76ers at Pelicans
The Philadelphia 76ers can score with or without rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams on the court; stopping the other team from scoring is the problem. The 76ers will try to put a better defensive effort together when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. Philadelphia found a scorer to step right up in place of Carter-Williams in Tony Wroten, who will get to take on former 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday.
Holiday was traded from Philadelphia to New Orleans as part of a draft deal that landed Nerlens Noel with the 76ers. Holiday, who made the Eastern Conference All-Star team with Philadelphia last season, is getting off to a rough start with his new team but is saying all the right things about his new home. “I love it here,” Holiday told NOLA.com. “With the team and the staff and the pieces that we have together, I am very happy.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE 76ERS (5-5): Philadelphia is second in the Eastern Conference in scoring at an average of 105.2 points but is surrendering an average of 108.7 - the worst mark in the league. The 76ers are playing at a pace that promotes high scoring and its field-goal percentage defense is in the middle of the pack, but the team is struggling to defend the 3-point line. The Atlanta Hawks rattled in 10-of-23 from beyond the arc in a 113-103 win over Philadelphia on Friday.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (3-6): Anthony Davis is taking a step forward in his second season with 21.8 points and 11.2 rebounds but is getting little help from Holiday, who is struggling to 13.8 points on 39.8 percent shooting while averaging a career-high 4.1 turnovers. “We feel like we have one of the better young guards in the NBA,” Hornets coach Monty Williams told NOLA.com. “Obviously he wants to play a lot better. He is trying to find his way as far as incorporating his game and finding his teammates and still being aggressive.” Holiday is coming off a 19-point effort in a 111-105 loss at Utah on Wednesday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The road team has taken each of the last three meetings between the teams, with Philadelphia holding New Orleans to a franchise-low in scoring in a 77-62 triumph on Nov. 7, 2012.
2. Carter-Williams (strained left arch) is day-to-day.
3. Pelicans C Greg Stiemsma will miss six-to-eight weeks with a left knee injury.