76ers at Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are still trying to push for a better position in the Eastern Conference and will try to take another step forward when they host the Philadelphia 76ers in the back end of a home-and-home set on Friday. Charlotte eased its way to a 100-85 win in Philadelphia on Tuesday and has won four of its last five.
The Hornets had Wednesday and Thursday off to watch the other three teams they are battling in the middle of the East postseason scrum – Atlanta, Miami and Boston – fight it out and enters play on Thursday one game behind the Hawks and tied with the Celtics and Heat. Charlotte got a triple-double from Nicolas Batum (19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists) in Tuesday’s win, which marked its’ franchise-record 13th victory of the month. The 76ers seem to be a long way from setting franchise wins records, but new team chairman Jerry Colangelo paints a rosier picture. "We have a bright, bright future," Colangelo said in a video posted to the team’s website. "We're watching young players develop. We're anticipating a lot of good things to happen in the very near future. If the stars are aligned and you have a little bit of luck, we could turn this thing around much faster, much quicker than people seem to believe it's going to take."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (9-66): Philadelphia has yet to reach double figures in wins and is riding a 10-game losing streak but believes it has all the pieces in place from the front office down to the coaching staff, and wins are sure to follow. “I believe this is a situation that is a lot closer than people think,” Colangelo said in the video, which was posted prior to Tuesday’s loss. “If you treat people well, you give people room and the ability to make decisions, and you create a team effort - and it starts at the top, and it permeates throughout an organization - I think that's really the way you build a franchise." The 76ers are missing two of their building blocks in big men Jahlil Okafor (knee) and Nerlens Noel (knee) as they attempt to evaluate the product on the court.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (43-31): Charlotte built up a 65-45 advantage on the boards in Tuesday’s meeting and is getting solid production from the center tandem of Cody Zeller and Al Jefferson. Zeller (18 points, 11 rebounds on Tuesday) moved into the starting lineup when Jefferson went down earlier in the season and held the spot upon his return while Jefferson (seven points, nine boards) settled into fewer minutes off the bench designed to keep him on the court and healthy throughout the playoffs. The Hornets are hoping the two can help them through a finishing stretch that features five of the final seven regular-season games on the road.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets G Jeremy Lin (back) sat out Tuesday and is day-to-day.
2. Philadelphia Fs Richaun Holmes (Achilles) and Jerami Grant (knee) are not expected to play on Friday.
3. Charlotte G Courtney Lee is shooting 55.6 percent from the field in the last five games, including 8-of-15 from 3-point range.