The All-Star break is over and it’s time to get back to work. The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot of work to do in order to position themselves for the deep playoff run that they expect to make. They are currently the 5 seed in the Eastern Conference which means they would begin the playoffs on the road where they are only 9-19. They need to make a run over the final 27 games.
It begins on Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets who are just trying to get themselves ready for the 2020-21 season. They will finally welcome Kevin Durant into the fold as he will miss this entire season with an Achilles injury and the team hopes both he and Kyrie Irving will be all set to go. Irving has been in and out of the Nets lineup all season and it has been a struggle for them as well at times.
With that said, we bring you the guide to this matchup on a Thursday night in Philadelphia:
How to watch Sixers vs. Nets
- Date: Thursday, February 20
- Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA
- TV: TNT
Injury Report
- Sixers: NONE
- Nets: OUT: Kyrie Irving (right shoulder impingement), Kevin Durant (right Achilles rehab)
Storylines
Horford to continue his bench role
The Sixers will continue to bring Al Horford off the bench for the sake of the team. It is a bit controversial due to the fact that the Sixers are paying him $109 million and that’s a hefty price tag for a 6th man, but at this point, it’s all about making this thing work. The Horford and Joel Embiid pairing struggles on offense and combine that with Ben Simmons’ inability to get to the rim, it makes total basketball sense.
“I believe so,” he said at practice on Wednesday. “It’s what the team needs right now and that’s what we’re doing.”
Simmons and Embiid speak out
Much has been made out of the question of whether Embiid and Simmons can coexist together and they both said what was on their mind about the situation over All-Star weekend in Chicago about the matter. It was something that had to be said to kind of quiet down the critics and the team gave them credit for it. Coach Brett Brown is not happy his guys spoke up.
“To be in Chicago and to, you know, talk about one another in that environment on different teams,” he finished with. “It didn’t surprise me, I would be lying if I didn’t say I was thrilled to read what I read but it doesn’t surprise me. I just think it validates to the rest of the sort of basketball hoop world that life’s not as bad as sometimes it’s made out to be here in Philadelphia.”
Prediction
This is a game the Sixers should win. They’re at home where they’re a dominant 25-2 and they are well-rested and ready to go. There will be more kinks to work out as Horford is now coming off the bench and Tobias Harris slides back over to the power forward spot amongst a laundry list of things to work out, but the team is in position to make a run. They have the second easiest schedule remaining so they can improve on their situation right now.
Pick: Sixers by double-digits
Sixers vs. Nets season series
Game 1 December 20: 109-89 Nets
Game 2 January 15: 117-106 Sixers
Game 3 January 20: 117-111 Sixers
Game 4 February 20:
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