Mavericks vs 76ers Preview: Embiid and Harden against Luka and Kyrie on TNT

The Dallas Mavericks (32-31) host the Philadelphis 76ers on Thursday night at the American Airlines Center. The game is nationally broadcast on TNT starting at 6:30 pm. The Mavericks are looking for a good win after falling for the fifth time in six games Tuesday, when they lost to the Indiana Pacers. The 76ers are on the second night of a road back-to-back; last night they blew out the Miami Heat. Thus far this season the Sixers are 8-2 on the second night of a back-to-back, including 4-1 in road instances. Let’s get to the key things to know:

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Philadelphia 76ers
• WHAT: Winning, preferably
• WHERE: American Airlines Center
• WHEN: 6:30 p.m. CST
• HOW: TNT

The injury reports two teams about as healthy as they can be. While Davis Bertans remains out for Dallas, that’s not a surprise. Joel Embiid is listed as probable after missing last night due to injury management of a foot problem.

This is going to be a very difficult game for the Mavericks and I cover that in greater detail in our midnight preview from last night. After a day to think on it, I feel much the same but want to note that what I think the Mavericks can/should do and what they actually do in a given game hasn’t matched up all year. It would be incredibly Maverick to lost to the Pacers only to defeat the much better Sixers.

I expect Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to have big games, but the question boils down to if the Mavericks can bother Joel Embiid and James Harden enough to make any kind of a difference.

We should have the recap and stats to know after the game. Thanks for hanging out during the game, go Mavericks.