The Sixers look to improve their hot streak without Joel Embiid tonight against a short handed Lakers team. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis watching from the sideline, the Sixers will attempt to take another win from a good team, and put them higher up in 1st place in the Eastern Conference. The 10 PM start is always a bad one, but the potential championship matchup will never disappoint, no matter the absences.

With Tony Bradley and Vincent Poirier now gone, and Doc tending to keep Dwight with the second unit, the starting center tonight is sort of a toss up. Whether Doc gives Paul Reed a shot, Mike Scott playing sort of a small ball 5, or moving Dwight up with the starters, it’ll be a very interesting decision. While we don’t know the timetable of the Joel Embiid return, I have the utmost confidence in Doc to make the right choices to put this team in the best situation to win.

We all know what happened in the last Sixers v Lakers matchup. Tobias Harris provided us with a game winner in a nail biter of a contest, boosting the teams confidence, and finally getting some respect put on this teams name. Simmons and Harris will look to continue their great play with the absence of the MVP, carrying the team to a 9-1 record in their last 10 games. Consistent high-level play from our two stars hasn’t gone unnoticed, as the Sixers have been dominating teams even without the MVP. They’ll continue to do that tonight in a square off with the former champions.

The hunt for the championship continues, and games like this absolutely need to be won, for a confidence and record standpoint. The team will look to improve to 32-13 on the year and take a 2 game lead on the Bucks in the Eastern Conference. With the line currently sitting at Sixers -5.5 (courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook), look for big games from Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris tonight, and some potential big minutes from Bball Paul and Mike Scott down low.

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher (USA Today Sports)