By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (8-6) return home after a five game road trip to host the defending champion Golden State Warriors (11-4), seven days after they lost to them out west. The Sixers got back on track after their loss to the Warriors last week, winning both games in Los Angeles against the Clippers and Lakers. Meanwhile, Golden State had their seven-game win streak snapped at the hands of the Boston Celtics, who have now won 14 in a row. The Sixers have won seven of their last night.
Even though it’s been just one week since these two teams last met, the Sixers have gotten some really phenomenal performances from Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons over the last pair of games in L.A., so they’ll have momentum and confidence coming into tonight’s match-up while the Warriors will come in looking to rebound from a game that saw them score just 88 points.
Sixers finish road trip off on strong note
Philadelphia started off their five-game west coast trip with a win at Utah before losing a heart-breaker to Sacramento and a blow-out to the Warriors at Oracle Arena. The rebounded from that loss by holding off the Clippers (109-105) and Lakers (115-109). The Lakers game was highlighted by a record-breaking performance from Joel Embiid, who finished with 46 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocks.
Embiid struggled against the Warriors last week, scoring just 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting. Look for him to be more aggressive like we saw against the L.A. teams and roll some momentum over from those contests. Both Embiid and Simmons were playing Golden State for the first time last week, so on Saturday night, we’ll see if the impressive young duo can crack the Warriors and steal a win.
3rd quarter needs to be better
The Sixers always seem to be in control more so in the first half of games than the second half and they’ve had issues all season coming out of halftime in the third quarter. Over their last three games, they’ve been outscored 92-68 in third quarter and their biggest third quarter flaws showed during their match-up out west against the Warriors. At halftime, the Sixers trailed by just one point, 65-64, but were outscored 36-21 in the third and they couldn’t chip away as the Warriors did what they do best – hit a barrage of triples in a row to run away from their opponents.
Philadelphia was outscored 30-25 in the third against the Lakers and 26-22 against the Clippers, but were able to overcome those quarters to emerge victorious.
Injury Update
The Sixers have dealt with some injuries this season and most recently, they lost Justin Anderson, who will miss at least three weeks with shin splints. Anderson have averaged five points and 2.7 rebounds per game in just under 13 minutes on average. While he may not bring a big scoring boost off the bench, Anderson is always energetic and active on the defensive end. In addition, he’s the first guy up on the bench to cheer on his teammates after a made shot or when they come to the bench. Anderson is shooting 37.5 percent from the floor this season and 34.6 percent from three-point range.
Jerryd Bayless hasn’t played since injuring his wrist on November 3 against the Indiana Pacers. Bayless missed the entirety of last season with a wrist injury, but this one is not nearly as severe. He will miss Saturday’s game against the Warriors but is listed as questionable to return for Monday’s game against the Jazz at home. In nine games this season, Bayless is averaging 11 points per game, shooting 46.1 percent from the floor and 42.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Sixers 2017 first round pick Markelle Fultz was ruled out indefinitely on October 27 with shoulder imbalance after playing in just four games and looking nothing like the player he was in college. It’s been nearly three weeks and Fultz is set to have his shoulder re-examined on Sunday, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Projected Lineups
| Matchup Preview | November 18, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Golden State Warriors (11-4, 5-2 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (8-6, 2-2 Home) |
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Game Information
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
