The Sixers enter tonight's contest in South Philly sitting at 0-14 to start the season. The worst start to any season in NBA history was in 2009-2010, when the Brooklyn (then New Jersey) Nets dropped 18 straight before finally beating the Charlotte Bobcats. You can bet the Nets wouldn't mind wiping that record off the books, and will definitely make sure they bring their game faces tonight to ensure that the Sixers losing ways continue.
However, don't be surprised to see the Sixers show up for this one as well. The Sixers, while clearly still not cracking the W column, have been showing some signs of life recently. On their recent 4 game road trip to Toronto and down through the Texas Triangle, the Sixers lost 3 of those games by more than 25 pts. In their last 4 games, the Sixers have lost 3 of 4 by eleven points or less. Even Coach Brown is feeling the good vibes, saying after the Portland loss, “We’re not that far away. I genuinely believe that. I believe this team is starting to see bits of things coming together. Nobody is rolling over or pointing fingers.” The Sixers have definitely been playing with more spirit recently, and none so more than Nerlens Noel, who definitely finds himself in the most active stretch of his young career.
And these aren't Dr. J's Nets. Hell, these aren't even Paul Pierce's Nets anymore, as he fled down the turnpike to Washington this past offseason. This Nets team is not playing well, currently sitting at 5-8 (9th in the Conference), having dropped 6 of their last 7 games. Deron Williams is far fallen from his Utah days when he was in the conversation with CP3 as best point guard in the league, and Kevin Garnett is a shell of himself. Don't be fooled: this team is NOT the on-paper contender they were last year. This is a middling Eastern Conference team with a shaky leader, aging vets, and a dim future. If Brown's positive mental attitude is permeating the whole locker room, don't be surprised if our boys jump out on the Nets early in this one. The question, as always though, is can they hold on?
Game Notes:
- Andrei Kirilenko has been away from the Nets for the last few games, and there have been plenty of rumors that he might be headed to the Sixers in a trade. Sounds like the point of said trade though would be to acquire some more future draft picks (HINKIE!!!)
- Yeah, I was ragging on Deron Williams earlier in the preview. But Deron is having one of his healthiest seasons in quite a while, having started every game so far this year after battling ankle injuries in past seasons. He leads the team in PER (for players having played more than 100 minutes), and must be the focus of the Sixers D if they want to stand a chance.
- Robert Covington, he of the 100% TS% two games ago against the Knicks, played for a shade under 2 minutes against the Blazers and took zero shots. Clearly it takes more than one quarter of hot shooting to crack the Sixers rotation.
Projected Lineups:
Sixers
PG Michael Carter-Williams
SG Tony Wroten
SF Luc Mbah a Moute
PF Nerlens Noel
C Henry Sims
Nets
PG Deron Williams
SG Bojan Bogdanovic
SF Joe Johnson
PF Kevin Garnett
C Brook Lopez
Injuries: Sixers: Joel Embiid (Out, cookie in the eye), Jerami Grant (Out, ankle), and Jason Richardson (Out, foot).
Nets: Markel Brown (Out, hip) and Andrei Kirilenko (Out, being actively wooed by Sam Hinkie).
Prediction: This one is going to be a slog. Nets eke it out 89-84 in a slow, sludgy, ugly game.
