By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Mired in a four-game skid, the Philadelphia 76ers (13-13) will look to get back on track tonight when they visit Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves (16-11). The Sixers have lost four straight and six of their last eight while Minnesota has won three of their last four games. Philadelphia could potentially be without three players tonight after also playing short-handed in New Orleans on Sunday.
Joel Embiid, T.J. McConnell and Robert Covington are all questionable for tonight’s game and will each be a game-time decision. Embiid was scheduled to play on Sunday against the Pelicans but was a late scratch with back soreness. In head coach Brett Brown’s post shoot-around media availability on Tuesday, he said that the Sixers’ big man had an “okay” workout on Monday and participated in shoot-around today. Embiid compiled 35 points and 18 rebounds in two games against Minnesota last season. Brown said that the Sixers hope to see him play tonight, obviously. Embiid wasn’t Brown’s main concern heading into the game, though.
“I’m more worried about Rob and T.J. than I am with Joel,” Brown told reporters. “We’ll find out more, I guess, when they warm up tonight.”
T.J. McConnell is still nursing an AC sprain in his shoulder and has missed five of the teams’ last six games due to it. The coach said McConnell had a strong workout Monday, but was stiff and sore in his shoulder on Tuesday. Robert Covington mostly participated in shooting drills after Tuesday’s practice and received treatment earlier in the day.
The Sixers are coming off of a tough loss on Sunday in New Orleans, a game they should have won despite being without Embiid, McConnell and Covington. They came out in the third quarter and outscored the Pelicans 40-21 to take a 95-87 lead into the fourth quarter. New Orleans reponded in the final 12 minutes by outscoring the Sixers 44-29 to win the game 131-124. J.J. Redick led the Sixers with 28 points while Ben Simmons tallied 27 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.
“When we make mistakes and do not have guys like Joel and Cov to make up for it, it gets tough,” said Simmons after the loss. “We have to just come together as a team and get through it.”
If Joel Embiid does indeed play, we’ll be treated to an Embiid vs. Towns matchup, one sure to excite a national TV audience on ESPN. In 21 games this season, Embiid is averaging 23.5 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 blocks per game.
On the other end of the court, Towns is pretty close on stats, averaging 20.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. The 7-foot big man out of Kentucky has been strong in the T’Wolves’ last two games, both wins, posting 39 points, 24 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and four blocks.
In addition to Towns and Andrew Wiggins, this is the first time the Sixers will face a Minnesota team armed with Jimmy Butler on it as the former Bull joined the Timberwolves in the offseason. Over the last five games, Butler has really settled in nicely, averaging 25.2 points, 5.8 rebounds a 5.8 assists while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor. Veteran point guard Jeff Teague is at the helm for Minnesota after the T’Wolves traded Ricky Rubio to Utah in July. Teague is shooting 42.2 percent from three-point range this season.
Projected Lineups:
| Matchup Preview | December 12, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Philadelphia 76ers (13-13, 6-7 Away) |
Minnesota Timberwolves (16-11, 9-4 Home) |
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Game Information:
Tip-off: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: ESPN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
