The Philadelphia 76ers started 2025 with a Sixers classic – clinging on from the clutches of victory and losing late to the Sacramento Kings.

And that’s what I mean late. The Sixers led the Kings 23 of 24 minutes in the second half before failing to score in the final 3:34 of the game, allowing Sacramento to end the game on a 15-0 run in which they came back from a deficit and secured the victory from under Philadelphia.

The Sixers won’t have time to sulk over the loss, however, as the team has a tough January schedule ahead of them. In the first of five consecutive games of the month and the fifth game of this six-game road trip, the Sixers are back in action on Thursday night in San Francisco to take on the Golden State Warriors.

Because this contest marks the end of a back-to-back game for the Sixers and involves an injury due to the time zone difference, Philadelphia’s official injury report is not expected until Thursday afternoon. According to NBC Sports Philadelphia, we know that Joel Embiid is expected to be available for the game against the Warriors. Embiid missed Wednesday night’s game against the Kings due to a foot sprain (though it’s worth noting that the team originally listed Embiid as out for the contest due to rest before the injury report was quickly changed to reflect the ankle sprain, so get going use this information as you wish.)

Although the injury report has been released, the Warriors’ lineups for Thursday’s game are still uncertain. Steph Curry is listed as questionable with a right thumb sprain and Draymond Green is listed as questionable with a lower back bruise.

Talking about Curry’s contributions to the Warriors almost feels redundant since the team’s offense runs through him, but there you go. He leads his team with averages of 22.0 points and 6.4 assists per game and attempts a whopping 10.5 triples per game. And because he’s Steph Curry, you know he doesn’t just throw up rocks. Even with this insane attempt volume, Curry is still sinking 40.1% of his three-point attempts and ranks eighth in the NBA in total triples made so far this season (109), despite playing over a hundred minutes less than almost every player in the NBA close to him.

Sixers fans have seen how quickly things can get ugly for their team when opponents get hot from distance, especially when Philadelphia simultaneously executes one of their patented cold-shooting spells. If Curry can make a play, the Sixers essentially have two options: torment Curry at the rim to try to slow the offense from distance, or be willing to turn the lights off to keep up.

Curry’s (and the Warriors’) problem is the lack of real support. Rounding out the offense are Jonathan Kuminga with a career average of 16.8 points per game and Andrew Wiggins with a career average of 16.4 points and a career-high 40.7% from distance (at 5.4). attempts per game). NBA veteran Green is the defensive enforcer (an enthusiastic one, shall we say?).

But that’s about it. Golden State did However, I recently took over from Dennis Schroder. The 31-year-old was outstanding with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 18.4 points in 33.6 minutes per game, but that hasn’t quite translated to the Warriors yet. In seven games with his new squad, Schroeder averaged 9.1 points, 29.7% field goal shooting and 20.6% three-point shooting in 28 minutes per game.

Former Sixer Buddy Hield Was I cook for the Warriors but was completely forgotten after a short honeymoon period. Through the first 20 games of the season, Hield averaged 14.9 points per game and shot 43.8% from distance on 7.7 attempts per game. Since then, those numbers have dropped to 8.8 points per game over the last 12 games, a decline of 30.3% from three (decrease of 1.9 per game). Of course I expect him to reach the peak of his career tonight.

It’s a game between two teams who want to get back on track in their own way. The Warriors’ train has been derailed over the last month and a half, as Golden State has lost 13 of its last 17 games and fallen to 10th place in the Western Conference after a 12-3 start to the season. The Sixers have had the opposite experience, with a dismal start to the season that finally appears to be stabilizing after winning 10 of their last 14 games after starting the season 3-14. With a marathon month ahead of us, Philadelphia wants to keep momentum on its side and avoid its first multi-game losing streak since late November.

We’ll keep you updated as more injury report information becomes available and the Sixers and Warriors tip off at 10:00 p.m. ET (gross).

Game details
WHO: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Golden State Warriors
When: 10:00 p.m. ET
Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, California
Regard: TNT, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Consequences: @LibertyBallers