It’s no secret that the Philadelphia 76ers want to be bad, but there’s no way they are content with being THIS bad, right? After Saturday night’s loss to the lowly Knicks, the Sixers dropped to 0-13 with an average point differential per game of -16.5. Yes, that means they have lost by an average of 16.5 points in every game of the season, which is quite pathetic. Of course their plan is to tank games in order to secure a higher draft pick in June’s draft, but it may reach a point where players don’t want to play in Philly, nor do fans want to go to any games. The Sixers are awful, pathetic, horrible, dreadful, disgraceful, you name it; just about any adjective with a negative connotation could be used to describe how terrible the Sixers are. By the season’s end, will they “earn” a place in the record books for losing so many games? How will this impact the franchise as a whole?
Sixers Tanking: How Bad is Philadelphia?
When GM Sam Hinkie took over in the front office for Philadelphia in 2013, he made it clear that his strategy was to rebuild, but in a different way than what the NBA was used to. Hinkie’s approach introduced tanking; he constructed a Sixers team with the ultimate goal of losing a majority of their games in order to obtain high draft picks and build through a youth movement. Some basketball pundits found it untraditional and unethical, while others believed Hinkie’s strategy could ultimately work. The Vice President of Marketing Strategies for the Sixers, Ravi Shah, claimed that Philly’s GM is the “smartest man in basketball.” While that might be a biased stretch of the imagination, it is also true that tanking may work in the end. If approached in the proper way, some fans may be able to tolerate a season or two of embarrassing losses, but at what point will the Sixers completely lose their fan base?
The Sixers’ first major transaction that truly showed they were tanking was the 2013 Draft Day trade of All-Star PG Jrue Holiday to New Orleans for Nerlens Noel (the 6th pick of the 2013 Draft) and a first round pick in 2014, which wound up turning into Dario Saric. The trades of Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes, and Thaddeus Young over the past 10 months solidified Philly’s attempt to completely clear the deck. The 2014 Draft selections of the injured Joel Embiid and Dario Saric (who is still under contract in Europe) further showed that they are in no rush whatsoever to win now. Coming into the season, we knew the Sixers would be really, really bad, but not THIS bad. The team that goes out to “support” the City of Brotherly Love is an embarrassment every time it touches the hardwood.
Thirteen games into the season, the 2014-15 Philadelphia 76ers are still without a win. The worst start to an NBA season is 0-18, set by the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets. The question now becomes, when will the Sixers win their first game? Well, their next five games come against Portland, Brooklyn, Dallas, San Antonio, and Minnesota, with all five games at the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Philly except for the matchup against the T’Wolves. Portland, Dallas, and San Antonio are arguably three of the top four teams in the West, so those are automatic blowout losses, but there is some hope against the Nets and Wolves. The Nets are struggling, and the Sixers were able pillage a home victory against them last season; however, I feel like Brooklyn would take care of business this time around. Minnesota is a young team that is just 3-9 after twelve games, but the game is in Minneapolis, and I feel that Andrew Wiggins and Thaddeus Young will take over and propel the T’Wolves to victory. Assuming they lose the next 5 games, that magical 19th game to break the record would be against OKC on December 5th. The date is key; Westbrook and Durant will most likely be back on the court, and if they are, then the Sixers might as well not show up because the game is already over. If OKC’s two superstars are still out due to injury, then I’d place my bet on the Sixers getting the win and avoiding sole responsibility for the worst start to an NBA season. Assuming Durant and/or Westbrook play, then I believe that the Sixers will have to wait a few more games to earn a place in the W column of the standings. As I scroll down the Sixers’ schedule, the December 19th matchup at home versus Charlotte stands out to me for two reasons. First off, Charlotte has dropped some easier games this season against teams like the Knicks, Lakers, and Magic, so they have proven to be succeptible to weaker teams. Additionally, while this reason isn’t one I would use if I were a lawyer in court, the 2009-10 Nets defeated Charlotte to win their first game after their record-breaking 0-18 start, so it feels right if the Sixers beat them too in order to put a halt to their losing streak. If the Sixers are unable to snatch their first win until the mid-December showdown against the purple and teal, then that would put the Sixers at 0-24. I repeat, 0-24.
By April, I anticipate the Sixers having a win total that doesn’t reach double digits. They may steal a few games, get a little lucky, or improve to the point that winning a few games isn’t impossible. Nerlens Noel may make tremendous strides as the season progresses, and Tony Wroten and Michael Carter-Williams may improve their efficiency rates, but until then, the Sixers are still the laughing stock of the league. 7-75 sounds about right, which would solidify their place as the worst team in NBA history. What a great time to be a basketball fan in Philly!
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