The Philadelphia 76ers are in Charlotte to take on the Hornets on Tuesday night, hoping to win and get themselves on a winning streak for the first time this season. The Sixers arrive in Charlotte having beat the Pistons on Saturday, 111-96 and have gone 2-3 over their last five games. Meanwhile, the Hornets are riding a five-game losing streak, having lost most recently to the Hawks on Saturday by a score of 107-104.
Sixers game information
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (4-14) at Charlotte Hornets (6-14)
When: 7:00 p.m. EST
Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte NC
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass, Bally Sports South & Southeast
Latest on the Sixers
The Sixers arrive in Charlotte on the heels of a much-needed win over the Pistons and are looking to get started on a winning streak that could put the team back into contention in the Eastern Conference. Despite their 4-14 record, the Sixers remain just 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot in a conference that has just five teams above a .500 win percentage. While the Cavaliers and Celtics are the top teams in the conference, the Sixers, when healthy, can compete with any of them.
The key to the Sixers is health and balance, neither of which has the team been able to maintain through the start of the season. While Maxey missed six games earlier in the season, he’s starting to return to form from last year, which saw him take home the Most Improved Player award for the season. With Maxey rounding into form, the Sixers are still waiting on Joel Embiid to have some sort of timetable for a reasonable return that would see him play more than the four games he’s participated in so far.
Paul George is the third piece to the Sixers star trio, and his Sixers career hasn’t started off as he or the team had hoped. George missed almost the entire preseason, playing just the first game before injuring his knee, and upon his return to the lineup, he proceeded to injure the same knee again.
On the season, George has played in nine games, contributing 14.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists but his shooting has been the real struggle. He is shooting just 37.8% from the floor and 28.6% on his three-point attempts. With continued health and game time, George should be able get closer to the player the Sixers expected when they signed him during the offseason.
The issue for the team right now seems to be finding consistency in the lineup and production. Over the past three games, while Maxey has improved to the point that he’s been shooting 42.3% from the field and 50% on his three-point attempts, it’s come at the expense of star rookie, Jared McCain.
Not that Maxey has taken from McCain. It just seems that the rookie hasn’t been able to find a good flow of late, where he’s shot just 29.3% from the floor and 9.6% on his three-pointers. Prior to the past three games, McCain was on a seven game run where he was shooting 50.8% from the floor and 45.6% on his threes. Head coach Nick Nurse must find a place for McCain and get him back to what he had been doing, as he was the lone bright spot on the season to this point.
Latest on the Hornets
The Hornets have just two more wins than the Sixers and sit two spots above them in the Eastern Conference, but over their last week, they’ve been worse than the Sixers. they’ve lost five games in a row and they’ve all been close games, which shows that the Hornets are having their biggest issues at the end. The Hornets have some talent on the team; they’ve just not been able to put it all together, and despite LaMelo Ball trying everything he can, the future doesn’t look bright for the team.
Despite having six players scoring in double figures for the year, they’re just not a very good team. While they sit in the middle of the league in three-point shooting at 36.2% in the year, they’re last in the league, just below the Sixers, at 42.4% on their overall shooting. With all of the misses that the team has, it’s not surprising that they’re one of the top rebounding teams in the league, an area that the Sixers are absolutely horrible at.
While the team will be missing power forward Grant Williams for the remainder of the year, after he tore his ACL in late November, they will have to utilize their whole roster against the Sixers and going forward. They can’t rely on the LaMelo to save them and will need to get big games, going forward, from players like Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges if they’re going to climb up in the rankings and start getting some wins.
What to watch for tonight
It seems that Sixers coach Nick Nurse is maneuvering his lineup to see what he has in the younger and talented players. While the team started the season with Reggie Jackson, Kyle Lowry, and Eric Gordon all getting minutes, the most recent game saw the coach playing KJ Martin and Ricky Council IV the most minutes they’ve seen all year.
It worked as the duo combined for 36 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 12-15 from the floor. The younger players need to see the floor,r as it’s been obvious that the older ones haven’t been able to contribute as they once did.
The key for tonight will be seeing how Guershon Yabusele handles what should be a starting role at center with Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond both out for the game. They’re going to have to use a smaller lineup against the Hornets and probably going forward, depending on what the status is Embiid will be.
Caleb Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr. will have to be at the top of their game, while the smaller lineup and tighter rotation could work to the Sixers’ advantage. Having players like Maxey, McCain, Oubre Jr., Martin, and Council IV on the court will keep the pressure on the Hornets, and the athleticism should provide for some quality scoring tonight.
Prediction
Sixers 117 – Hornets 109
