The Philadelphia 76ers haven’t had a shining season of their own, but twice now, they’ve caused other teams to look at themselves and dive into fixing who they are because of losses to the Sixers. First it was the Suns. The Sixers picked up their first road win in Phoenix, and following that game, they fired their head coach, and looked to fix the lowly team. Now, it’s the Timberwolves, who had a team meeting at center court following a 10-point loss to the Sixers as to say “how could we have possibly lost to the worst team in the NBA this badly?”
Here’s all the morning news you need to know.
Timberwolves hold team meeting after loss to Sixers — Mercury News
"Such is the status of the Philadelphia 76ers that just losing to them can precipitate a crisis. On Tuesday the Minnesota Timberwolves skipped their regular practice an instead held a 90-minute team meter. On Monday they’d become just the fourth team to lose to the 76ers, now 4-33. The Associated Press reported that with the team gathered at center court, each player had a chance to talk about his role on the team, what he needed from his teammates and what he believes to needs to happen for the Timberwolves to pull out of a streak in which they’ve lost seven of eight to fall to 12-23. The AP said interim coach Sam Mitchell said he wanted to give players a chance to get on the same page."
Vets Making Difference, Holmes, Smith’s Rankings Among Peers — Sixers.com
"“I just try to go up strong, because if you don’t go up strong here, you’ll get sent down,” Holmes said. “My goal is to always go up strong, and put it down on the defender.” Holmes also provided the Sixers with a key block in the fourth quarter. He first checked into the contest with four minutes to go in the opening period, and quickly snapped off seven points to nudge his team in front after 12 minutes. “My thing is to come in and bring energy on defense, offense, whatever it takes,” explained Holmes. “My job is pretty simple.” “You can see by his facial expressions that there’s a fight, and there’s a determination and toughness,” said Brett Brown, who believes Holmes’ development has been accelerated by him having spent three years at Bowling Green. He spent his freshman campaign at community college in his native Illinois."
Philadelphia 76ers Team-Friendly Deals Add Trade Flexibility — Hoops Habit
"With a copious amount of players competing on team-friendly contracts, it isn’t burdensome if the Sixers go after another veteran and waive a younger entity on the team. Wood’s release was contradictory to what the team was attempting to convey in recent seasons, as a franchise buying low on raw, high-upside talent. However, the team won’t be heavily cap stricken if they add more talent via trade or free agency and gives up prematurely on a Covington or Marshall. The team has a bevy of options they can turn to heading into the thick of the trading period. Even if teams aren’t particularly enticed with the talent level of some of the Sixers struggling players, their contracts are favorable to contenders who have salary invested in premier talents."