Before opening up a five-game homestand, the Sixers (13-47) will travel to face the Oklahoma City Thunder (33-27) at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Wednesday night (8 p.m./CSN).
Let’s take a closer look at the matchup:
1. Road weary
The Sixers have to be excited at their upcoming homestand, but first is a trip to one of the toughest buildings in the league to get a win.
The Sixers have lost 11 straight games to the Thunder and bring their 12-game road skid into Oklahoma City on Wednesday. They haven’t won a road game since a 90-88 victory over the Brooklyn Nets way back on Jan. 9.
Not exactly the best thing when going to OKC. The Thunder have won 12 of their last 13 in front of their raucous home crowd.
Throw in the fact that the Thunder will be eager to get back to “The Peak” after playing their last three games on the road, and the Sixers could be walking into a buzzsaw.
2. Russell is ridiculous
He’s part point guard, part cyborg. He’s Russell Westbrook.
NBA
Westbrook suffered a facial fracture in the final seconds of the Thunder’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. He underwent a procedure to fix the injury on Saturday and is now expected to return against the Sixers after missing just one game, according to reports. He practiced with a protective mask on Tuesday.
The mask must be part of a superhero costume because Westbrook has been playing that way lately. With Kevin Durant sidelined again because of his ailing right foot, Westbrook has taken over.
The PG has three consecutive triple-doubles, becoming the first player to do that since LeBron James in March 2009. Over his last 10 games, Westbrook has averaged 28.4 points, 10.2 assists and 9.2 rebounds.
It would have been fun to see Michael Carter-Williams continue his feud on the court with Westbrook. Instead Isaiah Canaan and Ish Smith will have to deal with hyper-active guard. Good luck.
3. Big threat
Nerlens Noel is slowly turning into the player the Sixers were expecting when they acquired him in the 2013 NBA draft.
Noel had another strong showing during the Sixers’ loss to the Raptors on Monday. He had 17 points on a perfect 7 for 7 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. The rookie center has now scored in double figures in three straight games.
That’s a good thing for the Sixers, but Noel won’t be able to contend with the Thunder’s revamped frontline on his own.
Serge Ibaka has taken his game up a notch after the All-Star break, averaging 17.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks a night.
Trade deadline addition Enes Kanter brought his offensive game from Utah. The center has put up 15.8 points a night on 57.7 percent shooting in five contests with the Thunder.
Even rookie Mitch McGary has chipped in with 7.6 points and 5.6 boards a game since returning from injury.
Noel will need plenty of help if the Sixers want to snap their lengthy skid against the Thunder.
4. Injuries
Durant (foot) is out for at least another week. Steve Novak (appendectomy) is out a couple weeks.
Steven Adams (hand) is day to day.
Westbrook (face) is expected to get the start while wearing a protective mask.
Robert Covington (elbow) is day to day for the Sixers.
Jason Richardson (rest) has missed the last two games.
Joel Embiid (foot) and Tony Wroten (knee) are out indefinitely.
5. This and that
• The Sixers are averaging 86.1 points per game on the road, the lowest mark since 2005-06 Blazers averaged 85.9.
• The Thunder have beaten the Sixers by an average of 13.3 points during their 11-game win streak in the series.
• Covington had a team-high 21 points in the Sixers’ first meeting with the Thunder.
• The Thunder are just 4-9 this season when Westbrook scores at least 25 points.