NBA Match Preview – Charlotte Bobcats vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Meeting for the first time this season, Philadelphia 76ers host the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night. The two teams will play at the Wells Fargo Center in Pennsylvania tonight.
Trailing the standings in the Eastern Conference, the 76ers currently stand at a win-loss mark of 5-14. Although their home record stands levelled at 4-4, their road record is far worse. With only one win in their eleven matches on the road, the road score currently stands at 1-10.
Playing their third match this week, the 76ers have alternated between a win and a loss. Winning the home match against the Portland Blazers (88-79) on Tuesday, they lost their away match to the Atlanta Hawks (88-93) last night. This was their eighth straight defeat on the roads. Although their road record has been nothing short of abysmal, their home record depicts streak of good luck. With three straight home wins, the 76ers look for their fourth straight win against the Bobcats at the Fargo Center.
76ers’s last week was disappointing as well, perhaps even more. With three losses and only just one win, they finished the week with a 1-3 mark. They lost away matches to the Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat, winning only against the New Jersey Nets on Saturday.
The Bobcats enjoy a somewhat higher standing in the conference with a 7-12 mark. Although their last week was equally disappointing as the 76ers, they still have a higher road and home record. With a 4-5 record at home, the Bobcats have a 3-7 record on the road.
They finished their last week with a win-loss mark of 1-3 losing both home and away matches to the New York Knicks and then to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. The only win they managed was against the Houston Rockets last Friday.
With one win and one loss, the Bobcats are currently at a 1-1 this week. Losing to New Orleans Hornets (73-89) on Wednesday, they were able to turn their two-match losing streak around by winning against the Nets last night.
With 1:23 left in the regulation, the match against the Nets went into overtime. Notable performance by Stephen Jackson managed to turn the apparent defeat into a 91-84 win. He scored 25 points and managed to hit four free throws in the final minute of the overtime to turn the game around for the Bobcats.
Jackson returned to the team on Friday after a one game suspension was imposed on him last Saturday when the Bobcats met the Bucks. Jackson was suspended on account of berating officials. Although he is back on, Jackson himself admits that he needs time to get back in form. Talking to the press he said, "It's still hard for me. I'm not going to change overnight. But I know what I have to do to in order to do the right thing for my teammates and the fans and that's just play basketball.”
Meeting for the ninth time since the 2008-09 season, the Bobcats lead the head to head by 6-2 against the 76ers. Although the Bobcats enjoy the statistical advantage, the 76ers have the home court advantage in their favour. For now, it remains to be seen who will take the lead in the season head to head.
Tags: