Coming off a 136-124 victory over the Orlando Magic, the Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to advance to 4-0 on the season in their second game of a back-to-back against the Washington Wizards. 

Despite Joel Embiid sitting due to load management, the Sixers had a very solid victory over the Magic, led by a 43-point performance from Tyrese Maxey. VJ Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre added 26 and 25 points, respectively, showing a true team effort with Embiid’s absence. 

While sitting Embiid against the Magic rather than the Wizards was questionable, Philly was able to walk away with a victory without him, and will now have him playing a team he’s averaged 30.5 PPG and 12.0 RPG against over his career. 

With the Wizards entering the game coming off a blowout loss to the Charlotte Hornets, a team the Sixers beat, Philadelphia will have a great opportunity to remain undefeated. In Washington’s 26-point loss to Charlotte, they let up a combined 58 points to the Hornets’ starting backcourt. 

This is golden for the Sixers, as their backcourt has been historically good to start the season. Between Maxey’s MVP-caliber play and Edgecombe’s incredible start to his career, they have seemed flat-out unstoppable thus far.

Over their first three games, Maxey and Edgecombe are averaging a combined 62.0 PPG, and have paved the way for the Sixers in their 3-0 start.

While Embiid will be playing, he’ll likely remain on a minutes restriction, which means that their star backcourt duo will need to continue this hot streak to ensure a Sixers win.

Fortunately, the Wizards have allowed the fifth most points per game in the paint this season, so Embiid should be able to make an impact even with restricted minutes. Additionally, despite being guards, both Maxey and Edgecombe are incredible at attacking the paint, which will put a ton of pressure on Washington’s defense regardless of whether Embiid is on the floor or not. 

It’s also worth noting that Oubre has quietly been having a impressive season, averaging 18.0 PPG so far. With Paul George out, this has been huge as he’s filled into a role in which he can pick up slack when some of their other players go cold. Quentin Grimes has also been amazing off the bench, making a case to be the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year as he’s averaged 16.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 4.0 APG. 

While in the NBA it’s impossible to be completely sure a team will win on any given night, this is the most enticing matchup of the season so far for the Sixers. If they lose, it will likely be due to an off-night shooting the ball for the team, which would only show that they’re all human. They’ve impressed so much in their first three games that a loss, even against a bad team, wouldn’t be all that disheartening.

That said, with the high level of production across the board, including Oubre and Grimes, it'll be very difficult for the entire team to have an off-night. Hopefully, they're able to have their first truly dominant game of the season, and rest some of their starters in the fourth quarter.