Two of the biggest stars in the NBA’s Eastern Conference are set to collide as red-hot Joel Embiid leads the Philadelphia 76ers to face Kevin Durant and the East-leading Brooklyn nets.
And over in the West, the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets are set for their second showdown in the space of a few days, with Stephen Curry and co. seeking revenge after suffering a rare home defeat.
Read on below as SBOTOP previews all four games on the NBA schedule.
Philadelphia 76ers @ Brooklyn Nets
The Sixers head into this big matchup with Brooklyn in fine form. They have won three of their last four games, with all three coming on the road.
Superstar big man Joel Embiid has been instrumental in their recent road success. He has scored at least 36 points with 10 rebounds in all three of those wins. He also had 32 points in a losing effort against the Nets in their most recent meeting in mid-December.
Tobias Harris has been providing decent support for Embiid. He recorded his first career triple-double (19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assits) in their most recent win against the Raptors.
As for the Nets, they have finally welcomed back Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and LaMarcus Aldridge from the health and safety protocols. Irving is back practicing with the Nets, but he is still unavailable to play at home due to his unvaccinated status.
James Harden has shone in the absence of Durant and Aldridge to keep the Nets on top in the East. The former MVP had a 36-point triple-double on Christmas against the Lakers, then exploded for 39 points and 15 assists in their win over the Clippers.
Milwaukee Bucks @ Orlando Magic
The Bucks and Magic will square off in Orlando for the second time in the space of just a few days. Milwaukee won their first meeting 127-110 thanks to another strong game from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 28 points in 30 minutes.
The Greek Freak also had a lot of help from the trip of Khris Middleton (21 points), Bobby Portis (19 points) and Jrue Holiday (18 points, 10 assists).
The Bucks have now won four games in a row to keep pace with the Nets and Bulls at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Donte DiVincenzo, who recently returned from a lengthy injury layoff, is slowly getting back to full strength. He had 8 points and 6 rebounds against the Magic in his second game back.
Meanwhile, the Magic will be hoping to end their ongoing three-game losing skid. Rookie Franz Wagner has been a bright spot amid their recent struggles. The 20-year-old, who is averaging 15.6 points and 5 rebounds this season, exploded for a career-high 38 points in a losing effort against Milwaukee.
However, Orlando will once again be without starting point guard and leading scorer Cole Anthony (20 PPG), who has missed the last couple of games due to an ankle injury.
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Washington Wizards
The surprising Cavs (20-14) have had a terrific season thus far, but the NBA 2021 odds will be against them due to their significantly shorthanded backcourt.
They were hit by the disappointing NBA 2021 news that Ricky Rubio will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury. He joins fellow guard Collin Sexton on the sidelines for the remainder of the year.
Meanwhile, their other starting guard and leading scorer, Darius Garland, has just entered the league’s health and safety protocols and will miss their match against the Wizards.
With Sexton, Rubio, and Garland all out, Isaac Okoro, Denzel Valentine and Kevin Pangos will have to play at guard for the Cavs.
That is certainly good news for the Wizards, who are eager to snap a two-game losing skid. Although, the Wizards have their own issues at the moment, with seven players in the Covid protocols. That list includes top scorer Bradley Beal, Montrezl Harrell, Raul Neto, Aaron Holiday, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Spencer Dinwiddie played 42 minutes in their loss to the Heat due to their shortage of guards and will continue to carry the Wizards offence against the Cavs.
Golden State Warriors @ Denver Nuggets
The West-leading Warriors suffered just their third home loss of the season after going down 89-86 to the Denver Nuggets last time out. Golden State were playing without star big man Draymond Green, who entered the health and safety protocols, as well as starting guard Jordan Poole.
Poole has already cleared the protocols, but they will once again be without Green as they head to the Mile High City to take on the Nuggets again.
Stephen Curry hit another historic milestone by reaching 3,000 career 3-pointers, but he had another rough shooting game, going just 6-of-16 from the field and 5-of-14 from beyond the arc to get his 23 points.
Meanwhile, Nuggets star Nikola Jokic also had a poor game as he had 22 points and 18 rebounds but shot just 8-of-19 with 8 turnovers. The reigning MVP is shooting under 40 per cent over his last three games.
Will Barton helped pick up the slack amid Jokic’s struggles with 21 points in 36 minutes.
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