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Inside the Sixers: Sixers' road problems getting worse

In their first 21 games, the 76ers have had thrilling wins and blowout losses. They pulled a few hard-fought upsets and have fallen victim to several meek teams.

The 76ers' Tony Wroten. (Chuck Burton/AP)
The 76ers' Tony Wroten. (Chuck Burton/AP)Read more

In their first 21 games, the 76ers have had thrilling wins and blowout losses. They pulled a few hard-fought upsets and have fallen victim to several meek teams.

But for all the different outcomes they've seen, the Sixers still have yet to duplicate Nov. 1's road win against the Washington Wizards.

They take a 7-14 record into Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers headed into Sunday's contests 21/2 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. Forget for a second that the Atlantic is by far the worst division in the NBA. The Sixers, who were picked by many to finish last in the league, have exceeded expectations everywhere except on the road.

Friday's 105-88 setback to the Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena marked their eighth consecutive road loss. It also dropped them to 1-8 away from the Wells Fargo Center. The Cleveland Cavaliers (1-10), Utah Jazz (1-10) and the Orlando Magic (1-9) are the only teams with worse road records.

"One of the major hurdles [for] the next step [to validate the Sixers' hard work] is try to identify ways to show these guys what it takes to win on the road," rookie coach Brett Brown said. "That's a whole other story. And that's really something that we haven't been able to do, yet."

Road wins are crucial in a team's development, so the Sixers need a couple more road wins - and soon.

After Monday's game, the Sixers will play 9 of 11 games on the road. So far, that's been a place where lapses in intensity and/or miscues ultimately have led to defeats by an average of 12.89 points.

Inexperience, horrid defense, and turnovers are the major reasons for the Sixers' road woes.

With six rookies and two second-year players, some might argue this team doesn't have the makeup to excel away from home.

"It's much tougher," power forward Thaddeus Young said of playing on the road. "We are playing in their house against their fans, against the referees. Sometimes the crowd can take you out of the game.

"But at the end of the day, we can't let that be a deciding factor."

Young, in his seventh year, wants his teammates to block out the crowds and play with nothing to lose. But first the Sixers must take care of the ball and play solid defense. They have yet to do either.

The Sixers were ranked last among the league's 30 teams in points allowed (110.2 per game) and 29th in turnovers committed (17.8) heading into Sunday's action.

"I think that the speed of the game and the turnovers have hurt us," Brown said. "We intend on trying to get better at that. I want to coach the speed game better. And I think to win on the road, you are going to have to take care of the ball a lot better than we have been."