NBA Matchups: December 8

Monster slate! I posted it early today, so some of the injury stuff will be changing. Make sure you join us for the Injury Show at 2pm ET.

Philadelphia 76ers (front end) at Charlotte Hornets

Team Totals: 76ers 110.75, Hornets 104.75

Injury Report: Tyrese Maxey (Q, illness), LaMelo Ball (O, protocols), Ish Smith (O, protocols), Jalen McDaniels (O, protocols), Mason Plumlee (O, protocols), Terry Rozier (O, protocols)

76ers projected starters: Shake Milton, Seth Curry, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid

Hornets projected starters: Cody Martin, Kelly Oubre, Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges, Nick Richards

Rivers quotes: Said they saw the matchup for Embiid and they were going to “feed the pig” without really any plays, said turnovers were an issue and the Hornets had more energy than them, said they had mistakes on switches, said he found out on the plane to Charlotte that Tyrese Maxey was sick, said Joel was the only one who played physical, said they won’t be focusing on Charlotte much for this one and instead “work on our team.”

Borrego quotes: Said everyone did their job on Monday, said JT Thor and James Bouknight “looked like players out there” and they want to build on that for Wednesday night, said Bouknight has been able to make the most of his opportunity.

Stats and Notes: 

*Rematch! The pace for Monday’s game was really cut down for the Hornets at a season-low 92.4, which makes sense given the way the 76ers are one of the slowest teams and the Hornets just didn’t have the depth/endurance to play fast. Both defenses were not very good, so this should be another high-scoring game. The Hornets have been getting torched lately with a 125.0 D rating in their last six, and they’re also scoring a ton at a 124.4 O rating. One random note: The 76ers have generally played well on the second end of these rematches, so I’d expect the 76ers to win today and likely cover.

*I mean, the stats speak for themselves on Embiid in the last game with his 43/15/7 line over 41 minutes. The Hornets will make their adjustments, but it’s not like they can do much just with the lack of bodies right now. Expect another big Embiid game here.

*The comments from Doc sure make it seem like Maxey didn’t travel for this Charlotte-Charlotte trip, and he could be available for Thursday. That should really up the minutes for Shake Milton, and I’d expect a much better game from Seth Curry after his dud 3-of-11 game in 41 minutes. Tobias could be busy, as well, but it’s certainly going to be an Embiid-centric game plan.

*The Hornets are pretty easy here, and they’re not even in a B2B this time. We know that Kelly Oubre, Gordon Hayward, Cody Martin, and Miles Bridges could flirt with 40 while P.J. Washington could get in the upper 30s.

Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers