By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (17-19) are back in action tonight at home as they host the San Antonio Spurs (26-12). While this is a game most would look at and assume it would be a loss, you might want to think again. The Spurs are on the second half of a back-to-back, so they'll be resting a trio of players and will also be missing two others due to injury. Meanwhile, the Sixers will likely be without Joel Embiid after the 7-foot-2 big man injured his hand in the team's win against the Suns.
Philadelphia has won two straight and three of their last four while San Antonio has earned victories in seven of their last nine games. The Spurs have won 12 in a row against the Sixers dating back to February 11, 2011, so tonight is a good chance for Philadelphia to snap that skid with the amount of players San Antonio will be without.
Five Spurs will miss matchup against Sixers
The Sixers won't have to deal with a number of the Spurs' best players as coach Gregg Popovich will be without five guys on his roster as they travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday. Rudy Gay will miss the game due to right heel bursitis, Danny Green is dealing with groin tightness and the trio of Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard will rest.
Rudy Gay (right heel bursitis), Manu Ginobili (rest), Danny Green (tightness, left groin), Kawhi Leonard (return from injury management) and Tony Parker (return from injury management) are all out for tonight’s Spurs-76ers game. pic.twitter.com/maWmwHYH1g
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 3, 2018
With those five players out, the Spurs will likely go with a starting lineup of Dejounte Murray, Bryn Forbes, Kyle Anderson, LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol. If Joel Embiid misses the game, it'll be up to Amir Johnson, Dario Saric and Richaun Holmes to deal with the veteran front court of Aldridge and Gasol.
Aldridge, 32, is having his best season since 2014-15, averaging 22.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Gasol, 37, has been impressive over the last five games, averaging a double-double, 13 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Although he's averaging a career-low in scoring (10.9 ppg), he's still shooting over 47 percent this season and 41 percent from beyond the arc.
Dario Saric key to Sixers recent success
The Sixers have won three of their past four games and that is thanks in large part to "The Homie", Dario Saric. Over the last three games alone, Dario is averaging 24 points, 7.3 rebounds and and 4.0 assists per game, shooting 62.5 percent from the floor and 66.6 percent from beyond the arc.
After averaging 12.9 points on 42.9 percent shooting in November, Saric erupted in December to average 17.3 points and 7.9 rebounds, upping his shooting percentage in the final month of 2017 to 48.1 percent from the floor. With Joel Embiid likely out tonight with his hand injury, the offense will once again rely heavily on Saric's back, which has worked out okay for the Sixers as of late.
Holmes should get more action with Embiid ailing
One of the bigger storylines surrounding the Sixers over the past few weeks has been Brett Brown's back-up center rotation. While many people understand Johnson is the better option defensively, is it really a big enough difference to where Holmes shouldn't be playing at all when Embiid is in the lineup? Here's how Brett Brown decides who plays…
"One's better at defense, one's better at offense," Brown said. "It's really that simple. Amir is a better defensive player and rebounder at this stage of his career. Richaun is lightning in a bottle, can change a game, got a bounce, probably more capable in bursts offensively."
Johnson's defensive rating (103) is only slightly better than that of Holmes (105) while Richaun's offensive rating (118) is a bit higher than Amir's (113). The Sixers' offensive rating as a whole is a 108.3 with Holmes on the court and a 101.9 with Johnson. That being said, the Sixers rebound more on both ends and are a more defensively sound team with Amir out there.
It looks like Brown will choose who to play on a case-by-case basis, but if the team looks flat or stale, Holmes shouldn't continue to rot on the bench as a loss gets closer because Johnson has been getting most of the minutes.
Projected Lineups
| Matchup Preview | January 3, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
@ |  |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Antonio Spurs (26-12, 9-10 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (17-19, 7-9 Home) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game Information
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
