波特兰越野开拓者队与费城76ers预览

Portland Trail Blazers(17-16) atPhiladelphia 76ers(15-18)

Thursday, December 28th - 7:30 p.m. PT
Blazers injuries:Damian Lillard(questionable)Noah Vonleh(questionable)
76ers受伤：Robert Covington(questionable),Joel Embiid(questionable),Markelle Fultz（出去）
How to watch on TV:TNT
How to stream:YouTube Live TV,Playstation Vue,Hulu Live TV,fubotv
收音机：620 AM
SBN Affiliate:Liberty Ballers

After a four-day break, the Portland Trail Blazers are back in action, taking on本·西蒙斯费城76人队。裁员的法律原则t the right time for the Blazers, as star point guardDamian Lillardhas beenbattling a strained hamstring这使他脱离了最后两场比赛。

But it may not have just been Lillard who needed the break. The Blazers have lost eight of their last 12, several in dispirited fashion, and many fans are starting to question the current makeup of the team.

A win against a difficult-to-matchup-against 76ers team that trounced Portland during their first East Coast trip of the season could go a long way toward easing the discontent among the Portland faithful.

What to Watch For

• 乔尔·恩比德（Joel Embiid）会玩吗？Embiid is questionable for Thursday’s game as he deals with lower back pain. If he is able to go, the Blazers are going to needJusuf Nurkic带来他的A游戏，然后是一些。Embiid能够在内外得分，是一个怪物篮板手，平均每晚两个街区。认为Deandre Jordan跳跃。如果他不能走，这对开拓者来说是一个巨大的优势。
• Who guards Ben Simmons?Simmons is the ultimate example of the new “positionless” NBA: A 6-foot-10 point guard who can see the floor over nearly anyone who defends him. The No. 1 overall pick in the summer of 2016, Simmons is having a stellar rookie year, averaging nearly 17 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Having that kind of size makes it virtually impossible to stick a guard on him. Look forEvan Turner或al-farouq aminu接到电话和利拉德或CJ McCollumto be tasked with guarding one of the forwards who doesn’t pose as big a threat.

What They’re Saying

Jake Fisher from SI’s The Crossover talks about the乔尔·恩比德（Joel Embiid）必须保持活跃的清单：

纯粹的不确定性是显着的。也许是整个联盟中的首要中心，Embiid每天晚上确实值得怀疑。“我们都退后一步，你说，‘他是谁？’”布朗说。“他是萨博尼斯，是奥拉朱旺，是邓肯吗？他可以射击三，他是德克吗？”然而，每天，76人只需要问恩比德是否准备好比赛。J.J.雷迪克（Redick）在圣诞节前错过了费城（Philly）的前两场比赛，腿筋问题。尽管他也被认为对这位主持人来说是值得怀疑的，但几乎没有任何疑问，76人的神枪手会在麦迪逊广场花园的灯光下开火。同时，必须通过一系列细致的基准进行进展才能激活。

“There is a checklist,” Brown said, and it’s far grander than the coaching staff and Embiid collaborating to determine his status. “There’s physiotherapists involved, Joel has a significant say in all this, there are doctors, there are people that are looking at sort of pre-loading stuff that has gone on and patterns and trends,” Brown explained.

SI’s Lee Jenkins writes aboutwhat makes Ben Simmons so special:

In September, the 76ers gathered at their headquarters for pickup games. Many players admit they were scouting Simmons: point guard or power forward, phenom or phantom. It had been a year since they’d seen him do anything but shoot on a side basket.贾斯汀·安德森, Philly’s 6'6", 230‑pound third-year wing, matched up against Simmons. “The strength, the pace, the patience, it was shocking,” Anderson says. “He could post you up and move you out, but he could also jump over you, and he was throwing lobs from half-court. I told him afterwards, ‘There’s only one other guard who makes me feel small, and that’s LeBron.’”

Much ink has been spilled, and time wasted, identifying the heir to Michael Jordan. The search for James’s successor will be just as tiresome and fruitless. Ben Simmons is not the next LeBron James. But he may be the first star to fill the lane LeBron opened.

On the first extended road trip of his career, Simmons sits in the back booth of a restaurant in downtown Sacramento, sipping his second hot chocolate. A fly buzzes by his head and he catches it with a wave of his right hand. Simmons leads all rookies in points (18.7), rebounds (9.5), assists (7.2) and steals (2.1)—phenom, to be sure—his grab-and-go fast breaks already a signature. He glides with a grace that belies his height, firing crosscourt with either hand and from any angle, the ball sometimes appearing to jet out of his hip. His Australian accent is evident only when he says certain words. Pass is one of them.

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