The Philadelphia 76ers are continuing to ramp things up as they get set to resume the 2019-20 season inside the bubble in Orlando. After a nice win over the Memphis Grizzlies to begin scrimmage play on Friday, they continue their warm-up games on Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder have been the surprise team of the NBA as prognosticators believed that they would be in for a long season after trading away franchise cornerstone Russell Westbrook for Chris Paul and then moving All-Star Paul George as well. Instead, led by Paul and a lot of young talent, they are heading into the playoffs in this resumption.
With that said, let’s get into the important information to know for this season resumption:
How to watch Sixers vs. Thunder
- Date: Sunday, July 26
- Time: 12:00 p.m. EST
- Location: HP Field House Orlando, FL
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Storylines
Simmons working on corner threes
All-Star guard Ben Simmons has finally shown an ability to be comfortable taking threes. He took two 3-pointers–making one of them–in the win over the Grizzlies and it has a lot to do with his work on that shot and it’s something that he and coach Brett Brown are looking for more as Simmons explained:
“I think just changing my style of play,” the All-Star added. “I’m just taking what they give me. I’ve been working on the 3-ball, shooting so I’ve been feeling comfortable. I’m still getting to the rim, I’m still going to attack with all my guys. I’m just trying to play my game while trying to evolve.”
Milton as a starter
The Sixers have moved Shake Milton into the starting lineup in a way to where he is now handling the ball and allowing Simmons to use his athleticism in a huge way and at times spot up in the corners as mentioned above. It also brings another shooter on the floor to allow Simmons and Joel Embiid to have more space to operate on the offensive end. Brown was happy with what he saw on Friday as he stated:
“I thought that he did quite well. I look forward to going back and seeing some things defensively. I give (Kyle) Anderson credit for making some shots that we probably favored other people and showing some significant crowds on Ja (Morant) especially.”
Prediction
As mentioned in the preview to the Grizzlies game, this will not be much of a result prediction. These games do not count against their record and therefore should be taken as such. These are games to get back into the swing of things and it is a way to try out the new kinks made to the roster. Philadelphia will be using this time to have Al Horford get used to his new bench role and then have Simmons shoot a bit more before the games count on August 1.
Pick: Once again, a lot of fun will come out of this one.
Sixers vs. Thunder season series
November 11: 127-119 Thunder OT
January 6: 120-113 Sixers
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