It’s a big sports Sunday for the city of Philadelphia. The Eagles are in Dallas and kids across the City of Brotherly Love are boxing giant punching bags sporting the faces of Cowboys players. The Union are hosting a single-elimination quarterfinals playoff match tonight against New York City FC. First, though, the Sixers are looking for their second straight win as they host the Heat in a Sunday matinee.
Sixers-related discussion at the moment is dominated by Tyrese Maxey. In fact, we just had five straight Maxey articles here at Liberty Ballers dot com, and that’s not even counting the game recaps. And why not? Tyrese just dropped a career-high 54 points in the win over Milwaukee, and as I wrote the other day, we should be enjoying every moment of this incredible season Maxey is putting together. Coming off two days’ rest and with no back-to-back tomorrow, it should be fun to watch what Tyrese has in store for us today.
Maxey may be without his regular backcourt mate this afternoon, as VJ Edgecombe (questionable) may miss his first game of the season due to left calf tightness. Centers Joel Embiid and Adem Bona are both out, meaning we should see a steady diet of Andre Drummond offensive rebounds and corner three attempts. In encouraging injury news, Paul George looked strong on Thursday in what was just his second outing of the season, recording 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Although Embiid is already back on the injury report with a different knee ailment, it’s fair to express some degree of optimism now for a fairly normal season from George, at least until proven otherwise.
Today’s contest against Miami is the first of three meetings between the clubs this season. The Heat are off to a strong start at 10-6 on the season, sporting the 8th-best net rating in the league (plus-5.2). With Tyler Herro reportedly targeting tomorrow’s game against Dallas to make his season debut, new arrival Norman Powell has led the team in scoring at 24.9 points per game. Powell is listed as probable for today’s game with a hip issue, while rotation regulars Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Jovic are out. The Heat received a boost this week from the return of All-Star center Bam Adebayo following a two-week absence with a toe injury. Adebayo looked to be right back in the swing of things in his return, playing around 30 minutes in a pair of Miami wins.
The Sixers are listed as one-point favorites, per FanDuel. Oddsmakers clearly know that nearly every single game for the Cardiac Sixers is coming down to the final minute. Miami is a fairly even opponent for Philadelphia, so I wouldn’t expect anything different this afternoon. Strap in and get ready for the exciting early appetizer in what should be a fun sports viewing here in Philly.
When: Sunday, November 23, 1:00 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers
