The Philadelphia 76ers finished their two-game stint in Florida, suffering a Christmas Day loss against the Miami Heat and redeeming themselves with a win against the Orlando Magic. Going 1-1 in their latest four-game road trip without Joel Embiid being in the lineup, the Sixers now make their move to Texas as they prepare to keep the momentum going against the Houston Rockets. However, given how good Fred VanVleet and the Houston Rockets have been this season, the availability of Joel Embiid is of tantamount importance.
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The Philadelphia 76ers have added the five players to their injury report. These are the same players who also featured on the injury report before the 76ers’ previous fixture against the Orlando Magic. Ricky Council IV, Kenneth Lofton Jr., and Terquavion Smith are on the G-League assignment. Whereas, joining Nicolas Batum, Joel Embiid (right ankle sprain) is listed to be “OUT”.
Missing out on the services of Joel Embiid and Nicolas Batum will be extremely detrimental. However, similar to the 76ers, the Houston Rockets also have numerous players added to their injury report. While Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr., and Victor Oladipo are certainly going to miss out on the clash, Tari Eason is listed to be “questionable”.
With both teams missing out on crucial pieces of their lineup, the clash should promise to be a well-contested one.
The Philadelphia 76ers are 1-3 without Joel Embiid on the lineup
Joel Embiid is set to miss out on his fifth game tonight. In the previous four games that the Philadelphia 76ers had to play without JoJo taking on the floor, the team only won one contest. Before the recent win over the Orlando Magic, the Sixers were unable to defeat the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics, and the New Orleans Pelicans.
However, with a completely healthy, Nick Nurse’s boys have been performing at a phenomenal level. Sitting third in the Eastern Conference with a 21-9 record, the Pennsylvania side is merely 1.5 games behind the 2nd-seeded Milwaukee Bucks while having a 2.5-game cushion ahead of the 4th-seeded Miami Heat.
Joel Embiid has been the biggest reason behind the team’s success. Averaging a league-best 35 points along with 11.7 rebounds and 6 assists, Embiid is on track to defend his Most Valuable Player honor. Further, the two-time Eastern Conference Player of the Week is certainly going to be suiting up for the All-Star Game later in the season.
However, Embiid has been receiving some great contributions. Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre Jr., and De’Anthony Melton are all combining for more than 42 points per game. However, Tyrese Maxey’s performance has been the most notable out of all. The young guard is putting up All-Star numbers – 25.8 points and 6.6 assists – and fulfilling the role that James Harden failed to during his stint with the Sixers.
With Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey leading the squad, as well as they have been, the Philadelphia 76ers are certainly among the favorites to win it all.
