The Sixer Sense
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Preview: The Philadelphia 76ers Look To Build Upon Their Huge Win

By Rich Martirez

Jan 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (R) and forward Robert Covington (L) react with time winding down in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 114-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (R) and forward Robert Covington (L) react with time winding down in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 114-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Even though winning at home feels good, the Philadelphia 76ers seek their third road win of the season against the New York Knicks

Jan 18, 2016 – Philadelphia 76ers (5-37) @ New York Knicks (20-22), 01:00pm, Madison Square Garden

Whew! What a win on Saturday! So many positives from that game to take away that the game on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day should be an exciting one.

On that day, the Philadelphia 76ers face the New York Knicks in the city that never sleeps for an early 1:00 PM game. Carmelo Anthony has missed the Knicks’ last two games due to an ankle injury, and have lost both. Their first loss came against the Brooklyn Nets, who have multiple problems of their own, and against the Memphis Grizzlies, who are still trying to get back into their form from prior seasons. Suffice to say, without their leader the Knicks struggle, although this game could be his first game back.

He’ll be coming up against a Sixers team pumped up from their latest home win against the Portland Trailblazers. In that game, the Sixers were able to keep Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum in check while Jahlil Okafor had himself a game… and what a game it was. See for yourself!

The young buck was beasting all night, with Mason Plumlee on the receiving end of the punishment. It’s games like this that make you realize how good Jah can be. Sure, right now he’s a one-way player, but give the kid some time to learn the intricacies of an NBA defense and he will be fine. To speak in slightly more specific terms, looking at Jah he does struggle overall on defense though his on-ball defense has been average.

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What’s really the trainwreck is his help defense. He has yet to learn how to anticipate how the opposing team will attack and how to get proper positioning to prevent easy buckets from penetration. Not everyone can be like Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett (or even Karl-Anthony Towns) with ready-made defensive instincts, but to dismiss him after half a season is premature.

What To Watch For

First of all: Is Carmelo playing? If so, look for him to be aggressive in this game. The Knicks have won the past three meetings against Philly, and I’m sure Melo would love to add to that total. As a player with much pride, he would not want to lose against the team with the worst record in the league, no matter how ill he may be. Look for the Sixers to key in on him with a healthy dose of Robert Covington, Jerami Grant, JaKarr Sampson, and maybe even Richaun Holmes giving different defensive looks.

The highlight matchup of the night will be Jah against Kristaps Porzingis. I’m impressed as anyone on how ‘Staps has been doing, but I’m sure Jahlil has been looking at the headlines about him too, and using that as motivation to up his own game. Though Jah will likely face Robin Lopez for most of the night, and Kristaps with Nerlens Noel, there will be times when the two rookies will go head-to-head, and will look to show each other who’s the most dominant.

Final Take

The Knicks are currently 2.5 games behind for the last playoff spot, and can’t lose anymore ground with so many teams in the East with a realistic shot. They will be giving it their all to fight their way in, and it starts with Monday’s game.

The Sixers need to take this one game at a time, hoping to build on the positives from last game and to learn how to perform in a similar fashion consistently. The Sixers have been showing a lot of fight and, even though they lost to the Bulls, had huge leads in each of their past two games.

Prediction – Coming back in after missing time, Carmelo will be rusty and performs poorly in front of the home crowd. At the same time, Jahlil uses this game to switch the best rookie in the East towards him, after dominating throughout the game. Philly wins another game in a blowout.

Where To Catch The Game

  • Watch it! – CSNPhilly is broadcasting the game
  • Hear it! – 97.5 has the game on the radio
  • Stream it! – NBA League Pass is available for anyone out of market