This Wednesday, the (8-8) Philadelphia 76ers will travel to Charlotte, NC to take on the (4-14) Charlotte Hornets. Tipoff will be at 7:00 PM EST inside the Spectrum Center. Both of these teams have had to deal with injuries throughout the start of the season, as they will both be missing key players in this game.

The Philadelphia 76ers are coming into this one after falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 112-109. They played well in this game, but the Timberwolves were more clutch at the end. The 76ers will have to be better on the defensive end of the court if they want to challenge the Hornets on the road.

The Charlotte Hornets are entering this matchup after losing to the Washington Wizards, 106-102. The Hornets struggled to score enough points to keep that game competitive, as they only shot 39% from the floor. They will have to be better on the offensive end of the court if they want to challenge the Sixers at home.

The Philadelphia 76ers are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they are still 4.5 games back from the first-place Boston Celtics. On offense, Philadelphia is scoring 108.6 points per game and they have shot 47.1% from the floor. This is the 27th least amount of points scored per game, but the 11th-highest team shooting percentage. Joel Embiid continues to lead the way for the Sixers, as he is scoring 32.3 points per game on 52.1% shooting from the field. He will most likely be out for this game, though. He tripped over his teammate late in Saturday’s game and hurt his ankle. He is now set to miss two games with a mid-foot sprain. The Sixers will also be without Harden and Maxey, as they are missing some serious firepower in this one. According to dunksandthrees.com, the 76ers have an adjusted offensive rating of 111.9, which is the 15th-highest rating in the NBA. They have also shown that they can step behind the arc and make it rain. They are shooting 37.5% from three, which is the ninth-highest shooting percentage in the league. Philadelphia has also taken care of business at the charity stripe, as they are shooting 79.8% from the free-throw line. This is the 11th-highest free throw shooting percentage in the NBA, as they can’t miss out on these opportunities and still expect to win.

On defense, the Philadelphia 76ers have continued to hold their own. They are currently allowing their opponents to score 106.3 points per game and they have only shot 46.2% from the field. This is the third least amount of points given up per game and the 11th-lowest shooting percentage surrendered. According to dunksadnthrees.com, the 76ers have an adjusted defensive rating of 109.7, which is the seventh-lowest rating in the NBA. Scoring on this team has not been easy, as they have continued to contest shots near the rim and from the outside. Their opponents have only made 31.7% of their shots from behind the arc, as this is the lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. They are also snatching 39.1 rebounds per game, which is the 29th most. They have to secure the ball and keep possession if they want to keep the Hornets from scoring second-chance points.

The Charlotte Hornets have not started this season how they would have liked, as they are currently in 14th place in the Eastern Conference Standings. They are still 9.5 games back from the first-place Boston Celtics as well. On offense, the Hornets are scoring 109.5 points per game and they are shooting 44.2% from the floor. This is the 22nd most points scored per contest, but the 28th-lowest shooting percentage from the floor. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Hornets have an adjusted offensive rating of 106.7, which is the 29th-lowest rating in the league. Kelly Oubre Jr. has continued to lead the way for the Hornets, as he is scoring 19.4 points per game on 42.5% shooting from the field. Charlotte has also struggled to step begin the three-point arc and consistently knock down shots. They are only shooting 31.9% from three, which is the 28th-lowest three-point shooting percentage in the NBA. Unfortunately, they have also continued to miss out on opportunities at the free-throw line. The Hornets have only made 73.8% of their shots at the charity stripe. which is the 27th-lowest percentage in the NBA.
On defense, the Hornets have also had issues. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Hornets have an adjusted defensive rating of 112.3, which is the 18th lowest rating in the NBA. They are also allowing their opponents to score 115.2 points per game and shoot 46.9% from the floor. This is the 23rd most points surrendered per contest and the 20th-highest field goal shooting percentage given up from the field. They have struggled to consistently challenge shots near the rim, but their perimeter defense has been impressive. They are only allowing their opponents to shoot 33.7% from three, which is the sixth-lowest percentage in the league. The Hornets are also grabbing 45.4 rebounds per game, which is the sixth most. They have to secure the ball and keep it out of the 76ers’ hands if they want to keep them from scoring easy second-chance points.