By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (14-14) kick-off a back-to-back on Monday night in Chicago for an 8:00 p.m. matchup against the Bulls (8-20). The Sixers are coming off of a triple overtime loss on Friday while the Bulls have won their last five games after starting the season 3-20. Philadelphia will travel to Chicago without Joel Embiid (rest) and they'll also be missing Trevor Booker after he injured his ankle against the Thunder on Friday night.
With Joel Embiid out, Ben Simmons will need to be a bit more aggressive than he has been recently, taking just 18 shots combined over the last two games after attempting 29 in the previous two against New Orleans and Cleveland.
Injuries continue to hamper Sixers
It seems like there's never a shortage of injury issues for the Sixers. Whether it's first-round picks missing seasons or just incovenient ankle turns, the past few years have been quite an injury journey for Sixers players and fans.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that after a triple OT game, playing as many minutes as he did, that Joel Embiid will not play tonight in Chicago. He finished with 34 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks, but if you watched the game, you could tell his back was bothering him. Even if Friday's game didn't go that long, Monday is the front end of a back-to-back so Embiid likely would have sat anyway. The Sixers host Sacramento on Tuesday, but Brett Brown told NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jessica Camerato that he is unsure whether or not Embiid will be available for the back of the back-to-back either. The Sixers plan to start Amir Johnson in place of Embiid against the Bulls with Richaun Holmes getting the back-up minutes off the bench.
Meanwhile, Trevor Booker left Sunday's game after hurting his ankle and he will miss both ends of the Sixers back-to-back. Booker will be evaluated in five to seven days, meaning he could also miss Thursday's game against the Raptors. In four games with the Sixers, Booker is averaging 11.5 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor.
2016 first-round pick Furkan Korkmaz suffered a Lisfranc injury (midfoot) during Friday's game with the 87ers. He's undergoing further testing and evaluation. Korkmaz is listed as out indefinitely. The Turkish guard is averaging 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in nine games with the Sixers' G-League affiliate.
Robert Covington in need of a bounce back
Sixers forward Robert Covington missed two games with a lower back injury after tumbling into the stands against the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 9. Prior to getting hurt, Covington was playing extremely well, scoring 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting and 5-for-7 from beyond to go along with six boards, four steals and two assists. During his return on Friday against Oklahoma City, he struggled to get anything going from the floor, missing 17 of his 21 shots from the floor and making just three of 15 from three-point range. If he had been even a little more consistent, there's a good chance Philadelphia could have earned the win.
Covington is struggling overall in the month of December, shooting just 38.7 percent from the floor after shooting 44.2 percent in November. RoCo has had three good games this month and two not so good ones, shooting a combined 53.6 percent against the Cavs, Lakers and Pistons. In the games against the Suns and Thunder, he shot 7-for-34, good for a 20.5 shooting percentage.
Even with the streaky shooting, Covington ranks 7th in the NBA in real plus-minus with a 4.82.
Mirotic's return fueling Bulls
If you look at their record, 8-20, you'd imagine tonight with or without Joel Embiid should be a pretty easy win for the Sixers. That won't be the case though as the Bulls have ripped off five straight wins, including victories against the Celtics, Hornets, Bucks, Jazz and Knicks.
The Bulls' winning streak has coincided with the return of 26-year-old forward Nikola Mirotic. He missed the start of the season due to a facial fracture resulting from an altercation with teammate Bobby Portis, but his return has brought the Bulls some wins over good teams. Their most impressive win was a 23-pointer over the Boston Celtics on December 11. Mirotic scored 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting while also snaring eight boards in the victory. Since returning, Mirotic is averaging 20 points and 6.2 rebounds, shooting 53.8 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc.
Chicago will benefit from the return of rookie Lauri Markkanen as well. The seventh overall pick from this year's draft missed the last three games with a lower back injury. In 25 games this season, though, Markannen has been impressive, averaging 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 40.1 percent overall and 33.5 percent from beyond the arc. Markannen ranks second among rookies in rebounds behind Sixers' Ben Simmons and fourth among first-year players in scoring.
Projected Lineups
| Matchup Preview | December 18, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Philadelphia 76ers (14-14, 7-7 Away) |
Chicago Bulls (8-20, 5-8 Home) |
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Game Information
Tip-off: 8pm
Location: United Center, Chicago, IL
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus (formerly TCN)
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
