We finally made it! The 76ers season officially starts later today when they kick things off against the Indiana Pacers. This is the first of 8 remaining regular-season games before playoffs begin and the Sixers title chase gets underway.

The NBA restart has had incredible matchups throughout the first two days including a thrilling Battle of LA, a Grizzlies-Trailblazers slugfest for the 8th seed, and the fight for Texas between the Rockets and Mavericks. The Sixers are in a close battle with the Pacers for playoff seeding so this is a crucial game for those implications.

Who: Indiana Pacers

Where: NBC Sports Philadelphia

When: 7:00 PM Eastern

3 Things To Watch:

Pacers injuries:

Indiana just lost key big man Domantas Sabonis to a foot injury and could be out the remainder of the season a few days ago. This leaves a big hole outside of Myles Turner in terms of a strong body underneath, allowing for at least one mismatch between Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

Indiana's Domantas Sabonis has a signficant foot injury and will leave the Orlando bubble to seek treatment from a specialist, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 24, 2020

Also, Victor Oladipo who originally opted out of the return seems to be playing and all signs point towards his return tomorrow night. He hasn’t looked the same since his horrific injury early in 2019. But if Oladipo were to return to form he is a scary pairing with Malcolm Brogdon. This is a perfect chance for the Sixers to get a win if they play at full gear against a solid team not fully equipped.

Ben Simmons shooting:

We saw it in full stride against the Memphis Grizzlies but without Joel Embiid in the last 2 scrimmages, Ben has had the paint to himself with no need to shoot. Last night they did announce Joel Embiid is not on the injury list so he looks fully ready to go for tonight. The question still remains if Ben is going to shoot like we saw in the scrimmages. I think it is likely if the opportunity is there he will likely take a small number of shots but that will be all the 76ers need to maximize their potential. Without Sabonis watch to see who the Pacers put on Simmons and how he will reflect his game off of that.

Joel Embiid’s health:

A constant red flag throughout his NBA career is Joel Embiid’s health. So far everything seemed fine but Joel missed the last 2 scrimmages due to a calf injury sustained against the Grizzlies. It seems like it was precautionary and that Embiid should be fully ready to play tonight. Going in with full health we can see how Joel Embiid plays when it matters. This break gave Joel a lot of rest and going back to play there is not much to any wear or tear.

Joel Embiid is no longer on the #Sixers injury report. Robinson III and Raul Neto still listed as day-to-day.

— Kevin McCormick (@KevinMcC973) July 31, 2020

Be sure to stay tuned to the Liberty Line Twitter @LibertyLinePHL as well as all of our personal accounts to see our live reactions on Twitter as the game goes on and stay tuned for a post-game analysis from me, Harrison Grimm, and Kevin McCormick on the newest episode of Process to Progress.

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