Philadelphia @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 27, 2018 ) Philadelphia 114, Utah 97

The Philadelphia 76ers will have star center Joel Embiid back in the lineup when they visit the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Embiid served a two-game suspension for his recent tussle with Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns and Philadelphia fell from the ranks of the unbeaten in the second contest, losing 114-109 to the host Phoenix Suns on Monday.

The Philadelphia defense missed Embiid's presence and the backcourt was especially shaky on that end as Phoenix star guard Devin Booker scored 40 points on 15-of-19 shooting and the 76ers allowed their second-highest point total of the season. "Obviously defensively, I thought they never really felt us in the second half," forward Tobias Harris told reporters after the loss. "They got too many easy looks, too many open looks. So, I thought that was probably the biggest adjustment." Utah has lost back-to-back games and it was exposed in the interior by the Los Angeles Clippers, who recorded a 54-37 rebounding edge in Sunday's 105-94 win over the Jazz. "It was too much to overcome if we're not getting bodies on people and getting rebounds," Utah coach Quin Snyder told reports. "We can have a good possession defensively. But if we don't secure the ball, it's wasted."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)

ABOUT THE 76ERS (5-1): Veteran post player Al Horford took advantage of Embiid's absence to average 28.5 points in the two games, including a season-best 32 on 13-of-20 shooting in Monday's loss. "For the last couple of games, obviously with Joel being out, I felt like I've had to step up a little more, be more aggressive and look to score," Horford told reporters after the setback. "Tonight the way they were defending me, it gave me a lot of looks and I took advantage of that." Harris had 24 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double and third 20-point outing of the season.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (4-3): Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 36 points against the Clippers and is averaging a robust 25.7 points per game. But Mitchell (3.3 assists) and new point guard Mike Conley (3.9) aren't getting the ball inside enough for Rudy Gobert's liking as the 7-foot-2 center is averaging just 10.9 points, well below last season's career-best 15.9 figure. "The drive is great but the pass to the big is a weapon that we have and we don't use it," Gobert told the Salt Lake Tribune. "Usually, I feel like we can lob it up. But once the lob isn't there, we're not really looking. It's on me to get in good positions at the rim, and at the same time, it's on my teammates to want to find me."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Embiid averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds while sweeping last season's two games against the Jazz.

2. Philadelphia PG Ben Simmons scored a season-low six points on 2-of-8 shooting against the Suns.

3. Conley is shooting just 31.8 percent from the field while averaging 12.4 points.

PREDICTION: Jazz 112, 76ers 110