Indiana has its own center problem. Ivica Zubac rolled his left ankle in the 1st quarter at Brooklyn, tried to play a few possessions on it, then went to the locker room and didn't return. The X-rays were negative, but he left the arena on crutches with a swollen ankle. Rick Carlisle called him unlikely for Monday's game in Milwaukee. Wednesday is 2 days after that, so whether Zubac can play here is still unknown.
Without him, the Pacers looked good anyway. Brooklyn led 26-24 after the 1st, and Indiana outscored the Nets 112-83 the rest of the way, including a 41-point 2nd quarter and a 37-24 3rd. That was a tired Nets team on a back-to-back, though, and Dallas had beaten Indiana by 16 in Indianapolis 2 nights earlier. So far the Pacers have been good some nights and very bad on others.
The schedule tilts toward Philadelphia. The Sixers last played Sunday, so they get 2 full days off before tipoff. Indiana plays at Milwaukee on Monday and then flies home for this one. That Bucks game is the one result still missing from this preview. It will show whether Indiana can win without Zubac, how hard Carlisle works his healthy guys with T.J. McConnell and Ben Sheppard both out, and how much the Pacers have left on short rest.
Tipoff is 7:00 PM ET. If Embiid plays and Zubac doesn't, Philadelphia has the biggest frontcourt edge in the game. If it's the other way around, Indiana's quick, high-scoring offense gets to run against a thin Sixers group. Most of this game will be decided by injury reports that haven't come out yet.