No Pressure Needed
Sacramento,Ca – There’s no pressure on Philadelphia to avoid becoming the first Eastern Conference team to lose to the Sacramento Kings this season.
The Philadelphia 76ers, however, have enough to worry about as they try to avoid a slide down the conference standings.
Philadelphia looks to snap a two-game skid Sunday night at Arco Arena against a Kings team that finally feels some relief in their disappointing season.
Oddsmakers from Online Sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.COM have made the 76ers –4.5 point spread favorites for Wednesday’s game against Kings. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 67% of more than 232 bets for this game have been placed on the 76ers -4.5.
The 76ers (34-33) opened their five-game western swing Tuesday with a 94-93 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, but arrive in Sacramento after back-to-back losses to Phoenix and Golden State. Philadelphia is in a tight race with Miami and Detroit for playoff spots five through seven in the East.
Friday’s 119-111 loss to the Warriors was a game the 76ers not only needed to keep pace in the Eastern race, but one they felt they gave away. Philadelphia led 14-2 in the game’s opening three minutes, but following a third-quarter delay caused by the lights going out at Oracle Arena, the 76ers were outscored 21-8.
"We couldn’t make a shot right after (the lights went out),” 76ers interim coach Tony DiLeo said.
Philadelphia attempted a season-high 100 shots but made just 38, including a 4-of-16 effort from 3-point range.
"This is a game we thought we could get,” said point guard Andre Miller. "We got off to a good start but we couldn’t maintain the second and third quarter."
While the 76ers look for their first season sweep of the Kings in three seasons, Sacramento (15-54) returns home after avoiding a different kind of sweep. The Kings capped their four-game eastern trip Friday with a surprising 121-94 win over the New York Knicks.
It was Sacramento’s first win versus an Eastern Conference team this season following 28 losses. No team in league history had gone winless against the opposing conference during a season.
"Absolutely, that’s what we said before the game when we were about to go out there," Spencer Hawes said after posting his ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 boards. "We said, ‘We’ve got two more, so we better get this one and then try to go get the one on Sunday, too.’"
Rookie Jason Thompson recorded his third double-double in four games with 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Kings outrebounded the Knicks 52-36. Sacramento, though, is ranked last in the league in rebounding at 38.8 per game, and is facing a Philadelphia team that’s consistently been ranked in the top 10 this season, averaging 42.1 boards.
The Sixers need leading scorer Andre Iguodala to bounce back from some poor play. After hitting the game-winning buzzer-beater against the Lakers, Iguodala is shooting just 37.0 percent (10-of-27) from the field in his last two games.
In the 76ers’ 125-91 win over the Kings on Nov. 3, he was one of eight Philadelphia players in double figures. The Sixers shot 59.2 percent in their fifth win in seven tries over Sacramento.
Thaddeus Young had a team-high 18 points in that victory. The second-year forward has scored 23 in back-to-back games on the trip, and he’s averaging 22.8 in his last six contests – 8.1 more than his season average.
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Posted: 3/22/09 3:00AM ET
