The Philadelphia 76ers return from the west coast after a 1-3 road trip looking to bounce back and try and move forward. They will have some reinforcements on Wednesday as they welcome back Josh Richardson to the lineup after he missed a few games with a concussion and they could have Joel Embiid back as well as he is questionable for the matchup.
Their opponent on Wednesday is the Detroit Pistons who have entered a full rebuild after injuries ravaged their team. Gone are Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson while Blake Griffin is out for the season and Derrick Rose is hurt as well. The team now trots out a bunch of younger players as they try and get them the developmental court time needed to grow as a team.
With that said, it’s time for the guide to this one:
How to watch Sixers vs. Pistons
- Date: Wednesday, March 11
- Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Injury Report
- Sixers: OUT: Ben Simmons (nerve impingement in back) QUESTIONABLE: Joel Embiid (left shoulder sprain)
- Pistons: OUT: Blake Griffin (left knee surgery), John Henson (left ankle sprain), Luke Kennard (bilateral knee tendinitis), Derrick Rose (right ankle sprain) QUESTIONABLE: Bruce Brown (right ankle sprain) PROBABLE: Brandon Knight (right hamstring strain)
Storylines
Sixers want to grow Horford-Embiid pairing
With Simmons still out, the Sixers still want to focus on the pairing of Al Horford and Joel Embiid and continue to try and work out the kinks in their pairing. They have been solid defensively, but they have been a wreck offensively and it has been tough to watch at times. Coach Brett Brown wants to use this time to try and work out the duo.
“I feel going forward when you don’t have Ben (Simmons), my intention is to play him with Joel and try to grow that,” Brown added. “When Ben comes back in the mix, we’ll re-evaluate. But I feel like that period of time that we’re talking about is long enough for me where I do want to invest in the Joel-Al pairing while we don’t have Ben and see where that plays out.”
Milton to have a big role
The Sixers did see the emergence of Shake Milton over the entirety of the road trip as he continued to make waves. He averaged 21.3 points and he shot 56.5% from deep during the four games and that type of production is going to earn him a more consistent role on this team even when Simmons does return from his injury.
“I thought that Shake has obviously emerged to be our clear starting point guard with the group that we have,” Brown said on Tuesday. “You’d have to expect for him to be in a significant role as Ben becomes healthy and comes back into this. He’s playing high-level basketball.”
Prediction
The Sixers are at home and that obviously makes a huge difference for them as supported by their 28-2 home record. They are getting a little healthier with the return of Richardson and the hopeful return of Embiid and the Pistons are slumping so this is setting up to be a big Philadelphia win. Detroit will play hard, but they don’t have the talent to hang with the Sixers.
Pick: Sixers will pull away late.
Sixers vs. Pistons season series
Game 1 October 26: 117-111 Sixers
Game 2 December 23: 125-109 Sixers
Game 3 March 11:
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