Sixers Notes: Sixers brace for back-to-back games

It would be the equivalent of Groundhog Day if the games weren't played in different cities.

The 76ers faced the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Then both teams took charter flights to Cleveland, where they'll play again on Saturday night.

"It's playoffs to me," Sixers coach Brett Brown said comparing the back-to-back games to an NBA postseason series. "It's what you do in the playoffs. . . . Subtle adjustments and a little bit of a chess match in trying to tweak something here and rotate something there.

I don't mind it."

Dion Waiters' previous games against the Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center were ones he'd like to forget.

That's because the Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard and South Philly native had a tough time remaining focused.

"At the end of the day, it's great," Waiters said of playing in his hometown. "But it can also be a distraction. You got to see your people that you can see, and do things that you got to do.

"But I'm trying to be focused, man. I'm trying to have a big game here."

The second-year player struggled in last season's two meetings against the Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center.

Waiters scored five points on 2-for-13 shooting in an 86-79 setback on Nov. 18, 2012. Then he had 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting and committed six turnovers in a 91-77 loss on April 14.

"I was too amped up," he said of those two games. "I wanted to do good really, really good. Instead of letting the game come to me, I was pressing."

The Sixers wore red, white, and blue headbands and patriotic socks Friday night to tip off Veterans Day weekend. They are scheduled to also wear the headbands and socks Saturday night at Cleveland and at home Monday night against the San Antonio Spurs.

Center Spencer Hawes came up with the idea on Wednesday.