Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Philadelphia 76ers

After bottoming out last season with the 3rd worst record in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers have been a fun but flawed team this year, in large part due to yet another impressive leap from lead guard Tyrese Maxey as well as the promising potential of rookie shooting guard VJ Edgecombe. As for their notable vet, MVP Joel Embiid has played in more contests this year than last year but still has managed to appear in just a little more than half of Philadelphia’s contests and is sidelined once again, while Paul George is currently serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s antidrug policies.Their 33-27 record has them currently in 6th place in the East with more room to slide in the standings than there is for them to move up, which means they will likely be in a fight to avoid the play-in tournament through the end of the season.
Meanwhile, March has already been worse for the San Antonio Spurs than February was! The Spurs suffered their first loss of the 2026 Rodeo Road Trip on Sunday afternoon to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, which was also their first loss after posting a perfect February. They’re still within striking distance of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 1 seed, a very worthy goal to aspire to for a team as young as these Spurs are. There’s more than enough season left to make up that difference, and with a much-needed nearly 2 week stretch at home coming up, San Antonio is well-positioned to potentially make up some of that narrow ground. Finishing the best Rodeo Road Trip in years off with a win would set them off running.
March 3 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Watch: NBC | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: Mason Plumblee, reconditioning (OUT); David Jones-Garcia, ankle (OUT)
76ers Injuries: Joel Embiid, strain (OUT); Johni Broome, meniscus (OUT); Paul George, suspension (OUT)
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