The Golden State Warriors and the Philadelphia 76ers will meet for the second and last time in the 2023-24 NBA regular season this Wednesday, also just a little over a week since the last time they shared the floor in San Francisco. Will the Warriors stymie Philadelphia again? Or, will the Sixers overcome Joel Embiid’s absence to take Golden State down?

Catch this game live on Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 8:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Golden State Warriors (22-25,/9-12 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• Stephen Curry
• Klay Thompson
• Jonathan Kuminga
• Dario Saric
• Draymond Green

When Stephen Curry is in the Curry Zone, anything is possible for the Warriors, who are 3-1 straight up in their last four games. Over the same stretch, Curry has averaged for an incredible 36.5 points on 54.7 FG% and 46.4 3FG%. Normally, players on such a hot streak are bound to cool off soon, but this is Curry, so expect him to put up another sterling performance versus the Sixers. 

Remember, part of that four-game stretch was Curry going off for 37 points in a 119-107 home win over Philadelphia last week. The Warriors, who are coming off a 109-98 victory on the road over the Brooklyn Nets last Tuesday,  are also relishing the rise of Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski. The two youngsters have the Warriors a nice boost of late behind Curry, with Kuminga having generated 24.8 points on 57.8 FG% and Podziemski 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in the last four outings. 

Home: Philadelphia 76ers (30-19/17-8 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• Tyrese Maxey
• Kelly Oubre Jr.
• Tobias Harris
• Marcus Morris Sr.
• Paul Reed

Life hasn’t been good of late for the Joel Embiid-less Sixers. They have lost six of their last seven outings, including a 118-102 decimation at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks at home on Tuesday. Before that, the Sixers got crushed by the Brooklyn Nets, also at the City of Brotherly Love, 136-121 on Sunday. 

With Embiid out for a long period, they will look to source his missing production from the remaining healthy bodies on the roster. Of course, a big part of that falls on the shoulders of Tyrese Maxey, who shot just 6/16 for 15 points in the Dallas game.  Maxey was not around in the previous meeting with Golden State because of a lower-body issue.  On the season, the Sixers are averaging 118.8 points per game, though, that’s a bit difficult to count on when projecting how they would fare offensively going forward with Embiid out of the lineup.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Sixers (+1.5) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (238.5) hits the Under.