The Philadelphia 76ers are in Charlotte on Saturday night, just one day after taking down the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks for the second time this season. The Hornets were in Washington on Friday, where they suffered a 95-79 loss to the Wizards, their second straight defeat.
Both teams may be feeling the effects of playing on consecutive nights, but the Sixers will be without Joel Embiid and LeBron James, while Jaylen Brown is questionable with a knee injury.
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (5-1) at Charlotte Hornets (3-3)
When: 6 p.m. EDT
Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA TV
The newest version of the Sixers has been as good as advertised, and they haven't even begun to find a consistent offensive rhythm.
They looked much better against the Knicks on Friday night, despite playing without Jaylen Brown, who is dealing with a knee injury. Tyrese Maxey continued his early-season onslaught with 27 points, LeBron James finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Anfernee Simons surpassed the 20-point mark for the second straight game.
The team is starting to find itself. Just six games into their tenure together, the players are quickly developing chemistry.
The biggest strength for the Sixers has been their defense. While the stars are obvious, the expectation was that the team would struggle on that end of the floor. That hasn't been the case to start the season, as Joel Embiid has embraced a stronger defensive role and VJ Edgecombe has established himself as a disruptive presence on the defensive end.
Over the past few games, the team has also seen why Dean Wade was brought in. His stat sheet won't be overflowing, but his presence is felt when he's on the court. On Friday night, he seemed to be everywhere, disrupting passing lanes, challenging scorers, forcing turnovers and spacing the floor on offense.
When he starts taking and making shots more consistently, the Sixers will have another weapon in their arsenal.
MORE: Anfernee Simons' success highlights one of the Sixers' greatest needs
The Hornets are a team in transition, having moved on from the LaMelo Ball era, embraced Brandon Miller as the face of the franchise and brought in players like Naz Reid, Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schröder.
The new-look Hornets will be interesting to watch. They drafted Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson in the first round of this year's draft and could have as many as three first-round picks in the upcoming draft.
After years of languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, Charlotte showed signs of life by making the play-in tournament last season. The moves were designed to improve the team both now and in the long term.
Against the Wizards, the Hornets were miserable. There's no other way to describe it. They shot just 29.7 percent from the floor and 21.4 percent from 3-point range. While they're not loaded with shooters, that kind of performance isn't going to cut it in today's NBA.
Miller became a serviceable, if not good, 3-point shooter last season, connecting on 38 percent of his attempts. This year, however, that number has fallen to 26.5 percent, and he went just 3-for-13 from beyond the arc Friday night.
Much like the Sixers, the Hornets are learning to put together a roster with several new pieces. While Charlotte hasn't added the same caliber of established star power as Philadelphia, its offseason moves have given the team a different look and a foundation to build upon.
This season may bring some regression in the standings, but the team's growth could help build a stronger foundation for the future.
The Sixers will be without Joel Embiid and LeBron James on Saturday night, while Jaylen Brown is questionable with a knee injury. With two of their biggest stars sidelined, Philadelphia will need its supporting cast to step up on the second night of a back-to-back.
Against a team like the Hornets, the combination of Maxey, Edgecombe, Wade, Simons and Adem Bona could still be enough to get the Sixers through. Expect more minutes for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Labaron Philon, with Justin Edwards potentially returning to the rotation as well.
Edwards' growth in Philadelphia would be a remarkable story on its own, but his limited role this season has left him at the far end of the bench. Saturday could provide an opportunity for him to show Nick Nurse that he can still be a productive member of the team when needed.
Maxey, Edgecombe and Simons could combine for 80 points against this version of the Hornets, and expect all three to be on the floor for much of the game.
If Wade continues to be a jack-of-all-trades, especially with the team short-handed, the Sixers could put this one away early.
Alas, that may not be the case. Both teams' shooting woes, combined with Philadelphia's depleted lineup, could make for a much closer game than anticipated. Edgecombe's dunks, Simons' outside shooting and the fourth-quarter heroics that Maxey is becoming accustomed to delivering should be enough to secure the win.
Sixers 105, Hornets 98
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