Sixers Try To Win Back-To-Back Games Without Joel Embiid Against Struggling Pistons

James Harden will have to step up again with Joel Embiid still unavailable for Philly. Getty Images/Mitchell Leff

KEY POINTS

The Sixers are favored to pull off another win over the Pistons and sweep their regular-season series
Joel Embiid continues to sit out for the Sixers as he continues to deal with foot soreness
James Harden is expected to lead Philly anew alongside players like Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris

The Philadelphia 76ers play the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, January 10 at the Wells Fargo Center—the third game between the two teams this season which Philly is leading so far 2-0.

Both teams faced off on Sunday, January 8 in Detroit with the Sixers coming out on top with a 111-123 victory.

James Harden led the way for the Sixers in that matchup, finishing with a triple-double of 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Tyrese Maxey added 23 points and Montrezl Harrell scored 20 for the Sixers, their fourth win in five games.

"I hate to you use this example, but when he's playing like this, it's like having a scoring Magic Johnson on the floor," Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. "When he runs our team with this kind of pace and he scores and gets assists, we're really good."

The Sixers are averaging 112.8 points per contest, shooting 47.7% from the field and 38.1% from beyond the arc.

In addition, they are norming 40.5 rebounds per game.

Defensively, Philly is limiting opponents to 109.2 points per game and 46.7% shooting from the field.

However, they are giving up 43.4 rebounds per game and own a defensive rating of 90, currently fourth in the league.

The Pistons got 25 points from Killian Hayes while Isaiah Stewart and Bojan Bogdanovic each had 20 markers.

Head coach Dwane Casey, however, rued the 22 turnovers that his team committed.

"That's a team playing for a championship and we shot ourselves in the foot," Casey remarked. "We had 22 turnovers—the same number we had in the last game against them. We can't give them points like that."

The Pistons are averaging 111.7 points per game, shooting 45.2% from the field and 35.5% from beyond the arc.

Detriot likewise owns a 43 rebounding average per contest.

Moreover, Detroit is giving up 113.8 points per game and allowing the opposition to shoot 49.1% from the field.

But they are giving up 44.6 rebounds per outing and have a defensive rating of 70.

The 76ers are -10 spread favorites to prevail over the Pistons with a +10 rating, while the Moneyline is -500 for Philadelphia and +400 for Detroit

With the tip-off set for 7:00 PM ET, the game will be telecast over NBCS-PH and BSDET with live streaming available via fuboTV.