Ah, 3-13. You do seem like such a distant memory at this point. Hard to believe that only a few months ago, we were already scouting high lottery picks, Trade Machining salary-cutting deals, wondering if we were about to burn through our fourth coach in three seasons. Even though some of us may wish the Sixers kept along that path, figuring it would expedite the rebuilding process and ultimately put the team closer towards championship contention, it's hard to be too begrudging about the way the team's turned things around, going 25-16 since that dismal start, climbing themselves out of the gutter and into playoff contention.
And now, as the Sixers prepare to face off against the Pistons tonight, the goal is finally within reach--a humble goal, certainly, but one that seemed all but unattainable in early December--of getting back to .500.
To do so, the Liberty Ballers will need to get through a squad that, put simply, has seen happier days. The 21-38 record would be bad enough for a franchise who reached the East conference finals six straight years last decade, but the team's poor handling of player personnel (especially shunned long-time two-guard Rip Hamilton) and general locker room discontent has now inspired a near-mutiny on the hands of coach John Kuester. Four of the team's veterans supposedly skipped out on a recent Pistons practice to protest Kuester, who was never particularly popular in Detroit and now appears to have lost his team completely.
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According to Kuester, only those players at shootaround will be playing in tonight's game, so that means the Sixers may avoid having to deal with revitalized point guard Tracy McGrady and scoring small forward Tayshaun Prince, among others. However, this is hardly a guarantee of success, given that Detroit's lineup is so cluttered with overlapping pieces that having a few players go without PT for a night might actually be somewhat beneficial for them. Anyway, the last time the two teams faced resulted in this, so...yeah.
7:00 tip from the WFC. The Sixers saw the trade deadline come and go without making any moves--and practically acted insulted when suggested that they even came close to pulling the trigger on anything--so for better or worse, this is your Philadelphia 76ers ballclub for the remainder of the '10-'11 season. Here's hoping that today is their last day as a losing one.