The Philadelphia 76ers will look to take advantage of a home heavy schedule when they host the Utah Jazz on Monday. The Sixers improved to a perfect 9-0 at home on Saturday when they knocked off the Indiana Pacers and they also improved to 14-6 on the season.
On Monday, the Jazz invade the Wells Fargo Center and they’re coming off a blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday North of the Border. They trailed the Raptors by as many as 40 on their way to a 130-110 loss so they will be entering the game looking to erase what was an overall bad night in Toronto.
It’s now time for the guide to the game with everything you have come to expect in a preview:
How to watch Sixers vs. Jazz
- Date: Monday, December 2
- Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA
- TV: NBATV, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Injury Report
- Sixers: DOUBTFUL: Josh Richardson(right hamstring tightness)
- Jazz: NOT YET SUBMITTED
Storylines
Harris as a scorer
The Sixers have been wanting Tobias Harris to morph into a scorer. The Sixers re-signed him to a $180 million max contract over the offseason and coach Brett Brown has put emphasis on him becoming a scorer. In the team’s previous two wins, Harris put up big scoring efforts in the second half giving the team a bit of a boost in order to allow Philadelphia to leave with victories.
Brown stated:
I have preached it to everyone and to him as well: I want him to find the rim. A scorer is a scorer, it’s not JJ Redick always, but driving [to the basket] is what we want. Whether it’s a rise up, pull up long 2, a catch-shot three, something off a catch go-go catch to the rim, we need him to score and I want him to think like a scorer. I think that he is, but I also think that he has been improving tremendously defensively.
Embiid becoming aggressive
Ever since Joel Embiid had an unacceptable scoreless effort in a loss to the Raptors, the superstar big man has been much more aggressive and dominant. In the three games since then, Embiid is averaging 30.6 points and he’s attempting 14.6 free throws on the heels of a 15-for-15 effort from the line against Indiana. It’s that type of production the Sixers need every night from their “crown jewel”.
Brown added on his star big man:
It’s a mentality. That is a disposition and a mentality, and it is more than a stat. To me, we shot 40 free throws last night and had 36 tonight. I like both of those things and you sure like them a lot more when you make them, but Embiid made a statement. Nobody can underestimate the hurt that he felt after the Toronto game where he felt like he let us down. We have seen him respond.
Prediction
The Sixers fell to the Jazz earlier in the season in Utah so this offers them a chance to get a little payback. Philadelphia is a much different team at home thanks to their home-court advantage and it’s hard to see them letting up or taking Utah lightly. The Jazz, on the other hand, will come out swinging looking to erase the memory of Sunday’s loss, but they had to travel and all of those issues combined make for a bad time in the City of Brotherly Love.
Pick: Sixers pull away late.
Sixers vs. Jazz season series
Game 1 November 6: 106-104 Jazz
Game 2 December 2:
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