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Will Joel Embiid Play Tonight? Philadelphia 76ers vs Washington Wizards: Injury Updates, Lineup and Game Prediction

Published 01/06/2021, 2:00 PM EST

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For the second time this season, the Philadelphia 76ers are going to face the Washington Wizards. In their first go, the game didn’t end very well for the Wizards  Well, they can’t really be blamed because the Sixers are on a hot streak. They’ve had four straight wins so far and, to everyone’s surprise, are standing at the top of the Eastern Conference table.

On the contrary, the Wizards can be found somewhere at the bottom. Will their fate be any different this time against Philly? Or will the Sixers continue their winning streak?

Philadelphia 76ers injury update and lineup prediction

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After a big change in the coaching department, the Sixers have had a terrific season so far. Looking like title contenders, they have a 6-1 record and just came off a strong win against the Charlotte Hornets.

Their star duo, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, are leading the team. It looks like Doc Rivers is doing wonders with the roster they built in the offseason. The best part is that Embiid has someone to share the offensive and defensive burden with. Tobias Harris, Dwight Howard, and Danny Green are being the supporting cast everyone expected them to be.

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Simmons will play the key role as Russell Westbrook’s defender, who is one of the league’s top scorers. In fact, he has proven to be essential on both ends of the floor as well. With only Mike Scott out because of a knee injury, the predicted lineup would be Seth Curry, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Danny Green.

USA Today via Reuters

Washington Wizards injury update and lineup prediction

The Wizards have taken their own sweet time to find their rhythm this season. In their last two outings, they finally came with wins and had a gripping one-point victory over the dominant Brooklyn Nets. This goes to show that they do have the potential to spice things up in the East.

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As usual, Bradley Beal is having a great scoring year for the Wizards. Even though everybody doubted his fit next to Russell Westbrook, they two have really gotten along well on the court. However, their key player has to be Westbrook. Russell has shown some struggle with his shots, so he needs to dig deeper so that they can extend their winning streak against the Sixers.

USA Today via Reuters

It won’t come easy, but with their form, it’s also not entirely impossible. They also have Thomas Bryant putting up great numbers for this campaign. With a healthy roster, the predicted lineup would be Bradley Beal, Rui Hachimura, Russell Westbrook, Deni Avdija, and Thomas Bryant.

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Game prediction

It might take a miracle for the Wizards to beat the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers. However, you can expect the Wizards to give a decent fight, only to end up on the losing end just like last time.

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Written by:

Yashima Bhatia

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Yashima Bhatia is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports who specialises in providing nuanced predictions and updates for matches. She has a Bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication. Yashima's love for playing the game came up at a young age, when the excitement of the games coupled with the intensity of the Playoffs had her hooked.
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