Philadelphia 76ers game previews between December 5 and December 11, including games against: Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Denver Nuggets.

Denver Nuggets

Monday, 5 December 2016 at 07:00 PM ET Home

For Monday's game, the spotlight will be on the battle of the two "promising" big men, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid. Over this season, Embiid has played quite a bit better than Jokic (as in Embiid has played like an absolute, elite big in his limited minutes, while Jokic seems to have regressed back to before his rookie season). Although the two probably will not be matched-up often, as Jokic is not strong enough OR fast enough to stop Embiid, it could still be a very entertaining clash to watch.

While the match-up of the two, young big men might be exciting, the battles at every other position will be significantly less exciting. The Nuggets have better guards than the 76ers in Emmanuel Mudiay and Jamal Murray, as well as better wings in Will Barton and Wilson Chandler. It is yet another uneven match-up for the Sixers, so the odds are definitely against them.

Memphis Grizzlies

Tuesday, 6 December 2016 at 08:00 PM ET Away

With Mike Conley set to miss an extended period of time, Chandler Parsons out a week and Zach Randolph out for an indefinite amount of time due to personal issues, the Grizzlies will be short-handed again Tuesday. Despite missing multiple starters,  Memphis has still managed to play at a high-level thanks to none other than Marc Gasol. Averaging 22 points per game on 55 percent shooting from the field, he has kept the Grizzlies alive. Expect Gasol to do the same against the Sixers. This is especially probable as Embiid will most likely not play because the game is the second night of a back-to-back.

New Orleans Pelicans

Thursday, 8 December 2016 at 08:00 PM ET Away

After looking like the Pelicans might have turned things around when former Sixer Jrue Holiday returned to their roster, they are now struggling once again. New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry refuses to implement a system that fits the current roster, he plays Anthony Davis over 40 minutes a night purely to keep his job (Davis can make any game close near the end if he's in for long enough) and then he complains after the game about how his team didn't do certain things, such as rebounding or playing hard defense, even though his game plan tells his players to NOT do any of those things. Despite the Pelicans having a much better roster than the Sixers, this game could be extremely close. Davis could score 50 points, and all of his teammates would potentially only score 25 since they only take contested shots.

Detroit Pistons

Sunday, 11 December 2016 at 06:00 PM ET Away

Reggie Jackson returned to the Pistons this week. Before his return, Detroit was 11-10; however, they should be able to take it to the next level very soon, as Jackson is the Piston's best offensive player. Jackson has been out of the game for a while, so he might start out slow. If he is back on his game by Sunday, though, then the Sixers had better watch out. Jackson has the potential to go off for 30 points in any single game and feed Andre Drummond near the rim at will.