Sixers play at Charlotte tonight
Sixers try to put last night's awful loss in Orlando behind them as they take on Charlotte for the second second time in four days.
Here's good news for Sixers fans, the Sixers can no longer surprise with the way they lose games anymore.
Last night in Orlando, two four-point plays? There was no one who I could find last night in Orlando who had ever seen anything like it. It was the fifth heart-wrenching loss this year for the Sixers, the fifth time they've blown a late lead and given away a win.
Some might think the perfect remedy awaits them tonight in the Charlotte Bobcats, a team the Sixers beat on Monday, 96-92. in overtime.
Not so fast, however. The Sixers have lost five straight in Charlotte, and needed a Lou Williams three-pointer with less than five seconds remaining to force the overtime.
Here are some keys for the Sixers tonight:
*Defend the interior. Boris Diaw and Kwame Brown beat up the Sixers on the inside on Monday, combining for 40 points and 27 rebounds. They are bruisers. If the Sixers got figuratively punched in the gut with the loss in Orlando, they might get litterally hit tonight.
*Shake of Orlando: A sluggish start is a hard thing for a lot of teams to overcome, and following the debacle in Orlando, the Sixers need to come out with plenty of energy to shake off the memory.
*Get something offensively from Spencer Hawes. This sounds like a broken record, but if Hawes can contribute offensively, it will give coach Doug Collins reason to play him, and another big body to pound on Brown and Diaw.
*Get continued contribution from bench: All season Collins has been apt to using his bench more on the second of back-to-back games. Evan Turner, Marreese Speights and maybe even Jason Kapono will have to give big contributions.
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