The biggest test of the Milwaukee Bucks‘ four-game homestand starts Thursday night when they play host to the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers at Fiserv Forum.
The Bucks will look to break their two-game losing streak upon facing the 76ers while looking to make one more final push to improve upon their playoff positioning as they currently stand third in the East at 35-22.
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Philadelphia, meanwhile, are just edging past the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets with their 39-19 record that tops the East after having dropped games against the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns this week.
With the Bucks having taken a wild 109-105 overtime victory in Philadelphia during their first meeting of the season last month, the 76ers will look to exact their revenge on their long-standing East rival with this back-to-back series.
So without further ado, let’s look at the three biggest matchups that will headline the Milwaukee Bucks’ showdown with the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night.
Milwaukee Bucks will get their first look of Joel Embiid this season
The Bucks may have already struck first in the season series with the 76ers, but that overtime win also came without 76ers star big man Joel Embiid in action. Embiid had been sidelined after suffering a major bone bruise that he’s only returned from earlier this month.
Since returning, though, Embiid has played up to the MVP-caliber form he’s set all throughout the season. Embiid is averaging 30.8 points on .483/.294/.829 shooting, 10.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 blocks in nine appearances and across 30.9 minutes per game. And despite proclaiming that he’s not in the best of shape yet, he made himself available for action for Thursday night’s clash.
Part of Joel Embiid's answer when asked if he's playing tomorrow: " Yeah. I mean, we're hurt. Even tonight, I wasn't supposed to play. I'm not in the best physical shape at this point. But we got a bunch of guys out... I can't rest even if I'm hurt. I just got to keep pushing..."
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) April 22, 2021
There’s no question that Embiid will command plenty of attention from the Bucks’ bigs and defenders as a whole. However, while the production is there, the Bucks will surely test Embiid’s efficiency, especially on jump shots, just as they have historically.
Just last season, Embiid averaged 22.3 points on 22-for-64 shooting from the field (34.4 percent), 7-for-18 from deep (38.9 percent), along with 11 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a block in 30.2 minutes per game. Of course, the supporting cast and overall structure is much different than last year’s 76ers team. But Embiid won’t challenge the Bucks’ drop-back scheme by spacing the floor out to the 3-point line that has historically been a sore spot against opponents.
From that lens, we should expect to see plenty of Brook Lopez throughout the night, provided he can stay out of foul trouble. And it will certainly be interesting to see if Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer does try to match with more size in containing Embiid over the course of the night.