By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (4-18) continue their three-game road trip this evening with a stop in New Orleans for a match-up with Anthony Davis and the Pelicans (7-15). The Sixers come in losers of eight straight games while the Pelicans have a three-game losing streak of their own and have dropped five of their last six overall.
Joel Embiid is expected to return to the floor tonight after sitting out the Sixers' second half of a back-to-back in Memphis on Tuesday. Philadelphia is still expected be without the services of Jerryd Bayless (wrist soreness) and Jahlil Okafor (gastroenteritis). Robert Covington is available after missing the past two games with a left knee sprain.
Meanwhile, New Orleans has some injury issues of their own with Dante Cunningham and Tyreke Evans out while the status of both E'Twaun Moore (toe) and Jrue Holiday (toe) are up in the air.
Last meeting:
Philadelphia and New Orleans split their two meetings last season with the Sixers emerging victorious in the most recent game on April 5, their final win of the 2015-2016 season. The Sixers found themselves down by eight after one, but outscored the Pelicans by 14 in the second to take a lead they would not relinquish. Carl Landry led the Sixers offense with 22 points , Isaiah Canaan finished with 16 while Hollis Thompson and Nik Stauskas each added 13 off the bench. The Pelicans only dressed eight players for that game with Dante Cunningham scoring a team-high 19 points. They were without Anthony Davis in the game along with Omer Asik and Jrue Holiday.
Big men Embiid, Davis leading the way:
Joel Embiid has had some tough tests as a rookie, and this one might be one of the most difficult to date. Pelicans star big man Anthony Davis leads the NBA in scoring (31.6 ppg) and blocks (2.81 bpg) while also ranking in the top 10 in rebounding. Although his numbers are impressive, Davis also leads the league in minutes played with 38 per game. He scored 28 points and brought down 17 boards in 48.5 minutes on Monday, a double overtime loss to Memphis.
Embiid has been very impressive this season for the Sixers after being out of basketball action for over two years. He leads the rookie class in scoring (18.5 ppg), rebounds (7.8 rpg), blocks (2.4) and three-point percentage (.500). It will be interesting to see how Embiid responds tonight after posting one of his most poor performances of his young career on Sunday. He shot just 5-for-15 from the floor and had some costly turnovers. On the positive end of things, though, Embiid blocked a career-high five shots against Denver in the Sixers' 106-98 loss.
It looks like Omer Asik will draw Embiid to start, but expect Joel and Anthony Davis to get some time matched up against one another.
Saric on a roll:
While Joel Embiid has been the focal point of the Sixers season thus far, fellow rookie Dario Saric is really coming into his own as of late in a reserve role behind Ersan Ilyasova. The 22-year-old Croatian forward shot just 39.7 percent overall during the month of November, but has really ramped things up to start off December.
In four games this month, Saric is playing 23.3 minutes on average and shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and 45 percent from beyond the arc. He's scored 17+ in each of his last three games while also tallying seven or more rebounds in that span. After scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 boards against Boston on December 3, Saric has followed it up with two 17 point performances with a combined 15 rebounds.
Overall this season, Saric is averaging 10 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, good for third and second among the rookie class, respectively.
Jrue Holiday update:
Former Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday missed the first six weeks of the season tending to his wife, who had a benign brain tumor removed and also gave birth to their first daughter, Lauren. When Holiday returned, New Orleans won five straight at home, but the veteran point guard suffered a turf toe injury on Sunday against Oklahoma City and has been sidelined since. In nine games for the Pelicans this season, the 26-year-old out of UCLA is averaging 15.4 points and 6.1 assists per game, shooting 46.2 percent overall.
Previous Game Rewind:
Sixers: With just nine players suiting up on Tuesday in Memphis, the Sixers gave a valiant effort, but ended up falling by a final score of 96-91 to an equally undermanned Grizzlies team. Ersan Ilyasova led the way with 23 points and 17 rebounds while Dario Saric scored 17 off the bench. Richaun Holmes got the start at center and played admirably in a career-high 34 minutes. Holmes finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Memphis' offense was powered by none other than Marc Gasol, who scored 26 to go along with 12 boards.
Pelicans: New Orleans last played on Monday, a 110-108 loss in double overtime to the Sixers last opponent, the Grizzlies. Marc Gasol hit the game-tying shot in regulation, saved the game with a big block in the first overtime and hit what ended up being the decisive basket in the second overtime. Anthony Davis finished with 28 points and 17 rebounds while Langston Galloway contributed with 26 points off the bench.
| Matchup Preview | December 8, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Philadelphia 76ers (4-18, 0-7 Away) |
New Orleans Pelicans (7-15, 5-7 Home) |
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Game Information:
Tip-off: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
TV: The Comcast Network
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Stream Live: CSNPhilly.com, NBC Sports Live Extra
