Sixers vs Nets matchup preview

The Philadelphia 76ers (1-0) are preparing to face off against the Brooklyn Nets (0-1) in the home opener of the 2021-2022 season.

The injury report for tonight’s game is Joel Embiid (right knee soreness) questionable, Ben Simmons (personal) doubtful, Shake Milton (sprained right ankle) out, and Grant Riller (left knee surgery) out.

Let’s Address the big elephant in the room first. Ben Simmons is highly doubtful for tonight's game. The latest news on Simmons is he didn’t show up for his individual workouts yesterday. Simmons complained of back tightness to the medical staff but they cleared him to play. The coaching staff and the Sixers organization hope that Simmons will show up for shootaround in the morning, but who knows. A brand new report just came in seconds ago. Simmons is willing to play for the 76ers but he’s having a big mental block and doesn’t feel like he’s prepared to play.

Now, onto tonight’s game! The Brooklyn Nets are without Kyrie Irving of course, due to personal reasons. We are looking at a potential playoff matchup between these two teams.

The 76ers big three looked fantastic in their last game versus the Pelicans where they won in big fashion 117-97. Maxey, Embiid, and Harris all scored over 20 points. The big boost came from Furkan Korkmaz and the bench, raining 3’s in the fourth quarter. The Sixers are gonna be looking for Korkmaz off the bench a lot more tonight hoping he can hit his shots consistently.

The Brooklyn Nets coming fresh off a loss to the reigning champs, Milwaukee Bucks. Kevin Durant looked like himself, but James Harden did not shoot well shooting 6-16 but was contributing to the team, finishing with 20-8-8.

Wells Fargo Center is expected to be sold out tonight with a very loud crowd. It’s going to be very exciting to see the new Sixers, and new starting point guard Tyrese Maxey in front of these crazy fans. It’s also expected to have many anti Ben Simmons chants.

Don’t forget to tune in tonight at 7:30 PM EST on ESPN.