The Philadelphia 76ers (17-9) will face off against the Detroit Pistons (13-9) Friday night for an Eastern Conference showdown in the Motor City.
Throw down in Motown: 76ers visit Pistons On DEc. 7
The Sixers hit the road Friday night after being knocked off 113-102 by the East’s top-ranked Raptors (21-5) in Toronto. The Pistons also enter tonight’s matchup on a 115-92 road loss to the Milwaukee Bucks (16-7) and will look to break out of their two-game losing streak at home in Motor City.
The 76ers own a 216-156 advantage in the all-time regular season series. This season, the teams have split two meetings, with the home team prevailing in both contests: the 76ers claimed a 109-99 win in their last matchup on Nov. 3.
Philadelphia had their four-game win streak snapped by Toronto Wednesday night. Philadelphia led by six after the opening quarter, trailed by four at the half and then seemed to run out of steam as they were outscored 35-25 in the fourth.
The Sixers shot 45.5 percent from the field in Scotiabank Arena and went 11-of-35 from three-point range in the contest while turning the ball over 21 times.
Jimmy Butler led the 76ers with 38 points, 10 rebounds and one assist in the loss. Butler has put up 20.6 points, 5.2 boards and 3.5 assists after a night with Minnesota and the 76ers this season.
The 76ers enter this game 8th in the NBA in scoring offense, with an average of 113.7 points per game in the early going. Philadelphia is 4th in rebounding with 48 boards per game and stands 5th in assists with 26.5 per contest. The 76ers are 21st in scoring defense by allowing an average of 111.8 points per game so far.
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The Sixers are 11th in field goal percentage as they shoot 46.2 percent from the floor. The 76ers are tied for 13th in three-pointers per game (11) but stand 18th in three-point percentage as they cash in 35 percent of their shots from beyond the arc.
After their five-game win streak ended Monday night in a 110-83 blowout defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder (15-7), the Pistons were blasted again on Wednesday night by the Bucks. Detroit was down nine after the opening quarter, 11 at the half and would draw no closer than that throughout the second half.
Offensively, the Pistons have been very mediocre this year, ranking 17th in scoring offense with 109.4 points per game. Detroit is 7th in rebounding with 47.5 boards per game and is below average sharing the ball, ranking 27th in assists with 21.3 per night. The team is 10th in scoring defense, as they allow 109.5 points a game.
Joel Embiid leads the team with 26.3 points plus 13.3 rebounds and 1.96 blocks per contest. Ben Simmons is averaging 15.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and eight assists per game and JJ Redick (18.7 points) is also averaging in double figures.
Amir Johnson, Landry Shamet andT.J. McConnellhave been key pieces in head coach Brett Brown’s rotation. Markelle Fultz is expected to miss three to six weeks as he undergoes rehab on his shoulder.
Detroit is 30th in the league by shooting 43 percent from the floor. They will need more production out of Ish Smith (9.2 points), Langston Galloway, Stanley Johnson, Luke Kennard, Glenn Robinson III and Zaza Pachulia to provide depth and a scoring punch from the bench.
The Pistons are tied for 13th in the league in three-point field goals with 11 per game while ranking 28th by sinking 31.9 percent from downtown.
Milwaukee held the Pistons to just 36.8 percent shooting from the floor as Detriot went nine-of-38 from three-point range while turning the ball over 20 times in the loss.
Reggie Jackson chipped in 15.9 points plus 4.1 assists per contest, Reggie Bullock added 10.1 points a night and Andre Drummond posted 18 points and 15.5 rebounds per contest.
Blake Griffin led the way for the team with 31 points in the loss. Detroit is 6-7 ATS at home this season while the Thunder is 7-6 in those contests.
This game will air on ESPN, NSPA, and FSDT from Little Ceasers Arena at 7:00 p.m. EST.
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