Rough January
Playing in January hasn’t been a pleasant experience for the Philadelphia 76ers. Neither has visiting the Charlotte Bobcats.
The lowly 76ers look to avoid their fourth straight defeat when as they also try for a rare road win against the Bobcats on Saturday night.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Charlotte -5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 191 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 90% of bets for this game have been placed on Charlotte –5 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
Philadelphia (16-28) lost 89-81 at New York on Friday to fall to 2-11 in January, a month that began with a seven-game losing streak.
Improving on their disappointing mark for the month won’t be easy for the 76ers in Charlotte, where they have lost four in a row and have one win in five games there all-time against the Bobcats.
If there’s reason for hope, the 76ers posted their most dominant performance of the season in a 94-63 home win over Charlotte on Nov. 7 in the teams’ only meeting so far in 2007-08. Philadelphia has also won three of its last four meetings between the clubs, but still must find a way to win on the road, where it has dropped seven of eight to fall to 8-15 this season.
On Friday, Andre Iguodala had 24 points for the 76ers, who shot 42.3 percent from the field and were held to 35 second-half points.
"They kept us out of rhythm," Iguodala said. "We didn’t really get too many points in the paint. We shot a lot of jump shots."
Philadelphia, one of the NBA’s lowest scoring teams averaging at 93.2 points per game, is shooting 43.6 percent from the field and just 27.1 percent from 3-point range this month.
But Iguodala continues to be the team’s most consistent offensive performer, averaging 19.1 points while scoring 20 or more points in three of his last four contests. He had 19 in the November win over the Bobcats.
It was the 76ers defense, however, that was story in the teams’ most recent meeting. Philadelphia held Charlotte to season lows for points and field-goal percentage (30.7), while the Bobcats went 0-for-13 from 3-point range and committed a season-high 29 turnovers.
The Bobcats (17-26) believe they are a better team than the one that was blown out by the 76ers in their fourth game of the season.
Charlotte won 90-77 over an injury-depleted Chicago team on the road Friday night to avoid a third straight loss.
"It feels good," said Emeka Okafor, who had 21 points and 16 rebounds. "We just had to come in and snag us one.”
Gerald Wallace also scored 21 points for the Bobcats, who shot 49.3 percent and allowed their second-fewest points of the season, while holding an opponent under 80 points for just the second time in 2007-08.
Okafor continued his strong play of late by posting a double-double for the third straight contest. He is averaging 20.3 points and 12.0 rebounds during that stretch. He had 11 points and 11 rebounds in this season’s loss to Philadelphia.
Though Charlotte is 14-13 at home, it looks to avoid matching a season high with a third consecutive loss.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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