The 18-7 Sixers will look for a seventh win in eight games on Thursday-evening when they play the 13-10 Trail Blazers.
Here are the most important things for tonight’s game:
- When: 10:00 PM EST with Sixers Pregame Live at 9:00 PM
- True: Fashion Center
- Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the MyTeams app
And here are three storylines to watch:
Adjustments for Sixers’ bench
Shake Milton, the Sixers’ number 3 scorer to date, will not play against Portland due to a sprained ankle on the left. He appeared to be injured on a 2:12 run over in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s victory over the Kings.
Seth Curry also showed up in the injury report with a sprained ankle on the left, although he is available. Mike Scott stays out with right knee swelling, while contract players Paul Reed and Rayjon Tucker are in the G League bubble with the Delaware Blue Coats.
It would make sense if Tyrese Maxey took some typical minutes from Milton. Maxey didn’t play on Tuesday night, the first time that happened all season. The Sixers’ second unit was very good without him, beating Sacramento by a margin of 32-21. Matisse Thybulle remained scoreless but played strong late in the defense against De’Aaron Fox.
CJ McCollum, Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic from Portland are sidelined due to injuries. Damian Lillard and Ben Simmons are available after they both missed the Blazers’ victory over the Sixers last week.
Stepping into a higher gear
When the game is tight and they have to stop, the Sixers seemed able to take their defenses to an elite level.
The statistics support that perception: The Sixers have a defensive rating of 98.8 in the fourth quarter, according to NBA.com/Stats, which is 3.5 points better than the Raptors in second place. The team’s fourth-quarter net rating of plus-13.7 is also the best in the league, four points higher than Toronto’s.
Simmons had a simple explanation of why the Sixers’ defense improved from the first to the second half against the Kings.
“Just focus,” he said. “Literally only focusing on us. When we’re focused and our gear is running and the ball moving, and then defensive when we’re locked in and interacting, I don’t really see too many teams beating us when we play like that. When we do plays, it is difficult. We look really good when we all do that. “
How long can this take?
The Sixers still haven’t lost with their opening night starting lineup. When Simmons, Curry, Tobias Harris, Simmons and Embiid all play together, they are 14-0 and have a net rating of plus-16.6, according to Cleaning the Glass.
While it’s early in the year and playing during a pandemic has led to many games in which one or both teams are well below full strength, that unbeaten run is still an important confirmation that basketball operations president Daryl Morey’s offseason approach is very made sense.
The Sixers have had a relatively straightforward schedule, yes, but it is undoubtedly a good sign that the team has won every time its best line-up is due, even if it probably won’t last for an entire season.