The Hornets roll into Philadelphia this evening, searching their souls for a way to beat the 11-25 Sixers sans Hilton Armstrong.

The Sixers have split their last six games. On Saturday they dealt the Pistons their 12th straight loss, and have had impressive wins against the Nuggets and Blazers in recent weeks. All those victories came on the road, where Philly are 7-13 this season compared to just 4-12 in Philly.

Lou Williams, Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert have been playing well for the Sixers, while Elton Brand returned from a stomach illness Saturday to drop 25 on the Pistons. Allen Iverson missed that game in Detroit due to arthritis in his knee, and is expected to be a game-time decision today. His play of late has been consistently erratic, as you’d expect.

Some numbers:

Pace: Sixers 91.4 (24th), Hornets 92.0 (20th)
Offensive Efficiency: Sixers 104.0 (16th), Hornets 103.7 (18th)
Defensive Efficiency: Sixers 107.9 (28th), Hornets 105.8 (20th)

The Hornets are riding an NBA-best six-game winning streak but have had to battle to the final minutes for all of them. Here’s hoping they can take it to the next level this evening. Game tips at 6 Central.

Linkage:

• Lagniappe: Nets-Hornets last play breakdown, plus a rumor that the Spurs offered Parker for Paul
  
• Rival bloggers: Depressed Fan | Liberty Ballers | Philadunkia (THN)

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today’s banner featuring Devin Brown. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz’s designs in our Wallpapers vault.)