The Sixers (0-12) embark on a six-game road trip that begins in Charlotte against the Hornets (6-6) on Friday night (7 p.m./CSN).
Let’s take a closer look at the matchup:
1. Give it a rest
There were so many ways to describe the Sixers’ carelessness with the ball in Wednesday’s 112-85 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Sloppy. Laughable. Unbelievable. OK, maybe not totally unbelievable.
After all, the Sixers committed 27 turnovers on Monday against the Mavericks before giving it up a new season-high 31 times while getting blown out by the Pacers to fall to 0-12. Every player that saw action turned it over for the Sixers, with seven different guys recording at least three giveaways.
The Sixers might be able to get a handle on their 19.1 turnovers per game if they were coming from one single area. Instead, the miscues are coming from across the roster and in all situations on the court.
“When you break down the turnovers they come from all areas,” Sixers head coach Brett Brown said. “From stepping out of bounds to travels to post feeds to kick-aheads in early offense to driving into traffic and giving it away in a crowd — it’s not like it’s coming from a single area. And they are done en masse, it’s not like they’re coming from a single area. It’s a team thing. We can talk about a lot of things, but unless we fix that we’re just chasing the game. We’re not going to win any NBA games with that quantity of turnovers.”
NBA
2. Not Nerlens
While the turnovers are clearly the Sixers’ biggest issue, they also aren’t going to claim that elusive first win if Nerlens Noel continues to struggle.
The big man recorded just two points and three rebounds in 24 minutes against the Pacers. He also failed to record at least one assist, blocked shot or steal in a game for the first time in his career.
That performance came after he notched only six points and three boards in San Antonio on Saturday night.
Brown admitted Noel is dealing with some knee tendinitis and still suffering from a sore wrist. However, the coach added about the recent lackluster play from his starting power forward, “That’s not Nerlens.”
He’s absolutely right, and the Sixers won’t be able to crack into the win column until they get Noel back to his normal self.
3. Lock it down
For everything the Sixers are on offense, the Hornets are the complete opposite.
Charlotte is extremely efficient on the offensive end. The Hornets average a league-low 11.0 turnovers a game, while scoring 104.5 points per 100 possessions. They rank 12th in the NBA in field goal percentage (44.5) and eighth in three-point percentage (35.8).
One thing that makes the Hornets so cohesive on offense is balance. The Hornets have six players that average double figures in points this season led by Nicolas Batum with 17.1 a night.
The Sixers’ leaky defense (allowing 104.2 points per game) will have its hands full Friday.
4. Injuries
P.J. Hairston (quad) is questionable to face the Sixers, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (shoulder) is out.
Richaun Holmes (hamstring), Tony Wroten (knee), Kendall Marshall (knee), Carl Landry (wrist) and Joel Embiid (foot) are all out for the Sixers.
5. This and that
• The Sixers have lost 22 consecutive games dating back to last season and six of their last eight against the Hornets.
• The Hornets have won six of their last nine games.
• The Sixers’ 90.2 points per 100 possessions is the worst mark since the Denver Nuggets were at 88.9 in 2002-03.
• Point guard Kemba Walker averaged 27.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists against the Sixers last season.