While speaking at the Sloan Sports Conference in Boston, former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy went off about about tanking, and called the Sixers plan and roster an embarrassment. Well now, while it ain't good, I find it kind of hard to single out the Sixers when the Bucks are worse. Still, even the most die hard Sixers supporter (that would be me) has to admit that this season's charms have worn thin, and this product is difficult to watch. I'm still watching, mind you, its just a lot less fun than it should be…
1. Is 0-36 a real possibility?
There have been a few suggestions that the 76ers may lose out, finishing the season with a 36 game losing streak. Could this actually happen? Yes, it's a real possibility. BUT!, it ain't happening.The Sixers play the awful Knicks tonight at MSG, and then Sacramento at home Wednesday, a night after the Kings are in Detroit. So I expect them to win one of the next two games.
BUT! If they fail to win one of the next two games, there aren't many games left that are winnable for this group. There's another Knicks game, one against Detroit, and two with Boston, but outside of those four and the two we already covered its hard to see them winning again this year. So forget about 0-36, the Sixers just need to go 2-4 in those six games to quiet the naysayers and to pass their preseason betting line of 16.5 wins. I think they do it.
2. Should They/We be Embarrassed?
Kind of. So lets split this up:
The No Side:
- Tanking happens every season, and the Sixers are one of many doing it THIS YEAR.
- THE BUCKS ARE WORSE THAN THE 76ERS! We are the tanking poster child despite Milwaukee being several games behind us.
- Charlotte finished with 7 wins 2 years ago for a .106 winning percentage
- The Sixers have 15 wins and a .242 winning percentage
- If LeBron, Wade, and Bosh can plot out how to build a team behind the scenes why can't GMs find ways around the system.
- Going with young talent has allowed the Sixers to find such hidden gems as…… shit.
The Yes Side:
- The Sixers are 3-26 for a .115 winning percentage since beating portland on 1/4.
- The Sixers 4th best player is… impossible for me to say.
- The blatant way this process has played out really upsets people as much as anything else they are doing. At least act like you are trying.
- If the Sixers get Wiggins and and build an amazing team that becomes a contender for years to come, the media will always mention this season as a sort of asterisk to undermine what success they may enjoy.
- If the league takes measure to prevent tanking in the future, you can bet your ass it will be referred to as the Hinkie Act, in tradition with the Allan Houston Rule, The Stephien Rule, and Bird Rights. Sam will go down as the king of the tankers, not exactly the best thing to be remembered for.
3. You got any better ideas?
Look I admit this is agonizing. I often try the Hinkie Way when running a franchise on 2k, the big difference is I can sim through the shitty 2 years in ten minutes, rather than having to live it in real time. But what else is there for the Sixers? Everyone knows the way to win is by hitching your wagon to a star player, but they are hard to get. The easiest way to get a star is to draft one, and since you need a top 3 pick to land premiere talent and you need to lose to get a top 3 pick, losing is the path to a star. It sucks but it is true. I get the criticism of taking this approach, but I have to ask: do you have a better idea? So far the answer is no. Nobody has a better idea, or the league would certainly consider it. There have been many suggestions to try and curb tanking, the best recent one being the draft wheel. There are hundreds of ideas out there, and if the league decides to change it up, I don't see a problem doing so. Until that point, it seems blowhardish to chastise a team for looking at the rules and systems in place, and based on those rules and systems devising a plan to succeed. That's what people forget this isn't a plan to lose, it is a plan to WIN BIG!
4. Update: Evan Turner
After trading Evan Turner to Indiana, I read a lot about how Sam Hinkie got taken to the cleaners by Larry Bird, and how they swung the power in the Eastern Conference. Now I would make that trade again tomorrow, but they may have indeed shifted the power in the Eastern Conference. Miami is now the heavy favorite as Indiana has lost 4 straight, with Evan Turner a combined -43 in those losses. Evan landed in the perfect spot to make something of himself, yet he is the same old Evan, talking bigger than he is and getting blocked at the rim like a champ!
Just watch his body language Sunday vs the Mavericks. This guy is the pissiest, most self confident, least self aware, whiniest, stubborn, waste of potential in the entire NBA. He could be a star if he just could get out of his own way for once.
5. Other former Sixers in the news.
- Spencer Hawes is averaging 15 and 9 since going to Cleveland.
- Lavoy Allen has been a DNP-CD 6 times in 9 games since joining Indiana.
- Jodie Meeks scored 42 points for the Lakers in a big win against OKC.
- Wait, what the F*ck did I just type? That can't be right.
- It is right. Jodie Meeks scored 42 points, and went 14-14 from the foul line?!? Da Fuq?!?
- Meeks averaged less than 2 FTs a game when he started for the Sixers, and half of those were on technical fouls. Now he gets 14 in a game? Outrageous. I'm done, this was the last straw, see you all soon.
6. SIXERS!!!!
