Sixers at Kings: 3 storylines to watch and how to stream the game

Share

The Sixers are in Sacramento for the third game of their four-game West Coast trip, seeking to snap a nine-game road losing streak. 

Here are the essentials for Thursday night’s game between the 37-25 Sixers and 27-34 Kings:

When: 10 p.m. ET with Sixers Pregame Live at 9:30
Where: Golden 1 Center 
Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus
Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app

And three are three storylines to watch: 

Injury woes 

Ben Simmons (nerve impingement in lower back), Joel Embiid (left shoulder sprain) and Josh Richardson (concussion protocol) all remain out.

For the Kings, Marvin Bagley is still out with left foot soreness, while Richaun Holmes is out with a right shoulder injury. 

De’Aaron Fox (right lower abdominal tightness) and Cory Joseph (right heel contusion) are probable. Fox scored 31 points Tuesday in the Kings’ win over the Wizards, the team's sixth in the last seven games. 

Still in the spotlight … 

The Sixers were competitive against the two best teams in the Western Conference despite missing Embiid, Simmons and (mostly) Richardson. Shake Milton’s huge day against the Clippers, Mike Scott finding his shot and Glenn Robinson III finally hitting his first three as a Sixer on Tuesday night — and later sinking two more on his way to 25 points — were all positives. Al Horford and Tobias Harris, on the other hand, were not.

Horford’s issues were glaring. He struggled against Montrezl Harrell and Anthony Davis and shot a combined 6 for 19 from the floor.

Harris gave the team 43 points in Los Angeles but, in 74 minutes, didn’t make a single free throw (0 for 2). Getting to the foul line has never been one of Harris’ strengths, but the Sixers need much more than that, especially without Embiid and Simmons. 

The rebounding drop-off 

From the regular-season opener to New Year’s Eve, the Sixers led the NBA in rebounding percentage at 52.9 percent and had a 23-13 record. Since then, they’ve taken just 49.2 percent of available rebounds, which is 20th in the league, and gone 14-12. 

Embiid, the best rebounder on the team, has missed 12 of those 26 games. 

That are plenty of other reasons the Sixers have performed below expectations in 2020, but rebounding is certainly one factor. 



Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.

More on the Sixers

Contact Us