The Philadelphia 76ers are meeting up with the national champs for the second time in four games, and this time things feel different.
After a lengthy five-game trip to California, the Philadelphia 76ers return home tonight — against a team from California. They’ll play the riegning NBA champions in the Golden State Warriors, pitting the two teams against one another for the second time in four games.
The outcome when the two met in Oakland felt almost predetermined. The Sixers fought hard early, but fell apart in the thrid quarter against a Warriors team that had been picking up steam in recent games. Nobody is as good as Golden State when they’re on their A-game, and the second half was a prime example of that.
Even in what ended up being a sizable loss, there were still some positive takeaways. The Warriors’ stars had nothing but praise for Philly’s young core, while their diverse defensive repertoire is something any team — especially a young team that’s still putting the pieces together — will struggle against.
Philadelphia 76ers
Now, though, things feel a bit different. The Sixers picked up a handful of impressive wins against both L.A. teams, and now head home in lieu of Joel Embiid‘s two best performances to date. The Warriors lost to Boston a couple days back, struggling down the stretch in a come-from-behind victory for the Celts.
That’s momentum gained for Philly and momentum lost for Golden State. The Warriors will obviously be the heavy favorite, but unlike last time, it at least feels like the Sixers have a reasonable shot at swindling a win.
Embiid, at his best, is one of the best players in the league — and he has been at his absolute best for the last two games. Now returning to a racous home crowd, expect Joel to put some extra emphasis on how he performs against this Warriors team. We shouldn’t expect 46 points and 15 rebounds, but it’s hard not to expect another big outing against a team that doesn’t have anyone capable of matching him physically in the piant.
Simmons is also coming off a strong game, and should have a better feel for everything the Warriors can throw at him this time around. If Ben is comfortable and Embiid can help control the pace, Golden State could be in a bit of trouble.
With all of that said, this game still comes down to execution — and the Warriors are masters in that department. They have the talent and the experience to blow the Sixers (or again, any team) out of the water, so don’t get your hopes THAT high.
This game does have some underlying meaning that other games don’t, though. The Sixers are trending upwards, and the whole goal of The Process was to build a young core that can compete for a championship. Aside from the Kevin Durant signing, that’s exactly what Golden State perfected.
Next: 2018 NBA Draft Big Board 2.0
The Warriors are where the Sixers want to end up — a matchup nightmare with no obvious path to defeat. They’re still a ways away from reaching that point, but that’s the end result. The Warriors are the result, and the Sixers — hopefully — are in the process of getting there.