The Show Must Go On: Sixers Continue Road Trip Visiting Suns

(Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

As they say, the show must go on.

After a few eventful days in the world of the Philadelphia 76ers with the passing of the NBA trade deadline (and the trade of Jared McCain), there’s no option but to get back to work. On Saturday night, the Sixers will continue their western road trip with a visit to the Phoenix Suns.

The teams are not far removed from their first meeting of the season back on Jan. 20, when the Suns defeated the Sixers 116-110 in South Philadelphia. Joel Embiid and Paul George were both unavailable for that one, as it was the second leg of a back-to-back for the Sixers. Though it wasn’t enough, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre Jr. all scored 20+ points and Adem Bona put up an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench. After a close contest through halftime, the Suns put up 40 points on the Sixers in the (of course) third period, including eight triples. Phoenix gave the Sixers the opportunity to claw back from their double-digit deficit by shooting just 7-for-25 (28.0%) from the floor in the final frame, but Philadelphia couldn’t capitalize, shooting just 9-for-26 (34.6%) themselves.

So now, on Saturday, they’ll have a chance to redeem themselves. This is the second and final matchup between the squads this season.

For the Sixers, Embiid is listed as questionable for this contest as of Saturday morning for right knee injury management. It’s been hard to know for sure what this listing means for Embiid, who has more often than not been listed as questionable up until starting lineups have been announced (with him included). He has been more available than many would have expected as of late, though, having not missed a game that wasn’t part of a back-to-back since December.

Other than that, only Paul George (suspended) is unavailable for Philadelphia.

The Phoenix injury report has Devin Booker as questionable with an ankle sprain, an upgrade in status after missing the last seven Suns’ games for the injury. Booker leads the Suns averaging 25.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game across 41 contests. Phoenix has gone 5-6 in games without Booker this season.

Grayson Allen is out for Saturday’s contest after spraining his knee in the Suns last game. This is a pretty substantial loss for Phoenix, especially on the offensive end, with Allen averaging a career-high 17.0 points per game and sinking threes at a 36.9% rate on a 9.1 attempt per game clip.

Jalen Green, a career 20-point per night scorer, is questionable for right hamstring injury management and a hip contusion. Green has struggled to get on the court much at all this season, playing in just five games across the campaign and only three since the start of 2026. He last played on Jan. 30.

For as emotional and frustrating the last few days have been for fans, one can only imagine how it has felt for the guys actually on the Sixers squad. A victory on Saturday could be worth its weight in gold in terms of giving just the tiniest boost to morale for the team. Especially if there is the situation where Booker is unable to go and Embiid is in, this could end up being a great opportunity to get back in the win column and help get the players’ mindsets back on what they can actually control to some extent: what happens on the court.

The Sixers and Suns tip off from Phoenix at 9 p.m. ET.

Game Details

When: Saturday, Feb. 7, 9 p.m. ET
Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers