Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images The Spurs travel to Philly for the start of a holiday road trip Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. The Spurs have only played three games against teams from the Eastern Conference in the first 28 games of the season, a total they will equal in the first three games of the road trip that starts tonight. Tonight they face the Sixers, who have struggled this season with the injuries, with Joel Embiid not being available for much of the season up to now. The Sixers superstar center is expected to start tonight in Philly, wearing a mask for an orbital fracture, and it’s going to be an interesting matchup to watch as he battles against Victor Wembanyama. Both centers have a unique skill set, but I’m not sure the Sixers big man has ever seen another player with that combination of length and elite ball skills. Not that anyone ever has before Victor came onto the scene. Another matchup to watch is Tyrese Maxey against Stephon Castle. The Spurs rookie has struggled on offense recently, but he’s still doing well enough on defense to justify his place in the starting lineup. Maxey provides an interesting challenge for Castle, unless he misses the game with an illness that has him marked a probable tonight on the injury report. The Spurs will be playing mostly road games until about the middle of January, and it will be interesting to see if they can continue on their recent streak of solid play while traveling. If they can, they should be in great shape for the second half of the season which is heavily loaded with games against the weaker Eastern Conference. Let’s watch and find out. There will be a quick turnaround as the Spurs are traveling to New York City after the game for an 11:00 AM Central game on Christmas Day against the Knicks. Let’s make sure the kids are done opening presents before tipoff, so you can watch the whole game. Remember, it’s OK to wear pajamas while watching the Spurs. Pounding the Rock on Playback Game Prediction: Joel Embiid will scream “I’m Batman!” instead of “and one” after dunking the ball in honor of his (admittedly cool looking) mask. One final word: Go Spurs GOOOOOO!! San Antonio Spurs at Philadelphia 76ersDecember 23, 2024 | 6:00 PM CTStreaming: NBA League PassTV: FanDuel Sports Southwest/NBATV Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments, but it is not against site policy to exchange email addresses, for instance.