With Joel Embiid back out and Paul George possibly joining him, the Sixers welcome the least in the East, Washington Wizards, to South Philadelphia.
Dec 2, 2025, 12:00 PM UTC
We had Philadelphia’s version of Halley’s Comet on Sunday night, as we saw the quartet of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Paul George, and VJ Edgecombe all suit up for the first time as Sixers. The double overtime defeat to the Hawks was certainly exciting, if not the result Sixers fans were hoping to see. I hope you had a chance to enjoy it, because it won’t be happening tonight as Philadelphia hosts the Washington Wizards. Embiid is already listed as out for the game due to right knee injury recovery. George is also questionable due to left knee injury recovery and lower back tightness, while Andre Drummond (questionable - right knee contusion) and Quentin Grimes (probable - right calf soreness) are also listed. Coming off 52 minutes against the Hawks, I’m surprised Maxey isn’t listed as “questionable - dog tired”.
If there’s any solace to the Sixers’ injury list getting back to looking like an old CVS receipt, it’s that you couldn’t ask for a softer landing spot than facing the 3-16 Wizards at home, especially with Washington on the tail end of a back-to-back. Credit to the Wiz, though, they did pick up that third win yesterday with a 129-126 victory over Milwaukee. CJ McCollum led the way with 28 points, four rebounds, and five assists. He’s currently second on the team in scoring behind Alex Sarr, who missed last night and will sit out again tonight with an adductor injury. Corey Kispert (fractured right thumb) and Tre Johnson (strained left hip flexor) will also be missing the proceedings.
The Sixers needed overtime to win the earlier meeting between these two clubs back in October, eventually prevailing, 139-134. Maxey was huge (as usual), exploding for 39 points and 10 assists. The Sixers did receive big contributions in that one from Embiid and Kelly Oubre Jr, neither of which will be available tonight, obviously. However, Sarr paced the Wizards then with 31 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, so that’s a huge hole to fill. The Wizards’ season is largely dedicated to seeing what they have in 2024 second overall pick Sarr, and 2025 sixth overall pick Johnson. With both those guys out, it has to be a depressing watch for Wizards’ fans. Watching a pair of 34-year-olds in McCollum and Khris Middleton soak up a ton of minutes isn’t exactly thrilling.
Washington has easily the [worst net rating in the league](https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?dir=D&sort=NET_RATING), and has already held one player’s-only meeting in the early part of the season. As of this writing, FanDuel lists the Sixers as 13.5-point favorites for tonight’s contest. It’s certainly better from the Wizards’ perspective that they’ve won two of their last three rather than the previous 14-game losing streak, but even with the injuries, this game is one Philadelphia should strive to win in a stress-free fashion. Maybe the Sixers can even do the impossible and keep Maxey below 40 minutes.
**When:** Tuesday, December 2, 7:00 p.m. ET
**Where:** Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
**Watch:** NBC Sports Philadelphia
**Radio:** 97.5 The Fanatic
**Follow:** [**@LibertyBallers**](http://twitter.com/Liberty_Ballers)
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