Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers will have reinforcements tonight vs the Miami Heat in South Philadelphia. The Sixers snapped a three game losing streak on Tuesday night and squeaked out a win in an overtime thriller 137-134. Joel Embiid put on a show in the 3rd quarter, scoring 20 points and propelling the 76ers to a comeback win. He ended the night with 45 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals, and 1 block while shooting 70% from the field.

Help is on the way

The Sixers are looking to get some help after playing the last three games without key starters and bench rotation players. Tobias Harris, Shake Milton, and Matisse Thybulle are now listed as probable for tonight’s game. This will be a huge lift for the Sixers, who have been running a skeleton crew over the past week due to health and safety protocols.

Miami will still be without Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, Mo Harkless, Kendrick Nunn, and KZ Okpala once again tomorrow. The Sixers will still be missing Seth Curry, Vincent Poirier, and Furkan Korkmaz due to continued health and safety protocols and injuries.

Ben Simmons

It’s no secret to anyone that Ben Simmons was terrible on Tuesday night. Wednesday brought a day full of trade rumors which thankfully the Sixers avoided. Over the past week, Simmons has struggled offensively. Any rational 76ers fan wouldn’t even think about judging the performances of any Sixers player while they are missing half of their starting lineup and key bench players but Ben Simmons is never given that type of break.

Tonight would be the perfect game for Ben Simmons to absolutely dominate and quiet the people who were screaming for him to be traded to Houston yesterday. The task will be much easier with key players returning to provide support and spacing for Simmons to get comfortable up and down the court.

EMVPIID

No matter how many bodies the Miami Heat threw at Joel Embiid on Tuesday, they could not stop him. I would expect no different tonight. With the return of players such as Shake Milton and Tobias Harris, that gives Embiid outlets to pass to that are not named Danny Green. Miami will have even more of a difficult time containing Embiid with threats along the perimeter tonight.

Prediction

With the return of several players for the Sixers, this game shouldn’t even be close. Harris, Thybulle, Maxey, and Milton should help solidify defensive pressure along the perimeter and provide an offensive spark. Their returns will take some pressure off of Joel Embiid and open up the floor for Ben Simmons. The Sixers should win this game handedly and improve to 9-4 on the season.

Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY