Despite holding the best home record in 2019-2020, the Philadelphia 76ers established themselves as one of the worst teams on the road last season as well. Four-game road trips were awful for the Sixers. Out of 16 total matchups that came in four-pointers, the Sixers went just 2-14.
Overall, they went 12-26 on the road last season. After being asked about countless, former Sixers guard Ben Simmons had no answer. And neither did the rest of his players or coaches. Coming into the 2020-2021 NBA season with a new head coach at Doc Rivers, the veterans coach made it clear that a consistent win on the road will be a priority for Philly this season.
So far, the Sixers are in good shape. As expected, they have the upper hand at home as they have amassed an 11-2 record and are playing at the Wells Fargo Center so far this year. Along the way, they entered the first of a four-game road trip Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings with a 6-5-winning record.
It was not easy for the Sixers to start the four-game period out West with a win against the Kings. Going into the matchup, Sacramento were on a hot streak as they won four of their last five matchups. That did not stop the Sixers from doing the job and improving their status as a key Eastern Conference team, however.
With a 119-111 victory, the Sixers improved to 18-7 on the year and began their journey on a positive note with a win in a game they could have lost just a season ago. After the matchup, Ben Simmons explained the difference between this year’s squad and last year’s 76ers.
“I think it’s just the mind, the people we have, and the team we have this year,” Simmons explained. “We know we can win games. We’re so hopeful of winning games even though we’re down ten points going into the half, whatever it is. We know which games we need to win and every game is important to us. So. , we have to have that in mind all season until the playoffs. “
There’s a lot of basketball left to play this year, but the Sixers seem to be on track to correct last year’s mistakes and be the team they were expected to be in. in 2019-2020. It won’t be easy to come out of the other three games with a win – but Philly has already proven this season that it’s possible to win three in a row from home. They will try to make four over this week.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_