Must... stay... above... .500. The Sixers are currently 29-29. They're tied with the suddenly streaking Pistons, 2 games behind the Heat for the fifth seed, and 3.5 games behind Atlanta for the fourth seed.
I'd like to say that the Sixers can win tonight's home game against the Hornets, but after their performance against the Magic, I'm a little hesitant.
When doing these game previews, the first, and only stat I look at for the opposing team is three-point shooting. We all know the Sixers inability to shoot the three and stop the three is their glaring weakness. The Hornets rank eighth in the NBA, shooting 37 percent from beyond the arch. I mean, they're no Orlando Magic; they aren't going to jack up 37 in a game, but they can fill it up. And if this guy is hot, watch out! (Before you make fun of that picture of Peja, check out his wife. Man! What's with these goofy foreign guys landing the hottest girls on the planet?)
Speaking of Peja, I seem to remember a certain stretch in the last meeting between these two teams where he hit a bunch of ridiculous threes. Yeah, six of 'em - five in the fourth quarter - within a span of 3 and half minutes - most of which came from the same spot. Yeah, it was painful.
I'm kind of shocked that I'm four paragraphs in and haven't mentioned the only reason non-Hornets fans watch the Hornets, Chris Paul. Check out "The Magic of Chris Paul" brought to you by AtTheHive. The last time we played the Hornets I had a slight problem with the officiating in New Orleans. Hopefully the Philly crowd will influence them to make calls the other way tonight. At least to the point where Paul doesn't come close to another quadruple-double against us. (27 points, 15 dimes, 10 boards, and 7 steals)
Other than that, I don't know what to think of tonight's game. Can the Sixers actually beat a good team? I'm not sure. I'm jus t going to watch, enjoy, and pray we can get our 30th win before our 30th loss.
Oh yeah, one more interesting angle goes along with tonight's game. Prior to the trade deadline, we had a little debate on one of our FanPosts whether Sammy D was better than Chandler, Chandler was Dalembert, or if it was a "wash". I guess we'll get a better understanding tonight.
Tip's at 7 eastern. Be here. Game thread will be up about an hour before the game. Until then, feast your eyes on this.