The Philadelphia 76ers take on the Milwaukee Bucks on the road as they look to secure their third straight victory.
Playing in the second half of a back-to-back, the Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to win their third straight game for the first time since their third game of the season. Taking on the Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo, they should have a good opportunity to do so, which would be a huge victory for Philadelphia.
Over the last few weeks, the team has been very inconsistent, winning one game, then losing the next, and continuing this pattern for quite some time. That said, the Sixers are just two missed free throws away from being on a four-game winning streak.
If they can continue this success for at least a few more games, they'll put themselves back into the position of being one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. If Philadelphia can pull off a win tonight, they'll be tied with the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic, which isn't poor company to be around.
The Magic embarrassed a short-handed Sixers team a few games ago, winning by 41 points and never giving Philly a chance to come back. Hopefully, that was the real turning point early in this season, as that loss was completely unacceptable from a coaching standpoint.
Even last game's collapse was awful from Nick Nurse, so this issue is one that the team needs to address. It might be a bit late at this point to bail on Nurse this season, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him exit Philadelphia if they don't make some sort of playoff run.
Focusing on the positives, however, Paul George will be playing against the Bucks while Embiid rests with his left-knee injury management. Tyrese Maxey is also coming off yet another 35+ point performance, continuing his dominance. In his last meeting with Milwaukee, he scored a career-high 54 points, so we could see another impressive performance tonight.
VJ Edgecombe, though his scoring numbers have taken a hit, has actually been very impressive with relatively limited minutes. He's found ways to impact the game outside of scoring early on, which is key for a rookie and shows that he could be a solid player in this league for a long time.
His timely game-winning bucket against the Warriors is a good example of this, as it was simply a hustle play with a victory on the line. It's also been amazing watching Jared McCain perform up to his typical standard and prove to everyone that last season wasn't just a fluke.
I would expect some early points tonight from George, and then as he sees the court less, Maxey will likely take over. It would be nice to see Edgecombe finish around 15 points and be a help on offense, particularly with Kelly Oubre Jr. still out. Hopefully, this will be a manageable game for the Sixers, and they'll be able to finish out the game without it being too close.