How the Sixers Plan to Navigate the Impending Storm to Get to Charlotte

PHILADELPHIA — The winter storm poised to hit the east coast this weekend has no plans to pause for the Sixers as they make their way to Charlotte.

They'll visit the Hornets on Monday.

The NBA has not made public any plans to re-schedule the game in anticipation of the snow. The weather is expected to hit Charlotte on Saturday night.

Ordinarily, the Sixers would try to hold a practice on Sunday before boarding their flight for an away game.

According to Nick Nurse, the team will depart for Charlotte after Saturday afternoon's home game against the New York Knicks.

"We were going to go tomorrow, we also talked about waiting until tomorrow night. But we decided we're going to try to get out of here after the game tonight," Nurse told reporters ahead of the matchup with the Knicks.

The Sixers head coach is hopeful that the wintry complications will not prevent his team from holding a practice down in Charlotte on Sunday.

"Well, hopefully we can get a practice in down there. If we get there tonight, we stay right across from the arena. We'll walk over there. We're going to bring our winter coats and stuff like that so hopefully we can get one in. And a shootaround, maybe, on Monday," he said.

There is another complicating factor: The Charlotte game is merely the first leg of a back-to-back.

The Sixers will then have to get back to Philadelphia — where the storm is scheduled to hit Saturday night and last until early Monday.

Ideally, barring any missed goaltending calls that induce overtime, the team would wrap up the game in Charlotte at a reasonable hour and promptly board a flight to return to Philadelphia so that they can get some decent rest ahead of Tuesday's home game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

It's a concern that is obviously on the radar, but it's not one that Nurse can worry about right now.

Once he gets through Saturday's matinee against the Knicks, he'll think about what the next 48 hours have in store, which will include a decision on which games of the back-to-back Joel Embiid and Paul George play.

The Sixers can take some solace in knowing that the second half of the back-to-back should be less taxing regardless of whether Embiid and George are available, as the reeling Bucks will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo for several weeks due to what the Bucks star believes is a calf strain.