By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly Staff
It hasn't been a kind past two weeks for the Philadelphia 76ers(18-32) as they head to Detroit to face the Pistons(23-28) on Monday night. The Sixers have dropped five of their last six games, and will try to knock off the Pistons for the second time this season.
A big loss to the red-hot Miami Heat was tough to come by on Saturday night, but with Jahlil Okafor back in the lineup, alongside Nerlens Noel, it might be a little bit closer of a contest when these two teams meet again.
The Sixers have been without star Center Joel Embiid since Friday, January 27, as well as missing Robert Covington for the past few games.
The Pistons are coming off of a loss to the Indiana Pacers, after two wins against Western Conference opponents in the Timberwolves and Pelicans.
In the loss for Detroit, the Pistons were led by Marcus Morris in scoring with 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Former Sixer Ish Smith had four points and six assists off the bench.
The Sixers loss on Saturday night was a tough pill to swallow. Ersan Ilyasova led all Sixers scorers with 21 points. Gerald Henderson had 12, and T.J. McConnell had 11. They had trouble in the paint with Hassan Whiteside, who had 30 points and 20 rebounds. The Sixers are going to have a tough time guarding Andre Drummond in the post without Embiid there to provide a defensive advantage.
The last time the 76ers waltzed into the Palace of Auburn Hills, they came away with a huge 97-79 victory. Robert Covington had 16 points and seven rebounds, Ilyasova had 15 points and eight rebounds. T.J. McConnell was stellar in the win for the Sixers with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists for Philadelphia. The Sixers had a hard time guarding Marcus Morris, who went for 28 points and shot four-of-seven from three in Detroit's loss.
Game Notes:
- In their last six games, the Sixers have lost five of them.
- Before the Sixers' 97-79 win over the Detroit Pistons on December 11, the Pistons won the previous four meetings between the two teams. Monday's matchup will be the team's 365th career meeting.
- This will be the sixth straight game without Center Joel Embiid, who last played January 27 against the Houston Rockets. It's looking to be unlikely to see Embiid play before the All-Star Break this coming weekend.
- Jahlil Okafor will start for the Sixers, his first start since the beginning of trade rumors concerning the center's potential move to the Chicago Bulls.
| Matchup Preview | February 6, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Philadelphia 76ers (18-32, 6-17 Away) |
Detroit Pistons (23-28, 14-10 Home) |
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