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On Monday night, the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets will face off at Barclays Center in New York for each team's first preseason game. 

However, the 76ers will not have either of their two best players for the game. 

According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, All-Stars James Harden and Joel Embiid will not play. 

Pompey: "Joel Embiid, James Harden, Danuel House and P.J. Tucker will all miss tonight’s game against the #Nets, #Sixers coach Doc Rivers says."

Harden and Embiid are one of the best duos in the NBA, but they have had limited time playing together because Harden was traded to the team back in February.

Ironically, he was traded from the Nets to the 76ers in a blockbuster deal that sent Ben Simmons to Brooklyn.

The 76ers made the NBA Playoffs, and they beat the Toronto Raptors in the first round, but they lost to Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in the second round (in six games).

However, with a full season of Harden and Embiid playing together, there is good reason to believe the team could be a lot better during the 2022-23 season.

Harden has made ten straight trips to the All-Star Game, and he won the MVP Award in 2018 while playing for the Houston Rockets.

As for Embiid, he is clearly one of the best players in the NBA (and one of the best big-men of all time).

The 76ers will play their first game of the regular season on Oct. 18 when they go on the road to face off with the Boston Celtics, and the Nets will host the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 19. 

More on the Philadelphia 76ers can be read here