Could the Chicago Bulls test the Sixers?

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Good morning, Sixers fans!

Your basketball team is 6-1.

The last time they started a season like that? 2023-24.

It was Nick Nurse’s first season at the helm. They dropped the season-opener in Milwaukee and then rattled off eight consecutive Ws.

Joel Embiid scored a career-high 70 points on January 22 to push Philadelphia to a 29-13 start to the season; a pace of about 57 wins over an 82-game season.

Had all gone well, that would’ve put them on track for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

But, boy, all didn’t go well.

Eight days later, Jonathan Kuminga made his biggest impact on the NBA thus far in his career. That sounds mean. It speaks to how uninspiring Kuminga’s career has been. It also speaks to the level Embiid had reached.

Kuminga fell on Embiid’s knee that night. He missed the team’s next 29 games with a meniscus injury.

Embiid’s been chasing his health ever since.

He may finally have caught it, though.

And the Sixers are, for all intents and purposes, the only ticket in town.

But, for the first time this season, his status is in question for a non-back-to-back game, when the Sixers host the 1-5 Chicago Bulls.

Embiid missed the thriller in Charlotte. It was the second night of a back-to-back. He did play on Friday night against the New York Knicks.

But this is a little suspicious.

Maybe it means nothing and he plays, making this all a moot point.

But if he doesn’t, uh, there’s a little bit of upset potential in this one.

On the other hand, it is good to see Jaylen Brown not listed on the injury report after he missed the first leg of the back-to-back on Friday and looked a little unhealthy at times on Halloween in Charlotte.

Now for the Bulls.

You rarely see a player go from ‘doubtful’ to available. So consider me pretty skeptical that Claxton plays. Jalen Smith, however, seems good to go. He’ll be a tough matchup if the Sixers are without Embiid. If Claxton is miraculously deemed available, it’s an even ~ taller ~ task.

I won’t dramatize this, though. You are what your record says you are. The Bulls’ only win came against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are 1-5, as well.

Chicago is 24th in offense and 29th in defense, per Cleaning The Glass. They are the worst shooting team in the league. They give up approximately a billion shots at the rim, per my own observations.

Whatever the likes of Josh Giddey, Norman Powell, Matas Buzelis, and rookie Caleb Wilson can conjure up, the Sixers should certainly have the pieces to overcome this team sans Embiid if necessary.

And if Embiid does play, well, perhaps you’ll all be able to rest peacefully by halftime.

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