Sixers vs. Nets at a glance
76ers vs. Brooklyn Nets at a glance
TEAMS: Sixers (9-25) vs. Nets (8-27)
WHEN: 12 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Barclays Center
BROADCASTS: TV – CSN RADIO – 97.5 FM
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE: TWITTER – @PompeyOnSixers, INSTAGRAM – PompeyOnSixers
411 ON NETS: Brooklyn is in desperate need of a victory. The Nets are losers of five straight and 10 of 11 games.
A lot of Brooklyn's struggles have to do with Jeremy Lin being sidelined all but 12 games this season due to injuries. The point guard's recent injury is a strained left hamstring he suffered on Dec. 26 vs. the Charlotte Hornets.
However, Bojan Bogdanovic has been one of the Nets' best players. He has scored 20 or more points in eight games this season. The small forward leads the team in starts (34), three-pointers (61) and free-throw percentage (85.5). He heads into Sunday's game with 281 career three-pointers. That's three shy of tying Richard Jefferson for eighth place in franchise history.
PROBABLE STARTERS
SIXERS (9-25)
33 Robert Covington SF 6-9 10.1 ppg. 1.7 spg.
7 Ersan Ilyasova PF 6-10 14.2 ppg. 6.3 rpg.
21 Joel Embiid C 7-2 19.3 ppg. 2.38 bpg.
11 Nik Stauskas SG 6-6 9.1 ppg. 2.5 rpg.
1 T.J. McConnell PG 6-2 4.8 ppg. 5.2 apg.
Coach: Brett Brown (Fourth season, 56-224)
Injury report: Ben Simmons (right foot fracture, out), Jerryd Bayless, (left wrist ligament tear, out), Sergio Rodriguez (left ankle sprain, questionable).
PROBABLE STARTERS
NETS (8-27)
44 Bojan Bogdanovic SF 6-8 14.1 ppg. 3.1 rpg.
35 Trevor Booker PF 6-8 10.2 ppg 9.2 rpg.
11 Brook Lopez C 7-0 19.9 ppg. 5.2 rpg.
12 Joe Harris SG 6-6 8.9 ppg. 3.2 rpg.
8 Spencer Dinwiddle PG 6-6 5.5 ppg. 1.8 apg.
Coach: Kenny Atkinson (first season, 8-27)
Injury report: TBA
THE SERIES
The Sixers hold a 106-79 series advantage.
LAS VEGAS LINE
Nets are a 2 ½-point favorite
LAST SERIES MEETING: Embiid finished with a career-high 33 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and three turnovers in a 108-107 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at the Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 18.
He became the franchise's first rookie to collect at least 33 points and 10 rebounds in a game since Hall of Famer Hal Greer had 45 points and 11 rebounds for the Syracuse Nationals on Feb. 14, 1959.
Embiid was paired with Jahlil Okafor in the starting lineup for the third consecutive game. This was the best from the pairing of the three. The duo played 11 minutes together during which the two teams were tied in scoring.
The two big men played together for the first 5 minutes, 27 seconds of the game and then again for the first 5:33 of the third quarter. For the rest of the game, they rotated in and out at the center position.
Okafor scored three points (all free throws) on a rough shooting night. He missed all 10 of his shots from the field. He did finish with 11 rebounds - six offensive - and blocked a shot. He and Embiid held Lopez to three points after intermission. The Nets center finished with 22 points for the game.
UPCOMING GAMES
Wednesday: 7 p.m., at Wells Fargo Center, Sixers vs. New York Knicks
Friday: 7 p.m., at Wells Fargo Center, Charlotte Hornets vs. Sixers
Saturday: 8 p.m., at Verizon Center, Sixers vs. Washington Wizards
Jan. 16: 3:30 p.m., at BMO Harris Bradley Center, Sixers vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Jan. 18: 7 p.m., at Wells Fargo Center, Toronto Raptors vs. Sixers.
Follow and contact 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers.