With just six games left in the season for the Sixers, the middle of the Eastern Conference is as tightly packed as ever. There are still only four games between the rolling five-seed Hawks (44-33) and 10-seed Heat (40-37) and the Sixers’ position in sixth is up for plenty of change over the next 10 days.
Now, after Wednesday’s comfortable 153-131 win against the tanking Wizards, things won’t be quite so easy for the Sixers in their next matchup against Minnesota.
An immediate advantage the Sixers have heading into Friday’s game is that the Timberwolves are on the second night of a back-to-back, after they lost in Detroit on Thursday, 113-108. Having extra rest at this late stage of the year should bode well for the healthier Sixers.
The big factor to monitor for this game is the status of Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves’ star has been working his way back from a knee injury and was out on Thursday due to his knee and an illness. Jaden McDaniels is also a big missing piece for Minnesota, who remains out with left knee patella tendinopathy and a bone bruise. We’ll need to wait until nearer game time for the Timberwolves’ new report, and see whether Edwards remains out or needed the night off against Detroit so he could play this back-to-back’s second leg.
The Timberwolves are one of the tougher opponents the Sixers have remaining as they close out the season. And that’s the case even with them somewhat slowing down recently. Minnesota has only gone 6-7 over their last 13 games, including a three-game losing streak. However, despite their offensive rating ranking a measly 26th in this stretch, they at least managed to go 4-2 in the six games in this spell that Edwards was sidelined for and their defense has held strong, ranking seventh in this time and fifth for the season overall.
To potentially make matters tougher for Philly, Embiid still isn’t guaranteed to return either. He’s currently listed as doubtful due to illness, and joins Johni Broome as the only other player on the injury report.
If he returns, Edwards vs. Tyrese Maxey is the show in this one. Edwards is having a monster season, displaying his best scoring yet with career-highs in points (29.3 per game) and overall efficiency (62.1 true shooting percentage). If he doesn’t play, the Sixers will obviously need to shift their focus to the other guards who will pick up most of the ball-handling load. Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley and Ayo Dosonmu all see more usage in Edwards’ absence, and the Sixers will be able to load up the paint more against Julius Randle’s drives.
Outside of Edwards, Dosonmu will be the main guard to watch right now. He was a great addition for Minnesota before the trade deadline and he’s averaged 17.1 points on 56.7/50.0/84.6 shooting splits over his last eight games. He’ll be a key assignment for Philly’s guards to keep in check with his blend of shifty driving and finishing, and three-point stroke.
It’ll be fun to see how VJ Edgecombe (make that Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, VJ Edgecombe) fairs if he gets to match up against Ant, too. The rookie is at a size disadvantage and Edwards is a difficult physical matchup with the power and speed he has, but Edgecombe will be relentless with his own energy and quickness to shift around on the ball and fight past screens.
This isn’t an easy matchup for the Sixers’ frontcourt either. Embiid has always historically got the best of Rudy Gobert, so if Jo’s available and can win that matchup again today that’ll be important. Even if Gobert’s rim protection inevitably makes life a bit more difficult for ball-handlers getting to the rim. However, the Timberwolves have plenty more size at their disposal with Randle and Naz Reid, who’s been one of the NBA’s best backup bigs for years.
Paul George is fresh off his red-hot 39-point outing, and he (plus Dominick Barlow) will need to be ready to bring strong defense against Randle’s drive game and physical interior play. Randle is going to be one of the main players upping their usage if Edwards is out, too. Getting more solid performances from Andre Drummond and Adem Bona would be a big help to secure the boards against Minnesota’s size (they rank 10th in rebound percentage), keep Gobert in check as a lob threat, and handle Reid’s blend of strength, skill and mobility.
If the Sixers are at full force, this is a challenging yet winnable game. Even if Embiid is out, Philly could have the firepower to pull ahead of a Timberwolves’ offense that’s been struggling lately. Maxey and Edgecombe are entering the game in fine form and George is coming off his highest scoring game as a Sixer yet (albeit against a tanking Wizards squad).
There’s a lot riding on the availability of Embiid and Edwards in determining the outcome of this one, though. It’s time to keep an eye on injury reports…
When: Friday, April 3, 7:00 PM ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers
