The Brooklyn Nets will be playing against the Philadelphia 76ers tonight. It will be a game that is sure to have NBA fans on the edge of their seats as we witness the biggest superstars in the league set foot on the court. The Nets have been on another level this season, after a rather lackluster start in October 2022. Jacque Vaughn has done a phenomenal job as head coach since replacing Steve Nash a while ago. He has helped the Nets to a record of 29-17 in the 2022-23 NBA season.
The New York-based franchise pulled off a sensational win against the defending champs Golden State Warriors and will be aiming to replicate the same tonight as well. They might have some luck though, as some of the Sixers’ key players have suffered injuries going into the game tonight.
Kyrie Irving is available for the Brooklyn Nets vs Philadelphia 76ers game tonight
Kyrie Irving, the Nets‘ standout player in recent games, has been fortunate enough to not suffer any major injuries this year. However, Kevin Durant, on the other hand, suffered an MCL sprain a while ago and remains on the sidelines. Sources say that it will be at least another two weeks until he is re-evaluated by doctors again.
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is making progress in his recovery from MCL sprain as planned and will be re-evaluated again in two weeks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 24, 2023
Fortunately for the Nets fans, KD is the only name on their injury report for the game tonight. If that was not enough good news for the Nets, the Sixers might miss a huge name tonight as well.
Brooklyn Nets injury report
- Kevin Durant (out)
Brooklyn Nets expected roster
- Kyrie Irving
- Royce O’Neale
- Nic Claxton
- Joe Harris
- Ben Simmons
Philadelphia 76ers injury report
- Joel Embiid (questionable)
- Furkan Korkmaz (out)
Philadelphia 76ers expected roster
- James Harden
- Tyrese Maxey
- Montrezl Harrell
- Tobias Harris
- De’Anthony Melton
On the Sixers injury report, Joel Embiid and Furkan Korkmaz are the only two players listed ahead of the game tonight. Embiid is questionable to feature tonight due to left foot soreness. Although they took the win against the Sacramento Kings in the last game without the Process, it would surely be a tough one against the Nets tonight.
Can Kyrie Irving lead the Nets to victory against the 76ers without Kevin Durant?
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving helped the Nets to a 12-game winning streak at the end of 2022. It came to an end against the Chicago Bulls. Since Durant sprained his MCL, the Nets have struggled to find a player who could fill in his role. Kyrie has taken things into his hands on multiple occasions, even against the mighty Warriors in the 4th quarter of the last game. Nets fans will be hoping for Irving to have yet another good game, along with Nic Claxton, who seems to be only getting better in recent times.
The last time these two teams faced each other was in November 2022, the Sixers won the game 106-115. What was interesting was that they managed to do so without Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey! It certainly was a solidified team effort that night, where Shake Milton, Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, and Paul Reed contributed to the win. With the Beard now in the lineup once again, the Sixers will look to put in a shift tonight.
However, the Nets have done well against the big teams so far this season, and we can predict the same to be the case for tonight’s game as well. It would be interesting to see if Kyrie can lead the Nets to triumph without the other Brooklyn superstar.