The Sixers’ road issues look to be a thing of the past

Throughout last season, the biggest concern for the Sixers was their play on the road. With a locker room in turmoil, the only thing that seemed to help bolster their odds were fans at the Wells Fargo Center. Last season, the Sixers had the worst record on the road of any playoff team, finishing the season 12-26 away from home.
The Sixers road issues caused a lot of problems in terms of seeding. If the Sixers won just half of their road games, they would have been the third seed instead of the sixth. A majority of these losses came from underperforming and “playing down” to competition on the road and Brett Brown failed to find any type of solution to fix it.
Many fans were concerned with how the Sixers would do both in the bubble and this season without a crowd. While they faltered in the bubble due to significant injuries, the new season seems to have calmed those worries. Thanks to Doc Rivers and a new Sixers’ coaching staff, a rejuvenated locker room and mentality have helped push those issues to the wayside.
This season, the Sixers have more than half of the road wins they had last year with a 7-5 record. The team’s road record is the best in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-best in the NBA. Doc Rivers and the new ideology he brought to this team have been monumental in changing how this team operates from top to bottom.
Even though the Sixers hold the same record through 25 games as they did last season, it doesn’t feel the same. Almost always, when the 76ers would be on the road last season, if they faced any adversity, they would falter. On numerous occasions, the Sixers would blow big leads or be unable to close games on the road to lesser teams. Now take a look at last night against Sacramento. A game that went down to the wire, and the Sixers would’ve lost before. Instead, they pushed through and came out with a 119-111 win.
If the Sixers can continue to perform well on the road, it will be huge for their championship aspirations. With the Sixers having two more games on their road trip against important Western Conference foes, let us hope things stay the course.
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