streak with their main star sidelined.
The Sixers and Pacers tip off their matinee contest at 1 p.m. ET.
Game Details
When: Sunday, November 15, 1 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers
