Jekyll or Hyde? The Sixers split personality.
The Philadelphia 76ers took care of business Tuesday night, defeating the Denver Nuggets 97-92 to remain unbeaten at home. Tobias Harris had his fifth 20-point game in his last six contests while Joel Embiid put up 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Sixers to their 13th straight victory at home. With the win, the Sixers match their best home start since the 1966-67 championship season.
This year, the Sixers have been a Jekyll and Hyde of sorts when it comes to home and away games, as they’re perfect at home, but 5-7 on the road.
Just last week, the Sixers made Davis Bertans (although he’s popping off recently) look like Klay Thompson as they fell to the lowly Wizards in Washington. Then, the very next game, they come back home and destroy the Cavaliers by their largest margin of victory (47) since 1982. Both of these teams are bottom five in the Eastern Conference, yet you wouldn’t know that based on how the Sixers played them.
When looking at the road losses, it is interesting to note that all seven of the teams they have lost to have a combined record of 51-33 at home, indicating that the Sixers aren’t the only ones benefiting from a home-court advantage. However, four of their seven losses have been to sub .500 teams while the five wins they do have on the road are from teams with a combined record of 36-87.
So essentially, when they’re on the road, they either play down to their competition and lose, or they narrowly beat a team they should be destroying by 20. You really don’t know which Sixers team is going to show up when they’re not playing at the Wells Fargo Center.
What’s even more noteworthy is that three of their five road wins came in the first week of the season when they started the year 5-0 (Pistons, Hawks, Trailblazers). Since then, the Sixers are on a cold streak, going just 2-7 in their last nine road games.
Now, the Sixers aren’t the only ones experiencing difficulties on the road, as there are 21 other NBA teams who are .500 or below as the away team. But, when you see the Lakers and Bucks, teams with the same championship aspirations, going 12-1 and 10-2 on the road respectively, it’s a cause for concern.
It’s frustrating to see, as the Sixers have just as much talent as any team in the league, yet somehow falter when they’re not playing on their home court. Although this is just a twelve game sample size, the Sixers must get their act together on the road if they want to be viewed in the same light as these other title contenders.
The Sixers will get their first chance to do so Thursday night as they travel to Boston to take on the Celtics at TD Garden, a place where the Celtics are also undefeated at home.
In a game that can really put the league on notice, let’s see who shows up tonight: Jekyll or Hyde?
