The Sixers (9-65) return home after their four-game road trip to host the Charlotte Hornets (42-31) on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m./CSN).
Let’s take a closer look at the matchup:
1. Battered and bruised
As if closing out their road trip with an 0-4 mark and a ninth consecutive loss overall wasn’t bad enough, the Sixers also lost another player to injury along the way.
Jerami Grant was the latest to get bitten by the injury bug when he exited the Sixers’ 117-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors with right knee and quad contusions. T.J. McConnell also dislocated his left index finger but was able to return.
Not counting Sonny Weems, who was waived after suffering a right quad strain, the Sixers returned to Philly with Grant, Nerlens Noel and Richaun Holmes all nursing injuries. That’s on top of Jahlil Okafor's already being out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery last week.
“We did take our hits recently, most recently with Jerami, so we’ll have to try and find a way to get back on that recovery path over the next few days,” Sixers head coach Brett Brown said.
2. Watch Walker closely
Outside of McConnell’s banged-up finger, the Sixers are relatively healthy at point guard. But that still might not be enough to help win Tuesday’s battle at PG.
NBA
Kemba Walker has been a driving force behind the Hornets’ March surge. The fifth-year guard has averaged 22.9 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent from three-point range this month. He has also put up 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per night in March.
That effort has sparked the Hornets to win 12 of their 15 games this month and move up to the No. 6 spot in the crowded Eastern Conference, just two games back of Atlanta for the third seed.
It’s not as if the Sixers need any explanation on just how good Walker has been lately. He poured in 30 points and grabbed seven boards during the Hornets’ 119-99 win over the Sixers on March 2 at the Wells Fargo Center.
3. Defending the deep ball
With fatigue and injuries at a high during this point in the season, the only way for the Sixers to pull off another elusive win is to catch fire from long range. And a little more effort defending the three-point line wouldn’t hurt either.
The Sixers gave up 38 threes during their four-game road trip with 14 of those coming in Sunday’s loss to the sharpshooting Warriors. That’s an average of 9.5 treys allowed per game during that span, well above the Sixers’ season mark of 7.7.
Charlotte ranks second in the NBA behind only Golden State with 10.6 threes per game and is sixth in three-point percentage at 36.3, so the Sixers would be wise to keep their attention focused on the long ball.
4. Injuries
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (shoulder) is out for the season for the Hornets.
Grant (knee/quad), Holmes (Achilles) and Noel (knee) are all questionable for Tuesday.
5. This and that
• The Sixers have lost both games to the Hornets this season by a total of 45 points.
• The Hornets will wrap up their own four-game road trip against the Sixers. They are 2-1 so far on the trip.
• The Sixers were fifth in the NBA entering the week with 209 man games lost to injury this season.
• Al Jefferson has averaged 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks against the Sixers this season.