Sunday was the Oscars, and if Brett Brown is trying to lose, he sure is one fine actor. Philadelphia lost its 14th in a row to the Magic on Sunday night, 92-81. The coach clearly was not pleased with the result.
Things actually started off well for Philadelphia, and continued to go well into the fourth quarter. They led by nine with less than 15 minutes to go, 67-58. Thaddeus Young, who finished with 29 points, was playing strong and Michael Carter-Williams was flirting with a triple double.
Then the fourth quarter came, and then the wheels fell off. Philadelphia crashed in the closing period, being outscored 26-12 by Orlando.
It’s one thing to surrender a lot of points when you’re leading. It’s another to do so while only scoring 12 points yourself. The 12 points in the fourth quarter was a new season low for a team that keeps sinking.
While many are accusing the Sixers of intentionally losing, the intention is not coming from the coach. Brown was visibly frustrated and upset at Carter-Williams after he committed a turnover during the disastrous fourth quarter. For the night, MCW committed a game-high eight turnovers.
The 76ers are making a habit of making mediocre players look like superstars. A night after allowing Trevor Ariza to score 40 points, the NBA’s worst defense surrendered 31 points to Toby Harris.
Brown has expressed concern on whether the team will win again. They already have lost their most consecutive games in nearly 20 years, but looking closer it is actually more reason for pessimism.
After getting killed by the league-worst Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia lost to an Orlando team that came in with 18 wins and their entire back court out. Both Jameer Nelson and Aaron Afflalo missed tonight’s game and the team still lost by double digits.
How much worse does it get?
