Three things to watch when 76ers take on Bucks

MILWAUKEE – The 76ers will once again be shorthanded tonight when they face the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center as forward Robert Covington is back in Philadelphia, nursing a sprained knee. Covington originally hurt the knee when he was involved in a collision in the last preseason game against the Boston Celtics, which caused him to miss the first two games of the season. He returned to the starting lineup on Monday against Cleveland and struggled, shooting just 1-for-9 from the floor in 22 minutes.

Tuesday at practice, Covington re-injured the knee and did not make the trip to the midwest which also includes a game Friday in Cleveland.

"What I learn is that when you don't have him you appreciate, really, what he can do to us," said Brett Brown. "Because he does more than just make threes. His ability to guard has improved. We will miss him. We will miss his scoring output, we will miss his versatility that he allows us defensively. But you move on. It's part of sports. That's why you have JaKarr (Sampson) and Jerami (Grant)."

Brown wouldn't say who he would start in Covington's spot, but you would think he would look to go a little bit defensive. If so, expect Grant or Sampson. If Brown wants to stick with a shooter at the small forward spot, then Hollis Thompson would get the nod.

Here's three things to watch against the Bucks:

1. The matchup between Greg Monroe and Jahlil Okafor. The Sixers center is the leading scorer among rookies in the league at 20 a game. He showed both power and finesse against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Timofey Mozgov on Monday, going for 24 points. He'll be at least matched, if not surpassed, in power in the 6-11 Monroe, who is averaging 20.3 points and 8.7 rebounds. Okafor will have to be able to stay out of foul trouble.

2. The return of Jabari Parker. The Bucks lost their second overall pick in December last season with a torn ACL. He will be making his first appearance since then on Wednesday, though he will be put on a time limit of about 15 to 20 minutes. Parker finished last season averaging 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds, but in the seven game prior to his injury he averaged 15 points and shot 59 percent from the floor.

3. The play of the Sixers after the first quarter. In two of their three games, the Sixers have gotten off to good starts in the first quarter. They lead Cleveland by 32-18 on Monday and took a 26-21 advantage into the second against Boston in the season opener. But the second and third quarters have been disastrous for the Sixers, as they've been outscored a combined 168-115 in their three losses during the middle quarters.