What to watch as the 76ers look for revenge against Trail Blazers

The 18-7 Philadelphia 76ers will search for a seventh win in eight games Thursday night when they play the 13-10 Portland Trail Blazers.

The Sixers will be looking for payback as they recently lost to Trail Blazers 121-105 on Feb. 4.

Here are three storylines to watch: 

Possible adjustments for Sixers’ bench

Shake Milton, the Sixers’ third highest scorer thus far, was listed as doubtful on Wednesday night’s injury report with a left ankle sprain. He appeared to sustain the injury on a drive with 2:12 left in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s win over the Sacramento Kings.

Seth Curry also popped up on the injury report with a left ankle sprain, though he was listed as available.

Mike Scott remains out with right knee swelling, while two-way contract players Paul Reed and Rayjon Tucker are with the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League bubble. 

If Milton is out for Thursday’s game, it would make sense for Tyrese Maxey to take some of his typical minutes. Maxey didn’t play Tuesday night, the first time that’s happened all season. The Sixers’ second unit was very good without him, outscoring Sacramento’s by a 32-21. Matisse Thybulle went scoreless but played strong defense late against De’Aaron Fox.

Portland’s CJ McCollum, Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic are sidelined by injuries. Damian Lillard and Ben Simmons should be available after both missed the Blazers’ win over the Sixers last week. 

Kicking into high gear late 

When the game is tight and they’ve needed stops, the Sixers have looked capable of elevating their defense to an elite level.

The statistics back up that perception: The Sixers have a 98.8 defensive rating in fourth quarters, per NBA.com/Stats, which is 3.5 points better than the second-place Raptors. The team’s 13.7 fourth-quarter net rating is also best in the league, four points higher than Toronto’s.

Simmons had a simple explanation for why the Sixers’ defense improved from the first to second half against the Kings. He said, “Just focusing,” he said. “Literally just us focusing. When we’re focused and running our stuff and moving the ball, and then defensively when we’re locked in and communicating, I don’t really see too many teams beating us when we’re playing like that. When we’re executing plays, it’s tough. We look very good when we’re doing all of that.”

How long will the streak last? 

The Sixers still haven’t lost with their opening-night starting lineup. When Simmons, Curry, Tobias Harris, Danny Green, and Embiid all play together, they’re 14-0 and sport a plus-16.6 net rating, per Cleaning the Glass. 

Though it’s early in the year and playing during a pandemic has led to many games in which one or both teams are well below full strength, that undefeated mark is still significant validation that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey’s offseason approach made a ton of sense. 

The Sixers have faced a relatively easy schedule, yes, but it’s undoubtedly a good sign that the team has won every single time its best lineup has suited up, even though that’s not likely to continue for an entire season. 

Here are the essentials for tonight’s game:

Where: Moda Center in Portland

When: 10:00 P.M. E.S.T.

Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia & TNT

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Social media coverage: There will be no 76ers-Trail Blazers coverage on my socials tonight. There will be an article posted tomorrow morning.