The NBA on TNT doubleheader this Thursday, the last day of February, is another good one as the Philadelphia 76ers visit the Oklahoma City Thunder in the opener, followed by Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets in the nightcap.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Sixers-Thunder normally would showcase four All-Stars from the game earlier this month in Philly’s Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons along with Oklahoma City’s Paul George and Russell Westbrook, but Embiid will sit again with a sore knee. Why did the team even let Embiid play in the All-Star Game if he was having problems? He hasn’t played since and is not likely to until next week at the earliest.

The Sixers are legitimate Eastern Conference contenders with a healthy Embiid but not close without him. He’s averaging career highs in points (27.3), rebounds (13.5), assists (3.5), minutes (33.7) and free throw percentage (81.1). Always concerning when a big guy has knee issues, and Embiid hasn’t exactly been a bastion of health in his pro career.