Sixers getting used to new rotation as they prepare for Golden State Warriors
The Sixers are 3-1 in their last four games, all without center Joel Embiid.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The 76ers are gelling as much as they can without Joel Embiid.
We’ll get a better idea of the team’s actual chemistry once its centerpiece returns from being sidelined with tendinitis in his left knee. He will miss his fifth consecutive game on Saturday night, a nationally televised matchup against the Golden State Warriors at the Wells Fargo Center.
The two-time All-Star center would have definitely given them a boost against the two-time defending NBA champions. Without him, some of his teammates — JJ Redick, in particular — may continue to have a tough time shooting clean, uncontested shots.
But the good thing is that Thursday’s 108-104 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder showed that the Sixers (40-22) are improving as a team. While the Sixers were without Embiid, the Thunder’s All-Star swingman Paul George missed the game with right shoulder soreness. In addition to the Sixers not having Embiid, the contest marked first of at least two games that his backup, Boban Marjanovic, will miss because of a bone bruise and mild sprain in his right knee.
So it’s hard to say one squad had an advantage over the other.
Regardless, it is still a Sixers squad trying to adjust to having five new players, all acquired before the Feb. 7 trade deadline, in its 10-man rotation while now dealing with a depth issue at center.
“We are getting there,” said Tobias Harris, whom the Sixers acquired with Marjanovic and Mike Scott in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. “You know, obviously, there is still some time and there are things out there that we have to work on. But we had some really good spurts out there with us playing the right way in the first half.”
Thursday, the Sixers made 10 of their first 12 shots to take a 24-13 lead. Harris had eight of those points, Redick had five, and Jimmy Butler contributed three assists.
The Sixers led, 60-49, at intermission, assisting on 21 of their 25 made baskets.
“So, yes, that is aggressive,” said Harris, who finished with his Sixers-high of 32 points. “Those are the things we can continue to get better at and to grow off of. But especially without having both of our big guys, it was a good game for us.”
The Sixers have gone 3-1 in the four games without Embiid. That’s a huge feat, considering they were 1-3 in the first four games he missed this season.
The new-look Sixers will entertain a Warriors squad (43-19) coming off consecutive losses to the Orlando Magic (Thursday) and Miami Heat (Wednesday). Saturday’s contest will conclude a four-game road trip for Golden State that began at Charlotte on Monday.
The Sixers defeated the Warriors, 113-104, on Jan. 31 in Oakland, but that was before the Sixers retooled their roster at the trade deadline. KLay Thompson, the Warriors’ All-Star shooting guard, sat out that game because of an illness.