Sixers
Sixers try to spoil Bulls’ playoff hopes in home showdown
Published06 Apr 2017
By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
The Philadelphia 76ers' season is quickly drawing to a close, and the team is in search of a victory at the Wells Fargo Center to snap a four game losing streak and send the home fans out of the Center with something to be happy about.
Over the past couple weeks and months, the Sixers have seen the ends of seasons for many of their key players due to injury including Joel Embiid and more recently, Robert Covington.
In the last few games, the Sixers have dressed nine players, and as little as eight in the last couple of them. An injury exception from the NBA allowed the Sixers to bring in former Kentucky Wildcat Alex Poythress to the team.
Injuries aside and with only four games remaining after Thursday's game, the Sixers players still possess enough heart to show that they still want to compete and win games. However, coming off one of the worst losses in Wells Fargo Center history to the worst team in the NBA in the Brooklyn Nets is a tough pill to swallow and sure doesn't make the average fan confident by any means.
The Bulls are a playoff team as of now, but the Sixers have also shown poise playing on their home-court against quality opponents.
The circumstances are different, especially without the team's two best defensive players in Jo-Jo and Ro-Co.
Last Time Out:
The Bulls have taken two of three from the Sixers thus far this season. Most recently however, the Sixers got the big 'W' over Chicago with a 117-107 triumph at the United Center back on March 24.
The Sixers got two career scoring nights from Dario Šarić and Shawn Long. Šarić had 32 points, Long had 18 off the bench.
In the second and third quarters, the Sixers outscored the Bulls 69-43, but allowed Chicago to waltz back with a rally in the fourth quarter, where they outscored Philadelphia 36-24. The Sixers maintained their lead and walked out of the Windy City with a ten-point win.
Jimmy Butler was on fire for the Bulls all night long with a game-high 36 points and also added 11 assists, and three steals. Bobby Portis had 17 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks off the bench for Chicago.
The Bulls needed a victory against the Sixers in this game in order to increase their standing in the Eastern Conference, but came up short. The same is expected of Chicago going into the April 6 edition of the matchup.
What to expect from Super Dario:
Dario Šarić has been nothing short of super all season long and has without a doubt lived up to the nickname fans have graced upon him.
Since the departure of Joel Embiid for the season due to a torn meniscus and starting power forward Ersan Ilyasova due to a trade to the Hawks, Dario has emerged as the undisputed favorite to win the league's Rookie of the Year Award. Šarić has taken home the last two Rookie of the Month Awards.
However, Šarić has had the undertaking of a lot more minutes now than what he was used to before the season changed. Because of the increased workload, injuries have set in, as Šarić's heel injury has now been characterized as Plantar's Fasciitis.
Unfortunately, an injury of this nature makes it difficult to be as mobile as before, and Šarić has faced a minutes restriction to 24 minutes per game because of it. 24 is the absolute maximum, with Šarić only going 19 minutes in Tuesday's loss vs. Brooklyn before being yanked.
There's no doubt Šarić wants to play and give the home fans a win before the season ends, but with only an allowance of 24 minutes per game(if that), it's unlikely to see the rookie power forward showcase the same quality minutes of play people have seen him play all season long.
Previous Game Rewind:
Sixers: What else can be said? The Sixers did have 10 players in the game, but a lack of defense cost the team a win, and more accurately, their dignity. The Brooklyn Nets, the NBA's worst team at 19-59, put up 141 points on Tuesday night, a Wells Fargo Center record for points. Much more surprising than that, the Nets put an 81 spot up on the scoreboard going into the locker room at half-time. The Sixers had no answer for the Nets' outburst, as the team took off with a 23-point win. Eight of the 13 players that saw action for the Nets had at least 10 points, and not one had 20 points. Unbelievable. The Nets by far played their best game of the season on Tuesday, and unfortunately for the Sixers, it came at their expense. Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot had 19 points, Shawn Long had 18, and Richaun Holmes had 16 points for the Sixers.
Bulls: The Bulls had a four-game winning streak going into their date with the Knicks on Tuesday night, but New York came away with a 100-91 win over Chicago. The Bulls can't afford losing at this point in the season, especially now being tied with three different teams for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Jimmy Butler had 26 points, and Nikola Mirotic contributed 21 points. The Knicks outscored the Bulls in the first three quarters of play, until Chicago finally came back to life in the fourth, with a seven point advantage.
| Matchup Preview | April 6, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chicago Bulls (38-40, 15-24 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (28-50, 17-21 Home) |
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