Charlotte comes into Saturday after a rough Friday in D.C. The Hornets led after 1 quarter and trailed by just 5 at the half. Then Washington won the 3rd quarter 28-13 and the game was over at 95-79. That's 2 straight second halves where the Hornets fell apart, and the cause is pretty clear. Coby White, Kon Knueppel and Kylan Boswell are all out, so there's almost nobody left to run the offense.
The Hornets do have 1 player who can carry them. Brandon Miller dropped a career-high 39 in the 110-103 win over Washington earlier in the week, and when he gets going Charlotte can beat anybody at home. The problem is the rest of the scoring. They've put up 81, 89 and 79 in their 3 most recent losses, and an offense that runs entirely through 1 wing is easy to defend late in a game. Grant Williams is also still waiting to be re-evaluated, which keeps the bench short.
Philadelphia's run has come from defense and Maxey more than from stars stacking up big numbers. The 76ers held Cleveland, Indiana and New York to 109 or fewer, and their 1 loss in this stretch was a 93-point night against Detroit. If Philly rests a star, Maxey and Edgecombe will have to carry the offense for 48 minutes on tired legs, and a home team that just got embarrassed would like nothing more.
So both teams are short-handed and neither got a night off. Philadelphia has the better record and more depth even with its injuries. Charlotte has the home crowd and a player in Miller who can win a game by himself. Saturday's lineup decisions will probably say more about how this goes than anything on the season resume.