the Philadelphia 76ers are set to take on the Boston Celtics, hoping to shake off the defeat they suffered to the New Orleans Pelicans earlier on in the week. The Sixers go into the matchup with a handful of potential absences, as Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Nicolas Batum, and Danuel House Jr, have all had their availability downgraded. Embiid has been listed as out due to an illness, sitting on the bench for the second game in a row due to the ailment after missing the match against New Orleans. While Maxey has been listed as questionable due to an illness, with his status to be re-evaluated when the team reaches TD Garden, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. While Nick Nurse is set to be without his star center, the same can be said for Joe Mazzulla, who will go into Friday night without Kristaps Porzingis. The Latvian superstar has been listed as out due to a strained left calf, the same injury which has kept him out of the Celtics’ previous two games.
This isn’t the first time this season that Porzingis has sat out against Philadelphia, as when the two sides met in mid-November, the 28-year-old was out with an injury to his knee. Despite his absence in that meeting, Boston still managed to come out on top of Philadelphia, 117-107, as Jayson Tatum and Derrick White combined for 56 points. This isn’t to understate the importance of Porzingis in the Celtics lineup, as he is averaging 19 points and seven rebounds per game, making quite the impact in his first season. The Sixers and Celtics are set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. EST from TD Garden.
