Sixers vs. Clippers: Start Time and Game Preview

The Sixers take on the Blake Griffin-less LA Clippers tonight in Philadelphia. The Clippers traded Griffin (along with Brice Johnson and Willie Reed) to the Detroit Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, and two picks, which effectively kicked off trade deadline season. Since adding those new pieces to their roster, the Clippers have gone 3-0, proving their move to be a success in the short term. The Sixers are also on a mini-winning streak themselves, winning 3 of their last 4, including the last two games.

The Sixers and Clippers are eerily similar in terms of PPG (107.5 vs. 107.6), PA (106.0 vs. 106.8) and FG % (46.5 vs. 46.3), and are only separated by one win in terms of record. However, the Sixers out assist, out block, out steal, and out rebound the Clippers, giving them a slight edge (on paper) in tonight’s matchup.

The other edge the Sixers obviously have is a man named Joel Embiid. Unfortunately, after playing last night on a sprained ankle, Embiid will probably once again be questionable for tonight’s game. If it weren’t for the ankle injury, I would have expected us to see him tonight. Unlike the last back-to-back, he was able to rest for the entire fourth quarter last night against the Pelicans as the Sixers were up 32 at the end of the third quarter. Embiid played only 24 minutes in last night’s game, a full seven minutes less than he had played in last Friday’s front end of the back-to-back. Last Saturday, it seemed to take him longer than normal to gas up for the game, and those extra seven minutes of rest could go a long way if he is to play tonight.

Game Info:

Game Time: 7:00 pm

TV: NBCSports Philadelphia

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic