Philadelphia 76ers: 5 must-see November matchups

3. Philadelphia 76ers at Denver Nuggets. Friday, November 8th at 9 PM.

No time to sit back, Sixers fans; Philly is in the Mile High City to face the Denver Nuggets upstart squad tonight.

Both the Sixers and Nuggets are coming off impressive seasons that ended prematurely. Both Philadelphia and Denver are among the NBA’s best teams this season.

Embiid is slated to face Nuggets center Nikola Jokić. Jokić won all-NBA first-team honors last season, pushing Embiid to the all-NBA second team.

This season, Jokić averages a near double-double with 14.9 points and 9.7 rebounds a game. Additionally, his 5.9 assists a game highlights his unique passing ability for a frontcourt player.

One would assume Embiid would love nothing more than to prove he is the best center in the NBA this season.

Embiid is coming off two intense frontcourt matchups.

October 30th, Embiid faced talented Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns. The matchup resulted in a brawl and a pair of two-game suspensions, respectively. Wednesday, Embiid went toe-to-toe with last season’s All-NBA third-team center, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.

Riding a two-game losing streak and trying to close an early west coast trip strong, look for Embiid to establish his dominance in this game early and often.

Besides Jokić, the Nuggets dug up some solid talent under the age of 30, including 22-year old Jamal Murray and 25-year old Garry Harris, who form a solid backcourt tandem. The Sixers will face this talented backcourt without their starting point guard Ben Simmons.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Simmons suffered a Grade 1 AC joint sprain in his right shoulder, which could keep him out of the next three contests.

How the Sixers respond with a weakened backcourt will tell a lot about the depth Philly has.