Tomorrow night, they will conclude their four-game weeklong road trip with a game against the Bobcats, coached by Larry Brown, who guided the 76ers during Iverson's heyday.

The Bobcats are the first of a trio of opponents linked to the Sixers' newly signed point guard, formerly the franchise icon.

Yesterday, the Sixers practiced in Charlotte.

Tomorrow, they will attempt to stop an eight-game slide, which has dropped their record to 5-14. The Bobcats are 7-10 and visit the winless New Jersey Nets tonight.

The Sixers then will play the Denver Nuggets, who traded for Iverson in 2006, on Monday night at the Wachovia Center.

Two nights later, the Sixers host the Detroit Pistons, who received Iverson in a trade with the Nuggets at the beginning of last season.

But before all that, the Sixers have one more game without Iverson.

On Wednesday night, the Sixers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 117-106.

"We just missed some timely rebounds. . . . Those guys just kicked us on the boards," Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said. "We have to do better. We have to teach them better - teach them better technique, teach them how to rotate better, how to defend better one-on-one."

"We have to grow," he said. "It's no excuse, but it's reality. We're a relatively young team."

After the loss, Jordan said his team needed to "play a near-perfect game" to stop the losing streak.

"It seems like everybody has to play a great game," Jordan said.

Starting Brand? Before Wednesday night's game, Jordan said he liked what power forward Elton Brand was doing off the bench.

Since returning two games ago after having suffered a sore right hamstring, Brand has averaged 16.0 points per game.

Currently, Jordan's starting lineup consists of rookie Jrue Holiday, Willie Green, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, and Samuel Dalembert.

Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.