PREVIEW: Suns Face Reeling 76ers

The Phoenix Suns look to continue recent momentum into tonight.

Nov 2, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) and forward Kevin Durant (35) react after a time out late in the second half during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images / Allan Henry-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The 2024-25 NBA season is now entering its third full week of action - and the Phoenix Suns (5-1) have come into the season with a stark contrast of output early compared to last season.

They will look to continue building off of a quality start against a Philadelphia 76ers (1-4) squad that came into the season with ambitious goals, but injuries have prevented an ideal start.

The 76ers are expected to return a pricey offseason addition tonight, while superstar center Joel Embiid will once again be out ahead of this anticipated matchup.

An update on a key player, along with an under-the-radar player from the opposition, and a game prediction will ensue:

Philadelphia Star Set to Make Debut

Philadelphia F/G Paul George is reportedly set to make his regular-season debut for the franchise after suffering a knee sprain during preseason play.

George, 34, signed a four-year max contract in July with the 76ers - and the hope is that he can sustain all-star level play long enough/stay healthy enough to form a feared top-heavy rotation to be the biggest threat to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.

George's debut will happen tonight - and it will be interesting to see how the 6-time All-NBA star will be eased into the offense of title-winning head coach Nick Nurse.

The absence of Embiid does throw a wrench in continuity building, but Philly remains a team with some heavy-hitters - such as Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Kyle Lowry.

This should be a crowd-pleasing matchup that takes all 48 minutes to determine the outcome.

Player to Watch: Guerschon Yabusele

Philadelphia's depth has been questioned throughout the offseason into the 82-game slate - but the French wing hasn't been one of those reasons.

Initially brought in by the 76ers as a high-risk, high-reward bench piece following his success playing for France in this summer's Olympics, Yabusele has generally made the most of opportunities handed to him.

The former first-round pick has come back into the NBA as seemingly an entirely new player.

Yabusele has kept the NFL-esque build, but has also become a more consistent/confident three-point shooter, along with being a pleasant surprise on the offensive glass. His assist numbers have quadrupled since last appearing in the NBA in the 2018-19 season as well - and has leveraged a 7'1" wingspan into averaging 1.4 steals per contest so far.

The 3.6 fouls per game are a bit high, but an aggressive Yabusele is what Philly wants - it will be fascinating to see if he still factors into Nurse's rotation with the return of George.

Prediction: Suns Win

This contest will likely be tighter than the 7.5 point spread that favors Phoenix - as George surely has an axe to grind with Devin Booker, and Oubre historically plays quite well in Phoenix.

Despite this, Budenholzer seems to have a firmer grasp of his team in year one than Nurse does in year-two in Philly - and that will make a world of difference in this contest.

Expect Grayson Allen to have another quality showing as well - he very well could be the x-factor for the second consecutive game.

Suns-Sixers is set to tip off shortly after 8:15 PM Arizona time tonight.