The Sixers (14-8) are hosting the Knicks (7-15) tonight at the Wells Fargo Center.
Coming off Jimmy Butler's second game-winner in a Sixers uniform, the team's 20-point comeback in Brooklyn on Sunday night was its third win this season in which it trailed by 15 or more points.
The Knicks will be playing their ninth game on the road in their last 12 games after falling to the Pistons last night. Here are the essentials for tonight's matchup:
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
• When: 7 p.m. ET with Sixers Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m.
• Where: Wells Fargo Center
• Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app
And here are three storylines to watch for tonight’s game.
Uh-oh, another good offensive rebounding team is in town
The Sixers struggle against good offensive rebounders and solid offensive rebounding teams. Do I need to remind you about what happened with Tristan Thompson when the Cavaliers came to town? The Knicks have struggled with a lot of things this season, but offensive rebounding hasn’t been one of them. The Knicks come into tonight’s game with a 30.8 offensive rebounding percentage, the sixth-best in the league, and their 12.4 offensive rebounds per game average is fourth in the league.
NBA
The Sixers will need to play close attention to Enes Kanter, who is second only to Andre Drummond in second-chance points per game. The Knicks are averaging 15.6 second-chance points per game this season, which should be a big focus for the Sixers.
Defense
The Sixers struggled defensively for the majority of their last game against the Nets, and it was most noticeable when defending the pick-and-roll, something Brett Brown said keeps him (and other NBA coaches) up at night. The Sixers finally found some success in blitzing Brookln’s guards Saturday night, and although Brown admitted they might be able to start doing that more than they have been, he also said it’s not sustainable.
Will the Sixers make adjustments against the Knicks? Will they blitz more? What happens when guys like JJ Redick and Landry Shamet continue to struggle at recovering after fighting over screens? Will Joel Embiid come up more to help out or does that just lead to guards having a pathway to the rim?
These questions certainly won’t be answered tonight, but my eye continues to be on the defense.
What’s going on at backup center?
At times, Brett Brown has gone with Mike Muscala over Amir Johnson and at other times, Brown has decided to go with Ben Simmons over either. It’s clear Brown is still figuring this part of the rotation out, and nothing has felt quite right just yet.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
