After an exciting NBA trade deadline (in which the Sixers acquired five new players!) an Elton Brand press conference, and a Moses Malone statue unveiling at Legends Walk (and a jersey retiring to happen this evening), can you believe there is still a game to play?
And it is a big one. The Sixers (34-20) are taking on a team that currently stands at second place in the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets (37-17), at Wells Fargo Center. There are so many storylines to follow, it’s hard to keep it to just three. First, here are the essentials:
• When: 7 p.m. ET with Sixers Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m.
• Where: Wells Fargo Center
• Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app
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And here are three storylines:
New core
It’ll be the first glimpse of Tobias Harris in the Sixers' starting lineup, alongside Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick. Keep in mind that this group will have had zero practice time together, but getting to see the future of the new core, and how these guys feed off each other is definitely going to be the highlight of this one.
New bench
NBA
The Sixers added Mike Scott, James Ennis, Jonathon Simmons and Boban Marjanović to their bench. One of the biggest criticisms of this team had been their lack of bench depth, especially at the wing. With the new construction of this roster, we’ll get our first look into whether this bench is better equipped come playoff time. (Ennis is still in the process of being cleared for tonight’s game, while Simmons will not play, according to a team source).
And then there’s Denver … and Nikola Jokic!
The fans are still starved for that Jokic vs. Joel Embiid matchup! The last time these two teams played, the Sixers rested Embiid, and fell 126-110 in Denver. Jokic came out aggressive, posting 17 points and seven rebounds in the first. You better believe Embiid has this one circled. Prior to resting against Denver a few weeks ago, Embiid said, “You best believe that if I play, I'm going to go crazy."
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