76ers at Nets
THE STORY: The Philadelphia 76ers have been sliding in the
wrong direction entering Tuesday’s road game against the New Jersey
Nets. Philadelphia has lost four consecutive games and could miss the
Eastern Conference playoffs after beginning the season 20-9. The 76ers
are tied with the New York Knicks for the final two spots with the
Milwaukee Bucks close behind. New Jersey has won its last two games and
defeated Philadelphia in overtime on Jan. 25.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CS Philadelphia, YES (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (29-27): Philadelphia will see a lot of New Jersey
down the stretch as Tuesday’s contest is one of three against the Nets
in the final 10 games of the regular season. The 76ers also have
contests against the lowly Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Philadelphia only has two home games remaining and concludes the season
with a five-game road trip. That’s an issue with the 76ers sporting a
10-15 away mark, including losses in 11 of their last 14 road games.
Also trouble is an offense that is averaging only 83.0 points during the
four-game skid.
ABOUT THE NETS (21-37): Forward Gerald Wallace could miss the game
with a hamstring injury and that means more playing time for late-season
sensation Gerald Green, who scored a season-best 32 points in Sunday’s
overtime victory over Cleveland. Green was promoted from the D-League on
Feb. 27 and has been surprisingly good for the Nets, notching 14
double-digit performances while averaging 12.7 points. Green once was a
first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics and averaged 10.4 points in
his second season before it appeared he had washed out. He had been out
of the NBA since 2009 before his recent call-up.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. New Jersey had lost eight straight contests to Philadelphia prior to January’s overtime victory.
2.
Nets guard Deron Williams had 34 points and 11 assists in the victory
over the 76ers for one of his seven 30-point outings of the campaign.
3. 76ers forward Elton Brand has scored eight or fewer points in five of the last seven games.