The Sixers (18-30) continue their four-game road trip against the San Antonio Spurs (37-11) at AT&T Center (8:30 p.m./CSN, CSNPhilly.com and the NBC Sports app).
Let's take a closer look at the matchup:
1. Gouged on the glass
With various big men that all bring different skills to the table, one thing you would expect the Sixers to be able to do is rebound. Even with rising star Joel Embiid sidelined, the team should be able to handle itself on the glass.
Well, that was the furthest thing from the case on Wednesday as the Sixers were crushed in the rebounding category during a 113-95 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Sixers were outrebounded 51-39 in the defeat by the league's worst rebounding team. The main culprit was reserve center Salah Mejri, who grabbed a career-high 17 boards to go along with 16 points. Mejri's total was more than Jahlil Okafor (one), Nerlens Noel (three) and Richaun Holmes (zero) combined.
"I guess I was surprised, but it's the NBA," Noel said (see story). "Guys have certain things they're good at, but it's no excuse. He should never have that type of stat line on us at all."
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Look for the Spurs, who rank just 18th in the NBA in rebounding, to try and capitalize in the backboard battle the same way.
2. Be careful with 'The Claw'
As if the rebounding issue won't be enough to deal with, now the Sixers have to also worry about how to contain Kawhi Leonard's all-around game.
The versatile forward is quietly - as is his style - having an MVP-type season.
Leonard is averaging a career-best 25.6 points per game on 48.7 percent shooting from the field and 41.0 percent from three-point range. He's also racked up averages of 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals a night and was named to his second straight All-Star Game.
While Leonard's all-purpose game is what makes him unique, his scoring has been the dominant trait as of late. The forward upped his scoring average to 28.6 points per game during January and capped off the month with a 36-point effort in the Spurs' 108-94 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
3. You can go home again
Brett Brown may not be going back to San Antonio on the greatest note after Wednesday's blowout, but this has to be the best he has felt returning to his old stomping grounds with the Sixers.
Brown's team appears to have finally turned a corner on its massive rebuild with 10 wins in January to match all of last season. More importantly, with Embiid and top pick Ben Simmons waiting in the wings, Brown has the top-tier talent to shape the franchise's future and attract even more quality players.
No other person is more excited about the Sixers' recent success than Brown's mentor, Gregg Popovich. The Spurs coaching legend expressed last month how happy he was for Brown, who worked with him for over a decade in San Antonio.
"It's one of my joys in life to watch them win basketball games because if there's any team that deserves it, it's those guys," Popovich said.
That doesn't mean he's going to take it easy on Brown. Popovich's Spurs have beaten the Sixers in all six meetings by an average of 22.8 points since Brown became head coach.
4. Injuries
Robert Covington (hand) is a game-time decision. Embiid (knee) did not travel with the team. Ben Simmons (foot) and Jerryd Bayless (wrist) are out for the Sixers.
Pau Gasol (finger) is out for the Spurs.
5. This and that
• The Sixers will face the Spurs twice in a six-day span.
• The Sixers have lost 10 straight overall to the Spurs and 11 in a row in San Antonio.
• LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 19.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game against the Sixers during his career.
