Fresh off a disappointing home loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Charlotte Hornets will look to rebound tonight as they travel north to face the Philadelphia 76ers starting at 6 PM EST.
The Hornets led New Orleans by five heading into the fourth, but too many breakdowns on both sides of the court eventually caught up to the hosts in the 115-110 defeat. The defense had showed visible signs of improvement its last few times out, although apparently took a step back of sorts in this one.
“It just takes attention to detail, physicality and urgency to get to the ball,” said Head Coach James Borrego after the loss. “It’s a disappointing effort, in the second half, that we didn’t get this game done. We have to see what kind of urgency we have tomorrow night and see who brings it. That’s a very good team we’re going to play. We have to collectively bounce back together and bring some great energy tomorrow.”
Philadelphia has dropped three straight after a 5-0 start, and sits 19th in the NBA in offensive rating (105.7), seventh in defensive rating (101.9) and third in points off turnovers (21.1). C Joel Embiid (23.2 PPG on just 43.8% shooting), F Tobias Harris (18.9) and newcomer F Al Horford (16.0) are currently leading the team in scoring.
Charlotte has struggled down low defensively this season, which could be problematic with Philadelphia currently the NBA’s seventh-highest scoring team in the paint (50.8 PPG). Confining the 76ers to the arc where they rank 21st in 3PM (10.6 per game on 35.1% shooting) will be imperative if the Hornets want to close out their back-to-back with a tough road win.
Game Notes: All-Star G Ben Simmons (sprained right shoulder) and G Shake Milton (bone bruise, sprained left knee) will not play for Philadelphia. Simmons currently leads the league in SPG (3.00) and is 14th in APG (6.9)… Charlotte lost all four games to the 76ers last season by a combined total of just 10 points (two in overtime).