Sixers Redefining Losing Mentality
Friday night the Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to end their epic losing streak at 22 games, however it was not meant to be and James Anderson ended up turning the ball over instead of making a game-tying or game-winning play. As it stands the Knicks beat the Sixers 93-92 and their losing streak is now at 23, tying the Philly franchise for second worst all-time along with the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies, 1997-98 Denver Nuggets and 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats.
The longest losing streak in NBA history belongs to the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers at 26 games. However, that record is in jeopardy as the 76ers’ upcoming schedule is a daunting one — although at this point winning any game is a daunting task for Philly.
Saturday night they will be in Chicago to face the Bulls who just beat the Sixers this past Wednesday in Philly 102-94. The Bulls are 38-31 and though they are without the injured Derrick Rose and they have traded away Luol Deng, they somehow continue to roll behind the impassioned play of Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler. Loss for Philly … No. 24.
The Sixers will have Sunday off and then will be playing in San Antonio Monday night against the Spurs. The Spurs have the best record in the NBA at 52-16 and are a ridiculous 26-8 at home this season. They don’t lose often to teams under .500 either — they are 29-2 this season against such foes. Poppovich & Co. are also the hottest team in the league right now boasting a 12-game winning streak, so good luck Philly .. .loss No. 25.
After a couple of days off Philly will travel to Houston to take on James Harden and Dwight Howard, yet again on the road. Back on Nove. 13 Philly handed the Rockets and overtime loss by the score of 123-117 with James Anderson, of all people, going for 36 points. Something tells me that won’t be happening this time around and Patrick Beverley will do all he can to hinder the do-it-all point guard skills of Michael Carter-Williams … loss No. 26 — tying the worst all-time losing streak ever.
March 29, 2014 — the day that will be known in NBA lure as the day that the Sixers set the all-time mark for futility with their 27th loss in a row. They face the Detroit Pistons at home and while the Pistons are having a disappointing season in their own right, they are 3-0 versus Philly this year and have won those games by an average margin of 14 points per.
If they were to lose every single game for the rest of the season, which is a real possibility, then they would finish on a 36-game losing streak! I personally, don’t see that happening as I see a win versus the Boston Celtics (two chances) or the Atlanta Hawks. If they beat the Hawks their losing streak would be 27 and still be good enough for the worst all-time streak.
Regardless of all this losing streak talk, the craziest part about this whole thing is that the Milwaukee Bucks still have a worse record! Yes, you heard that correctly the Philadelphia 76ers have now lost 23 straight games and they still have a better record than the Bucks. The Bucks are currently 13-56 while the Sixers are 15-54.
Still, being second worst may get the Sixers where they had hoped to be come draft day — selecting first overall with their choice of the litter. As it currently stands per www.tankathon.com the Sixers have a 19.9 percent chance of landing that number one pick, while the Bucks have a 25 percent chance. The silver lining is that even if they do not land the number one spot, there are presumably two to four players who are number one pick caliber players; so the Sixers cannot really lose.
It’s been a tough, tough year for the Sixers and their fans but I think most realize what they are doing is necessary in the process of rebuilding a once proud and hard-working franchise. They will certainly get back to relevancy one way or another — hopefully it comes sooner than we all could ever imagine. Tank for Wiggins is real!
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