Winning the Games We Should: Sixers Face Bucks on the Road

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"We don't lose two in a row at home." Such has been the credo of the post-suck Sixers, taken (as just about everything has been this year) from the example of their head coach. It's one thing to preach that, however it's quite another thing to back it up on the court--especially when doing so necessitates a hard-fought victory against an elite club like the Boston Celtics. But just as they have since back-to-back home drops against the Cavs and Raptors last November, they avoided posting a second straight L at the WFC last night with a gutsy, defensive, statement of a victory against the C's.

Great as it is to see the team follow through with protecting their home court, I think it's just as important that the team make another point of emphasis: Not to to lose to sub-.500 teams on the road.

Not that they should do it at home, either, but there's more of a built-in excuse to come out lackluster against the bad teams when they're playing with their home crowd at their back. But really good teams should be able to reliably beat the lottery hopefuls regardless of locale, and that certainly extends to the Sixers game against the Bucks tonight in Milwaukee.

The Bucks this year are having arguably the most disappointing season in all the East, after taking the Hawks to seven games in the playoffs last year and having added pieces in the off-season (Corey Maggette and Drew Gooden, in addition to the re-signed John Salmons) that were supposed to help take the team to the next level. But the pieces turned out to be ill-fitting, the lineup got wrecked with injuries, and neither of the team's two key players (point guard Brandon Jennings and center Andrew Bogut) ended up building on the solid seasons they had in '09-'10. It's all added up to a 25-38 season for the Bucks, leaving them outside the playoff picture in the East--though with the Pacers in freefall of late, they're not completely out of the discussion just yet. 

8:00 tip tonight from the Bradley Center. A win tonight would be Philly's fourth straight on the road, the first time in three years. "We definitely feel like we're a great ballclub that is capable ofbeating anybody each and every night," said Thaddeus Young after the team's win last night. Certainly getting there, Thad.

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