The Philadelphia 76ers are at home to play the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night and are hoping to be able to get themselves a win in front of the home crowd. So far, to start the season, the Sixers have been very accommodating to visiting teams, allowing the Bucks to blow them out by fifteen points on opening night and letting the, winless at the time, Pistons to beat them by ten on Wednesday night. The team, still shorthanded will be looking to get back in the good graces of the fans as the Grizzlies are somewhat beat up as well.
Sixers game information
Who: Memphis Grizzlies (3-3) at Philadelphia 76ers (1-3)
When: 7:30 pm EST
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass, Bally Sports South, Southeast, & Midwest
Latest on the Sixers
Where do we start with this year’s Sixers team? Joel Embiid and Paul George are both out, despite having had practices in five-on-five situations this week. The hope is that sometime in the next week, the Sixers will be able to field the team they envisioned over the summer. Tyrese Maxey is leading the league in minutes per game at 42 and is just slightly behind Anthony Davis for the scoring lead at 31.5 point per game. Maxey has done ro tried to everything an anything that the team could want from him. His shooting is way down compared to the past but that will quickly adjust once Embiid and George are on the floor. He’s just taking a beating so far to open the season and you have to wonder how much he’s going to be able to take.
For the rest of the squad, they’ve not fared much better. Kelly Oubre Jr. is averring 19 points per game on the year and trying to do his best, like Maxey, in a rough situation to start. Caleb Martin is the only other Sixers averaging double digits in points at 11.8 per game. The point guard duo of Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon, averaging 36.5 in age, are giving the team 16 points per game but only 4 assists. That’s not what you want from the two guards that you’re giving 45 minutes per game on the floor. Andre Drummond was brought in to give Embiid a rest, cover in some games that Embiid would miss, and provide that rebounding presence that the Sixers have seemed to lack over the past few years. In just 28 minutes per game, Drummond is averaging 9.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, which is good enough for second in the league.
The Sixers are really going through it without their two biggest stars and they weren’t constructed for long periods without both players. They have the second worst three-point shooting percentage, as a team, in the league at just 27.7% and there’s no way that can continue through the season. They need Embiid and George to return, be healthy, and open up the floor for other players, especially Maxey who’s just under 40% on three-pointers for his career. Without those two, the Sixers have struggled mightily and it looks like it will continue.
Latest on the Grizzlies
The Grizzlies have to be happy with the return of Ja Morant this season, who missed all but nine games last year from a suspension and shoulder injury. Morant is coming into the game against the Sixers averaging 20.4 points, 5 rebounds, and 9.4 assists on the young season. The Grizzlies are missing Marcus Smart and Desmond Bane, so they’re shorthanded as well but Morant seems to be making up for that.
In addition to Morant, the Grizzlies have been getting 18.8 points per game from Jaren Jackson Jr. who’s giving the team quality minutes at forward and at 6’10” tall and 242 lbs. Jackson is an interior presence that will give the Sixers undersized team a problem. Santi Aldama, Scottie Pippen Jr., and Zach Edey give the Grizzlies a lot of size to counter the smaller Sixers team. The issue is that beyond Morant, they don’t have very much in the way of guards that may be able to slow down Maxey.
The Grizzlies are having an ump and down start to the season so it’s hard to know which team will show up in Philadelphia on Saturday night. Will it be the one that has beaten the Jazz, Magic, and most recently the Bucks or the team that’s lost to the Nets, Rockets, and Bulls. For their sake it should be the former but if everything goes as it has been for the team, tonight would be a loss. s
What to watch for
Ja Morant is a walking highlight film and it’s going to be a sight for Sixers fans to see him in person and putting on a show. Having Maxey and Morant flying all over the court is going to be something special. Sixers first round pick, Jared McCain has seen his minutes increase dramatically over the last two games, including the loss to the Pistons where he had a career high 22 for the game. While he only shot 33% from the floor, McCain was good for 12 points against the Pistons and combined with the way that the combination of Lowry and Gordon has been playing it might not be a bad idea for the team to see what McCain can do in ever more minutes.
Getting to the basket and drawing fouls should be the key, for the Sixers to start out the game. The size that the Grizzlies front like presents will be a problem and early could trouble would be the way for the Sixers to neutralize that. Having Maxey and McCain on the floor with Oubre, wouldn’t be such a bad idea, given that they all like to drive the backet. McCain was 6-6 on his free throw attempts, is a great shooter and should be given the time to see what he can provide the team.
This game is, hopefully, the last few minutes of the countdown until Joel Ebmiid and Paul George make their season debuts for the Sixers. If the team can grab a win against the Grizzlies, at home, it would be huge as they head out west for the week to take on the Suns, Clippers, and Lakers which doesn’t look so good right now, minus their two big stars. Controlling Morant, getting the Grizzlies into early foul trouble, and using McCain to help open up the floor should be the three big keys for a Sixers victory.
Prediction
Sixers 104 – Grizzlies 102
