Nov 4, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Evan Turner (12) brings the ball up court during the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Wells Fargo Center. The Warriors defeated the Sixers 110-90. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
So, making NBA history is typically a positive thing. I mean, Michael Carter-Williams and Tony Wroten have all made NBA history this season for great performances. However, this isn’t one of those positive things.
Tanking usually isn’t so blatant, but WOW.
Per NBA.com, the Sixers made NBA history this way after last night’s historic loss:
"The 76ers became just the second NBA team to drop back-to-back games by 40 or more points, following in the footsteps of another Sixers team from 20 years earlier. Philadelphia lost 130-82 to the New York Knicks on April 21, 1994, then fell 133-88 to the Indiana Pacers the following night."
Last night, the Sixers shot 11.8 percent from deep and 36.7 percent from the field. Advanced statistics are NOT needed to describe how bad this Sixers team has been playing. Honestly, it would probably make it seem even worse.
Also, for some reason, EVERYONE is paying attention to the Sixers right now. Twitter was exploding last night with people discussing how bad the Sixers are, even ESPN and SBN accounts. Check out this quote from rotoworld.com:
"Philly is fraying as we approach the trade deadline, which isn’t surprising since the team doesn’t really belong on a basketball floor right now and that’s before they potentially deal one or more of their key cogs. The Sixers are the second team in NBA history to lose by 40 points twice in a row. Woof."
Let’s follow that up with some tweets from last nights terrific loss:
Sixers postgame analyst John Celestand just said the only reason he watched this game was because it's his job and "he had to"
— Let’s Go Warriors 💦💛💙 (@LetsGoWarriors) February 11, 2014
In the past 24 hours the Sixers have trailed by as many as a combined 99 points. #SixersTalk
— Dei Lynam (@dlynamCSN) February 11, 2014
Also, the Olympic tanking competition just ended and in a mild upset the Philadelphia 76ers won the gold medal.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) February 11, 2014
Sixers call timeout with the Dubs leading 109-62, 8:11 remaining. @Mospeights16 has 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting. His career-high was 28.
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 11, 2014
Yeah, just let that last tweet sink in. SPEEZY WITH 32 AND EIGHT ON 15 SHOTS. That’s how bad it’s getting. I’m not going to lie, I haven’t watched a minute of these two losses and it’s amazing. I hope this isn’t hurting you guys too much, it had to become this at some point.
This team was eventually going to fall apart, especially the “veterans”, after a certain amount of games. This has to give Hinkie more reason to trade away Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes — I’m praying.
I mean, the Sixers lost by 48 points to the Clippers and 46 to the Warriors. You can look at that as losing by a combined 94 points in two nights, or the Sixers improved last night by two points! Let’s look on the green side here.
In all seriousness, we have to embrace the tank. We can’t take this seriously. I mean, the Sixers got annihilated last night, but MCW still had 24 points, so there’s a small silver lining. Plus, he made seven of his 10 free-throws, so that counts for something, right? Maybe. Who knows. It’s better than him having a terrible game.
I’m just praying that Brett Brown makes it through this season alive. I swear, THINGS WILL GET BETTER BRETT.
Plus, the Sixers play Utah on Wednesday. If the Sixers lose to Utah by more than 10 points, I will scream.
Anyone know if Allen Iverson is still trying to play in the NBA?