On the Road Again: Sixers try to right the ship on the road

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December has not been a particularly strong month for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers (7-20) have gone 2-7 in the final month of the year and are looking for a strong end to 2009 as they begin a six game road trip tomorrow.


The team will begin their road trip as they visit Washington to take on the Wizards. The Sixers lost in their first trip to Washington 107-108 in a heart breaker on November 24th. This was the same game that Sixers guard Lou Williams fractured his jaw causing him to miss 12 games. It was also Washington's first game after their long time owner, Abe Pollin, passed away.

Sixers coach Eddie Jordan is also looking for his first win against the Wizards since he was removed as the teams coach. Jordan was let go by the Wizards on Nov. 24th 2008 after going 1-10 in the teams first 11 games, he was the head coach of the Wizards for six seasons (2004-09).

Washington is the only Eastern Conference team on the Sixers road trip. After taking on the Wizards the team will head to the west coast for four games in six days including a back to back on the 30th and 31st of December. The team will take on the Sacramento Kings on the 30th and then they will end 2009 at the Staples Center to take on the L.A. Clippers on the 31st.

On the injury front the team is still without the services of guard Allen Iverson. Iverson had an MRI on his left knee before the teams loss against the Clippers on the 19th. Head Coach Eddie Jordan stated that Iverson may not be available until the 28th when the team travels to Portland to take on the Trailblazers.

The Sixers are only averaging 97.4 points a game and are second to last in the Atlantic Division. They are only sitting above the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference. The Nets are this years NBA bottom feeders at 2-26.

Here is how the teams upcoming road trip looks:
Dec. 22 @ Washington (L 107-108 on 11/24)
Dec. 26 @ Utah (L 90-112 on 11/13)
Dec. 28 @ Portland (first meeting; won season series 2-0 last year)
Dec. 30 @ Sacramento (first meeting; won season series 2-0 last year)
Dec. 31 @ L.A. Clippers (L 107-112 OT on 12/19)
Jan. 3 @ Denver (L 83-93 on 12/7)



More Resources:
Deep Sixer: Kate Fagan (Sixers beat writer)
Philadelphia 76ers Examiner Andy Jasner