The Sixers (8-53) will attempt to snap their 10-game losing skid when they open a home-and-home series against the Miami Heat (35-26) at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday (7 p.m./CSN).
Let’s take a closer look at the matchup:
1. Letting their guard down
The Sixers’ No. 1 objective was pretty clear the last time they took the court: contain Kemba Walker.
While easier said than done, the Sixers allowed Walker to go off for 30 points and seven rebounds in a 119-99 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
After their dismal attempt to slow down Walker in a 10th straight defeat, things could actually get worse for the Sixers on the perimeter on Friday. Now the Sixers have to worry about three separate guards with the potential of going off for a big game in Miami’s Dwyane Wade, Goran Dragic and Joe Johnson.
Wade and Dragic are each coming off huge games. The duo combined for 52 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Heat’s 108-92 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Wade, the perennial All-Star, continues to play at a high level during his 12th year in the league. The three-time NBA champion is averaging 19.2 points, 4.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game this season.
Dragic’s numbers are down from previous seasons, but he’s still putting up 13.3 points, 5.5 assists and 3.6 boards a night.
Meanwhile, Johnson is still finding his footing with the Heat after signing with the team following his buyout with the Brooklyn Nets. But the Sixers know all too well that it doesn’t take much for the volume scorer to get going (a certain 37-point game with 10 three-pointers comes to mind).
2. Man in the middle
As if trying to deal with that guard trio wasn’t enough, the Sixers’ banged-up frontcourt must also come up with a game plan for big man Hassan Whiteside.
Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor are both game-time decisions because of injuries, which could mean a long night in the paint for the Sixers.
Whiteside is an absolute beast and a double-double threat every night. The center is averaging 13.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and an NBA-best 3.9 blocks per game all while coming off the bench. With most of his buckets at the rim, Whiteside is also second in the league in field-goal percentage at 61.5.
Not bad for a guy who had several stints playing in the D-League, Lebanon and China before finding a home with the Heat. Now Whiteside is set to cash in as a free agent after this season.
In the meantime, he’ll try to take advantage of a Sixers defense that is allowing 119.1 points per game since the All-Star break and is fifth-worst in opponents’ points in the paint per game with 45.2 a night.
3. From downtown
Even if Noel and Okafor are able to suit up, the Sixers will need to continue to find offense from other areas, mainly from three-point range.
The Sixers knocked down 13 threes against the Hornets, including four apiece from Robert Covington and Isaiah Canaan. The game marked Covington’s sixth time in the eight contests since the All-Star break with multiple three-pointers. It was also Canaan’s third consecutive game with at least three makes from beyond the arc.
The Sixers, however, can’t count on having those same clean looks against the Heat. Miami is seventh in the NBA in opponents’ three-point percentage at 34.0.
4. Injuries
Chris Bosh (calf) and Tyler Johnson (shoulder) are out for the Heat.
Okafor (shin) and Noel (face) are game-time decisions.
5. This and that
• The Sixers have lost 24 of their last 28 games against the Heat.
• The Heat are 6-2 since losing Bosh.
• The Sixers have been outrebounded in nine straight games, with seven of those coming by double digits.
• The Heat allow an Eastern Conference-low 96.8 points per game.
• The Sixers sent the Heat to the line for 45 free throw attempts in the season’s first meeting on Nov. 21, a 96-91 loss in South Florida.