Playing better, 76ers begin four-game road swing
As unlikely as the prospects are for the 76ers to play in the postseason, the team embarks on a four-game road trip with a focus on playing the consistent style of basketball it has shown over the last two weeks.
As unlikely as the prospects are for the 76ers to play in the postseason, the team embarks on a four-game road trip with a focus on playing the consistent style of basketball it has shown over the last two weeks.
The Sixers (30-43) have won two of their last three road games after dropping 15 straight away from the Wells Fargo Center.
With seven of their last nine games on the road, the Sixers trail the eighth-place Milwaukee Bucks by six games with nine to play.
They have won three games in a row, which ties a season high. The Sixers have won six of their last nine games and are playing their best basketball of the season, something that fans hoping they wind up in the lottery are not happy about. Included among those losses were setbacks against Denver and Miami, two teams that were on extended winning streaks.
The Sixers would need Milwaukee to experience a massive collapse down the stretch to relinquish the final playoff spot in the East. But before the Bucks beat Charlotte on Monday, they had lost five of six.
There has been some feuding lately between Milwaukee's leading scorer, Brandon Jennings, and coach Jim Boylan. When the Sixers defeated the Bucks last Wednesday, Jennings voiced his displeasure with Boylan for benching him.
"Our whole thing is obviously the clock is ticking, but if you keep winning, you give yourself a chance," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "Obviously our schedule is very tough with seven road games and two at home."
The Sixers will play at Charlotte (17-57) on Wednesday, followed by games at Atlanta, Miami and Brooklyn.
"We have three tough opponents coming up," Sixers forward Thaddeus Young said. "Charlotte, they've played us tough in the past. Atlanta and Miami, we know how good they are.
"We have to just go out there and try to keep winning games and finish this season out."
Six of the Bucks' final nine games are on the road. Going into Tuesday's games, the cumulative schedule of the Bucks' remaining opponents (309-278, .526) was tougher than that of the Sixers (278-303, .478).
The Bucks are likely more motivated by the prospects of moving up in the playoffs. The Bucks are just 11/2 games behind seventh-seeded Boston. The eighth seed in the East will open the playoffs against Miami.