At this point in time, anyone would find it difficult to find the necessary bravado to put the Philadelphia 76ers on any kind of pedestal. In a season where they have struggled immensely, the team is basically bereft of feel-good stories as a collective, leading them to becoming the talk of the town when the discourse is all about the biggest disappointment in the NBA.
The 76ers are simply unable to conjure any kind of legitimate and lasting momentum on the wins column this season. Outside of an impressive month-long stretch of basketball in December that seems like an aberration now, they have been pretty underwhelming on all facets to the point where their 15-24 record seems just right.
Being nine games below .500 should be more than enough to catapult a win-now team like Philly toward oblivion. Absolutely no one is counting them as a title contender anymore, and just making the playoffs would be a feat for this group, all things considered. However, can they really get there? Well, this particular stats says otherwise.
The 76ers should just tank this season in view of this shocking stat
Heading into their matchup against the surging Indiana Pacers, the 76ers have a measly 4-19 record against teams above .500 — a pretty glaring testament of their actual chances of getting into the postseason picture, which are slim to be quite frank.
12 of the 76ers’ 13 upcoming games will come against teams currently bannering winning records, and going by that metric, they would be lucky to win more than a couple. While seven of those will be at home, the 76ers have actually been far worse playing in Philly than on the road, another stale mark of a struggling team.
The 76ers, in all honesty, should seriously consider just forgetting that this season even happened. Put simply, they should explore the poignant world of tanking, While it certainly has its perils, especially with the team only being able to keep its own first-round pick if it falls within the top six, they have nothing significant to play for this season.
Rolling the dice on a potential game-changer in a deep and talented draft does not seem like the worst idea out there considering their situation. Philly already nailed its Jared McCain pick, and a top-six draft selection would give them more cards to play with for both the present and future.
The Philadelphia 76ers are as good as finished this season. While the second half of the season has not even started, this team has not given any reason to make fans believe that the worm will eventually turn. Penchant for glib resort aside, tanking could make this one at least worthwhile.