December 09, 2015
Those who question karma should point to Philadelphia sports. There have been 14 champions in the woebegone history of the City of Brotherly Love (only nine champs if you fail to count the Philadelphia A’s, who left town in 1954).
But there have been more losers in town than even a mathematician can count. But it’s not just a history of teams finishing below .500. There have been some unbelievably horrific squads.
Philly sports fans have witnessed some of the most moribund teams of all time. There’s the Joe Kuharich-era Eagles, who were so bad in 1968 that a fan at Franklin Field hung one of the most memorable banners of all-time. “Joe Please Do Us All a Favor and Die.”
Who says Philly sports fans are jerks?
There were the 1961 Phillies, who somehow lost 23 games in a row. And there were the 1972-73 Sixers, who posted a 9-73 record and are regarded as the worst team in the history of the NBA.
But then there is the current Sixers crew, who are so bad that they must be hazardous to coach Brent Brown’s health. Brown’s team, which tied the NBA record with an 0-18 start to its unwatchable season, has won a just a single game since March. The Sixers, who set a new mark for futility, somehow lost 28 games in a row, dating back to last season before beating the Lakers last week.
This Sixers team is arguably the worst NBA team ever. A big reason why the current Sixers team is worse than the 72-73 group is due to the competition that crew faced.
There were only 17 teams in the league 42-years ago as opposed to 30 teams, which currently dot the NBA landscape.
The talent is thinned out in the contemporary league. How can the Sixers not beat some of the other cellar dwellers with Jahlil Okafor and Noel Nerlens?
Without a quality point guard, the Sixers are doomed to lose, which is apparently part of Sam Hinkie’s vaunted process. The Sixers make more turnovers than a South Philly baker.
Their 31 turnovers last month in an ugly loss to the Indiana Pacers would be the nadir for most teams. But not these Sixers, who are absolutely rudderless.
Brown is doomed. Not only do the Sixers lack a decent point guard, there is an inexplicable lack of leadership. How much would this team benefit from a steady floor captain, such as a Jameer Nelson?
A number of the 72-73 Sixers would not only start on this team but have a huge impact. If Freddy Carter, who developed a chain-smoking habit while part of Roy Rubin’s terrible for the ages team, was a young man today, he would help this squad win.
But that would interfere with the Sixers' perennial tanking plans. The way the team is presently constituted will not help the development of Okafor and Noel. Brown's team has no idea how to close games. Veteran leadership would have helped the Sixers late in recent games. While watching the Sixers blow recent late leads to the Celtics and Grizzlies, it’s evident what is lacking. The only drama for Sixers fans is staying tuned to witness how Brown’s team will blow it.
A number of the 72-73 Sixers would not only start on this team but have a huge impact. If Freddy Carter, who developed a chain-smoking habit while part of Roy Rubin’s terrible for the ages team, was a young man today, he would help this squad win.
Five of the 72-73 Sixers combined for 18 All-Star appearances. Each of those players -- Hall of Fame guard Hal Greer, who was at the very end of his career, guard Tom Van Arsdale and forwards John Block, Bob Rule and Bill Bridges -- would not only have made the current squad but would have contributed toward something that has been missing this season: Wins!
Each member of that quintet played solid, fundamental basketball, which is sorely lacking from Brown’s squad, which coughs up the ball at a ridiculous rate and can’t hit shots late in games, which are hanging in the balance.
Yes, that means that the Sixers will continue to lose and have the best odds of winning the lottery pick, which could net the franchise LSU’s Ben Simmons. If the Lakers fail to finish in the bottom three, they surrender their first round pick and there’s a chance that the Sixers will have the opportunity to select Kentucky point guard Jamal Murray. That’s the best-case scenario for the Sixers.
But what if luck does not shine on the Sixers and a team who wins more games than Philly this season has the good fortune of securing the top pick? What if the Lakers, who have the second-worst record in the league at this point, finish in the bottom three and keep their pick?
That just breeds more tanking. That means there will be more embarrassing games like the 51-point loss the Spurs handed the Sixers Monday night. San Antonio, without future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan and former NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, absolutely drubbed the Sixers.
It’s understandable that Hinkie intended to take the Sixers out of the NBA’s dreaded middle class. But it’s just so difficult to watch such putrid basketball for so long. It’s not just bad for the fans but how much more can Brown take? His record with the Sixers is an unfathomable 38-148. But who could do better with the youngest, least experienced collection of kids in the NBA?
The team is so bad that it reminiscent of the ‘62 New York Mets, the worst team in MLB history and the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which failed to win a game in 1976. The former inspired “Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game,” Jimmy Breslin’s hilarious account of the colorful inept Mets.
How long can a fan base pay good hard earned cash or even waste time watching the Sixers on television make ill-advised passes, toss up bricks and just get schooled by savvy veteran ballers?
When Bucs coach John McKay was asked about the Bucs’ execution. His reply is one of the funniest in sports history. “I’m in favor of it,” McKay quipped.
The unfortunate difference between the Sixers and those two teams is that the Mets and Bucs were part of an expansion. The Sixers are a longtime franchise, which has been bad at points but is now subterranean by design.
Their brand of basketball is a horror show and it’s not surprising that the Wells Fargo Center is empty except when the elite, such as the Warriors and Cavaliers, visit.
The Sixers' marketing department must be working overtime to keep fans interested. “This (tanking) will continue as long as the current rules are in place,” an NBA scout said. “It’s pretty obvious what certain teams are doing.”
Each of the three teams that could be accused of tanking — the Sixers, Lakers and Brooklyn Nets — are in three of the league’s biggest markets.
“How long does a tank take?” the NBA scout asked.
Or how long can a fan base pay good hard-earned cash or even waste time watching the Sixers on television make ill-advised passes, toss up bricks and just get schooled by savvy veteran ballers?
Probably only those who took the under when Las Vegas posted its over/under for wins tune into each game. Sin City had the Sixers at 21.5 wins just before the season started. It’s difficult to imagine how the Sixers will win close to 20 games in 2015-16 after failing repeatedly so far.
It's having an effect on the gate and fellow NBA owners, who are upset about the lack of revenue the Sixers generate, have made some noise. So the league prompted Josh Harris to hire the respectable Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations.
How can a big market team generate so little? By overtly tanking.
The only solace for Sixers fan is that their quality of basketball can’t get any worse. But that’s exactly what local hoopaholics thought last season and the season before that.
