The 76ers return to Wells Fargo tonight, likely shorthanded for their game five matchup against the Washington Wizards. Joel Embiid is currently listed as doubtful following the knee injury he suffered on Monday night. It will be interesting to see what Doc Rivers goes with for his starting lineup for game five without Embiid.

Goerge Hill, Tyrese Maxey, and Mike Scott saw extended time during game four as the 76ers went small without Embiid. For the last few games, Washington has gone with the big man approach to their starting lineup to combat Embiid, starting Rui Hachimura, Daniel Gafford, and Davis Bertans. Without Joel, the lineup will likely also change due to Davis Bertans being ruled out for the series with a calf strain. 

Washington will probably go with Neto/Beal/Westbrook/Rui/Gafford, which is a variation of what they ran earlier this series. For the Sixers, it gets a bit more complicated. I don’t think anyone besides 20 weird Sixers Twitter heads want to see Mike Scott on the court for the Philadelphia 76ers ever again, but they often haven’t been left with a choice. Doc could go with Dwight Howard, but their offense with both him and Ben on the court is horrendous. 

A lineup that could circumvent both those problems could be Maxey/Seth/Danny/Tobi/Simmons. This lineup works because Washington will likely be rolling out three starting guards as well, and Tobias and Ben can handle the Wizards’ big men. Tyrese Maxey has flourished off the bench against Washington, having 15 points during their last game. Putting Maxey into the starting lineup still leaves George Hill and Shake Milton as guards off the bench for Philadelphia.

There is no reason the 76ers can’t pull out a win tonight. The 76ers nearly won despite Ben being in foul trouble, Tobias going ice cold, no Embiid, and terrible refereeing. In front of a full capacity Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers have a perfect opportunity to close out this series and get ready for the Conference Semi-Finals this weekend.

Mandatory Credit: 6ABC