By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Tip-off: 7:00 pm ❖ Location: Philadelphia, PA ❖ TV: NBCSP, NBA TV ❖ Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
The Philadelphia 76ers (42-30) have officially clinched their spot in the 2017-18 NBA Playoffs. Tonight, they'll play host to a team looking to sneak into the Western Conference playoff picture in the Denver Nuggets (40-33). The Sixers have won six straight games and are coming off of three dominant wins that saw starters rest in the fourth against Orlando, Memphis and Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Nuggets have won two in a row and eight of their last nine games are against teams in the playoffs with their other game against the Clippers, who trail Denver by one game.
The last time these two teams met was at the end of December. Joel Embiid was held out for rest, but the Sixers pulled out a 107-102 victory to move to 16-19 on the season towards the end of a forgettable five win month.
Markelle Fultz finally makes his return
The Sixers rookie point guard Markelle Fultz has been out all season since October with scapular muscle imbalance in his shoulder.
The Sixers cut ties with James Young earlier on Monday, and announced that Fultz would be available to be Ben Simmons' backup on Monday night.
Fultz was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He will not have any minutes restrictions vs. Denver.
The Playoff Picture
Philadelphia is in the playoffs and there are still a variety of places they could finish this season. With 10 games remaining, only two are against Eastern Conference playoff teams and the have one of the easiest schedules remaining with games against Knicks, Mavericks, Hawks (twice), Nets, Hornets in addition to the Pistons, Bucks and Cavs after tonight. The Sixers sit in fourth place in the East, two percentage points ahead of the fifth-place Pacers. They are only 1.5 games out of third and have a little breathing room behind the Pacers as Washington and Milwaukee trail by 2.5 and 3.5 games, respectively.
On the Nuggets end, they currently sit outside of the playoffs with nine games to play, including tonight in Philadelphia. Their schedule is tough with matchups against Toronto, OKC, Indiana, Minnesota (twice), Portland, Milwaukee, the Clippers remaining. Only one game separates the Clippers and Nuggets and Denver is 1.5 games behind the seventh place T'Wolves and eight place Jazz. Their two remaining games against Minnesota will play a big part in their push to a playoff spot. Things are tight in the West as the fourth place Thunder and ninth place Nuggets are separated by only three games.
Big Man Showdown
Monday night will give folks of both fanbases a chance to see a big man showdown that we've seen only once before. Both Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic have been dominant forces in the pain for their respective teams and it will be the first time since December 30, 2016 that the young talents meet head-to-head. Both guys have the ability to hurt you in the post and on the perimeter.
During their first match-up against each other, Embiid finished with 23 points, six rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. Jokic had 25 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.
Embiid has gotten an opportunity to rest the last three four quarters, with the exception of a few minutes against Minnesota, so it's good he'll be fresh for tonight, because Jokic has been shooting extremely well from the floor and beyond in March and the last five games. Jokic scored 25 points in addition to eight rebounds and five assists in Denver's win over Washington the last time out. Embiid finished with 19 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two assists in Philadelphia's win over Minnesota on Saturday.
Here's a look at some of their stats overall this season and some of the numbers from recent games:
Season Averages
Joel Embiid - 23.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.8 blocks, 3.8 turnovers – 48.4 field-goal%, 31.1 three-point%
Nikola Jokic - 17.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 0.8 blocks, 2.8 turnovers – 49.9 field-goal%, 39.6 three-point%
March Averages
Joel Embiid - 20.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 blocks, 3.3 turnovers – 44.9 field-goal%, 29.2 three-point%
Nikola Jokic - 19.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 0.8 blocks, 2.8 turnovers – 55.3 field-goal%, 50.0 three-point%
Last 5 Games
Joel Embiid - 25.6 minutes, 19.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 blocks, 2.6 turnovers – 43.8 field-goal%, 36.8 three-point%
Nikola Jokic - 36.2 minutes, 24.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 blocks, 2.2 turnovers – 52.4 field-goal%, 54.5 three-point%
Simmons showing no signs of slowing down
Whether you want Ben Simmons to shoot more or not, it's hard to ignore the numbers he's been putting up as of late. He goes into pretty much every game with the chance to get a triple-double and has done so in three of the last five games and five times this month. He's notched 12+ assists in six games during March and is averaging a triple-double over the last five games (13.2 points, 11.8 assists, 10 rebounds). From Simmons' early days in Summer League 2016 with the Sixers, his passing skills were elite and that's what drives his game. His height and ability to drive to the basket opens up his teammates for good shots. Despite the desire of the fans that want Simmons to shoot more, he's going to stick to what he does best.
"I’m not worried about putting up points every game,” Simmons said. “As long as we win, that’s all I’m worried about. I think everything else will come along with it. But that’s just not the way I play. I don’t need to score 30, 40 points every game. Now I can create 40 points by passing the ball, that’s easy to me."
Simmons is fourth in the NBA in assists (8.0), behind only James Harden, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. His 10 triple-doubles are good for third-best in the league, just ahead of Denvers Nikola Jokic (8) and behind LeBron (16) and Westbrook (23).
Projected Lineups
| Matchup Preview | March 26, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Denver Nuggets (40-33, 13-23 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (42-30, 24-11 Home) |
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