After turning the ball over 27 times on Monday and 31 times on Wednesday, the Sixers (0-12) will have another difficult matchup tonight as they travel to Charlotte for a date with the Hornets (6-6), who hold the NBA's lowest turnover rate this season. On Wednesday against Indiana, the Sixers matched a turnover number that had not been reached in the last 15 years, back to November 8th, 2000, when the Warriors had 31 giveaways against Sacramento. Brett Brown's young core of players needs to find a way to get the issue fixed quickly, with road trip stops upcoming in Miami, Minnesota, Boston, Houston and Memphis to finish out the month of November.
On Wednesday against the Pacers, the Sixers may have looked the worst that they have over their rebuild process. In addition to their atrocious turnover number of 31, Nerlens Noel tallied a season-low three rebounds for the second time in the last three games while scoring just two points in 24 minutes on the court. Meanwhile, the Sixers got an impressive performance from undrafted rookie point guard T.J. McConnell, who 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting while also grabbing six rebounds and dealing three assists. The Sixers, losers of their last 22 dating back to last season, are just four losses away from equaling the all-time league record.
The Hornets have won six of their last nine games and have reached the .500 mark after a 116-111 win over the Nets on Wednesday. Nicolas Batum led Charlotte with 24 points and eight assists. The Hornets don't have another road game until December 5th and if numbers tell the story at all, that is a good thing. They've won four straight in their home arena, averaging 111.8 points while shooting over 41% from beyond the arc over that span.
Game Notes:
- The Hornets are averaging a league-low 11.7 turnovers per game. The Sixers turned the ball over 11 times in the second quarter alone on Wednesday.
- The Sixers 90.2 points per 100 possessions is the worst mark in the NBA since Denver was at 88.9 during the 2002-03 season.
- The Hornets have beaten Philadelphia four straight times at home and have six wins in the last eight meetings overall between the two teams.
- If the Sixers plan on getting in the win column tonight or at all on this road trip, they'll need a bigger contribution from Robert Covington, who has yet to return to form since being injured. He's 7-for-30 from the floor this season and has yet to hit a three-point shot in 14 attempts.
- The Sixers have been outscored 65-28 in points off turnovers over the last two games.
Lineups:
Sixers
PG – T.J. McConnell – 6.5 ppg. 6.9 apg
SG - Nik Stauskas – 9.7 ppg. 2.3 apg.
SF - Jerami Grant – 10.2 ppg. 4.9 rpg.
PF - Nerlens Noel – 11.6 ppg. 9.4 rpg.
C - Jahlil Okafor – 19.2 ppg. 7.6 rpg.
Injuries: Tony Wroten (right ACL tear, out), Kendall Marshall (right ACL tear, out), Joel Embiid (broken right foot, out), Carl Landry (torn ligament right wrist, out), Richaun Holmes (right hamstring strain, out)
Hornets
PG - Kemba Walker - 16.5 ppg. 5.1 apg.
SG - Nicolas Batum - 17.1 ppg. 6.0 rpg.
SF – Marvin Williams - 10.0 ppg. 7.3 rpg.
PF – Cody Zeller – 6.4 ppg. 5.3 rpg.
C – Al Jefferson – 14.3 ppg. 6.4 rpg.
Injuries: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (right shoulder surgery, out), P.J. Hairston (right guard contusion, questionable), Cody Zeller (left ankle strain, probable).
Game Information
Tip-off: 7:00pm
Location: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Brandon Apter is a contributor to Sixerdelphia.com
