Sixers at Pelicans: 3 Storylines to Watch and How to Live Stream the Game

The Sixers (38-22) will look to bounce back on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans (27-34) in their third consecutive game without Joel Embiid (left knee soreness), while Anthony Davis is expected back in the Pelicans' lineup.

Here are the essentials for tonight's game:

• When: 8 p.m. ET with Sixers Pregame Live at 7 p.m.
• Where: Smoothie King Center
• Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app

And here are three storylines to watch:

Points in the paint/transition defense

The Pelicans score more points in the paint than any other team (58.2) in the NBA, and without Embiid, keeping New Orleans out of the paint isn't going to be easy. The Pels finished with 62 paint points in their most recent win over the Lakers, and that was without Davis. Brett Brown said the No. 1 defensive focus tonight is transition defense, explaining that with a new team, in transition is where he feels the most pain.

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The offensive glass

Granted, the Trail Blazers are a top-five offensive rebounding team in the NBA, but the Sixers gave up 19 offensive rebounds (and 19 second-chance points) in their last game. There must be a better effort on the glass tonight, because New Orleans (No. 4 in total rebounds) is also a top-10 offensive rebounding team, averaging 11.0 a night, and is fifth in the NBA in second-chance points at 14.4 per game.

The AD saga

Despite all the drama surrounding Davis, who requested a trade at the end of January, the Pelicans have still found ways to get big wins against teams like Houston, Oklahoma City, and Los Angeles, whether or not The Brow is in the lineup. With Davis expected back in the starting lineup tonight (and the team having played so well without him against the Lakers), it'll be interesting to see how that all shakes out.

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