Game On: 76ers @ Hornets

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Published: January 3, 2011

He's not coming here, but at least he's not coming back from injury here.

Thoughts on the new banner? We’ll be running that and our normal one on non-game days.

Matchup: 76ers (13-20)@ Hornets(20-14)
Off Efficiency: 76ers 102.2 (18th), Hornets 102.0(19th),
Def Efficiency: 76ers 102.8 (13th), Hornets 99.4 (5th),

Pace: Philadelphia 94.0 (18th), Hornets 92.1 (28th)

The 76ers are on the tail end of an eight game road trip tonight, and although this trip hasn’t been particularly bad (3-4 so far), they are only 5-14 on the road on the season. The Hornets are 13-4 so far at home.

Andre Iguodala will be on the bench, missing his fourth straight game with tendinitis in his right Achilles’, and in his stead, Evan Turner has seen a lot more time.

76ers to watch

Evan Turner- He’s averaging 30 minutes per game in the past four, so expect to see quite a bit of him. In the last two games, Turner has averaged 17.5 points on 56% shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals, and one three-pointer in 32.5 minutes.

Jrue Holiday- He’s been an absolute menace in the past five games, averaging 20.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.2 three-pointers in 39 minutes. He’s seen his season scoring average jump all the way to 14.3 as a result. The more we see from Jrue, the more it looks like we need to add another name to the list of good point guards from the 2009 NBA Draft. Take a close look at him tonight and ask yourself how he compares to Darren Collison now that our blinders are off.

Hornets to watch

Trevor Ariza- After a  dreadful offensive start to the season, Trevor has picked it up in recent games. With a relatively easy match ups on both ends of the floor, he should continue his relative hot streak. For the team to continue growing and improving, they will have to rely on Ariza to become a more efficient player on offense. I would expect him to put up another solid night, and to be especially aggressive going to the rim.

Jarret Jack- The guy has been ice cold ever since coming to the team in a deal that nearly every analyst proclaimed a huge score for the Hornets. Although most people have changed their tune since, it’s no secret that Jack tends to start slow and then get hot in a hurry. At some point he’s going to heat up, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he starts tonight.

A lot of people are saying that the 76ers are going to play another tough, scrappy game to close out their road trip (like they did against LA), but I see this going a lot differently. Whenever a team takes a demoralizing loss at the end of a road trip, especially when they clearly left it all on the court, it’s hard to come out the next game against another good team and bring that same fire.

Losses hurt, and even though they put up a good fight against the Lakers, I would imagine that at least some of the guys are already on their way home to Philadelphia. They were on the road for Christmas and the New Year. I’m sure at least a few of the guys have had home on the mind for quite a few days.

More to come from the Arena

And don’t forget to attend the Megaphone Show to benefit the Save Our Hornets Foundation.

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