By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Sixers are searching for their longest winning streak since their five game win streak between October 28 and November 7.
The team will look for their fourth straight victory this time when the Detroit Pistons come to town for their third matchup of the season.
Perhaps the biggest stories of the week for the Sixers has been the injuries that have surrounded the team. There have been a lot of positive diagnoses, and even a star who played through an injury successfully.
For the Pistons, they may have to go through Friday night's game without their star center Andre Drummond, who will most likely be a game-time decision.
But with one matchup between the two Eastern Conference teams left after this one, the Pistons will try to avoid losing the series to the Sixers, and get a win back on the road.
Joel Embiid and Justin Anderson expect to play tonight
The Sixers will likely have the services of both center Joel Embiid and guard Justin Anderson tonight at home vs. Detroit.
Embiid (hand) ended up playing on Wednesday night despite being initially ruled out, while Anderson has been out of action since November 15 due to shin splints.
Embiid wasn't listed on the Sixers' injury report following team shoot around earlier today, so it looks like his status for the game is a go.
Joel Embiid is not listed on the teams official injury report today. Need to get clarity, but have to think that’s a good sign
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) January 5, 2018
NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jessica Camerato reported that Anderson "expects to play tonight."
Justin Anderson expects to be available to play tonight vs. Pistons.
— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoNBCS) January 5, 2018
Having Anderson back in the lineup is big news for the Sixers team that has lacked depth for over a month now. With Anderson in the lineup, it gives Head Coach Brett Brown more flexibility in both the offensive and defensive rotations.
Pistons will miss Drummond if ruled out (update: Drummond WILL play for Detroit)
There aren't many rebounders in the NBA quite like Andre Drummond, as he provides a sort of depth for the Pistons that not many players are able to provide.
Not only is he key for grabbing rebounds on offense and on defense, but he can score in the post with high efficiency.
On Wednesday, Drummond (ribs) missed Detroit's game against the Heat in which they ended up falling in the end, 111-104.
Drummond's rebounding skills are among the league's leaders, averaging 15.1 rebounds per game.
Prior to his injury, Drummond posted 21 rebounds in his last game against the Spurs on December 30.
If Drummond does indeed not play against the Sixers, that will put on hold the personal showdown between him and Joel Embiid.
The last time the two elite centers faced off, they embraced at the end of the game and Embiid said that the beef between the two was just "all in good fun." But Embiid said postgame that he was the better center in the NBA.
Whatever happens tonight with Drummond playing or not, it will definitely be a fun matchup between two of the NBA's more impressive centers to watch. Drummond with his elite defense, and Embiid with his elite offense.
It's always a fun time when these two behemoths face off one-on-one.
Sixer things to look out for
The Sixers got a very good-looking performance from their point guard Ben Simmons, who posted 26 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block.
We've seen Simmons be a lot more aggressive getting to the rim and making plays, rather than being passive and giving up chances to put himself in the center of attention.
Let's be honest, when Simmons is the center of attention, good things happen.
Two times this season the Sixers have had two games with four players over 20 points in a game. The Sixers are coming off a matchup with the Spurs with three players who scored 20 points. The Sixers are very successful when they get scoring done from Embiid, Simmons, and JJ Redick.
If the Sixers are able to get their outside shooting going, they won't have much of a problem getting out to a lead and keeping the lead against the Pistons.
| Matchup Preview | January 5, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
@ |  |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit Pistons (20-16) |
Philadelphia 76ers (18-19) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
