This season the 76ers look like they are playing for the 2014 NBA Draft lottery instead of an NBA Championship.
The Philadelphia 76ers came into the year with some of the lowest expectations in recent sports memory and now at about the halfway point of the season with a record of 15-30, they are living up to their predicted greatness.
It didn’t start off as bad as everyone believed though. The Sixers opened their season at home beating reigning NBA Champions, the Miami Heat 114-110 and went on to string together a 3-0 record.
Megan Donohoe, 23, a social psychology major from Bensalem, said “I thought the 76ers looked good in the beginning of the season [I] thought they were going to surprise everybody.”
But since then, things haven’t look so good. Currently, the 76ers are in last place in the Atlantic Division and are No. 15 overall in the Eastern Conference.
Their defense is one of the worst in the league allowing 110.5 points per game. That ranks them No. 30 overall out of the NBA’s respective 32 teams.
The Sixers offense is in the middle of the pack at 16 overall in the league and rank among the best in assists standing at 12 overall.
The Sixers also boast some of the best young talent to hit the floor at the Wells Fargo Center in years. First-round pick, Michael Carter-Williams, from the 2013 NBA Draft, has been a breakout player and is currently in the lead for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
Carter-Williams has been one of the biggest surprises of the season thus far. He was drafted No. 11 overall in his draft class but is playing like the No. 1 overall pick.
A spectacular talent at 6-feet-6-inches, Carter-Williams handles the ball as a point guard but has been scoring consistently by attacking the rim with little hesitation. He is averaging 17.1 points per game, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds that showoff his versatility.
Heading into the midpoint of the season and coming out of the All-Star break, the Sixers have been on a nine-game losing streak, the worst of the NBA and are the only team to not win a game in the month of February (as of February 20, 2014).
As of this writing, Hawes has been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for two second-round draft picks and bench player Earl Clark.
Evan Turner was traded to the Indiana Pacers for Danny Granger on February 20.
In prior seasons Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes were averaging career-highs in multiple categories.
Turner started the season off hot but cooled off a bit hitting the midway mark on the year but is still averaging a respectable 17.4 points per game.
Hawes on the other hand showed that he could do it all, even hitting 40 percent of his three-point field goals, which are some of the highest among the big men in the league.
He also snatched 8.5 rebounds per game and dished 3.3 assists per game, which is another category he ranks high among when compared to other big men around the league.
The Philadelphia 76ers hold one of the worst records in the league and one of the worst records they’ve suffered in recent memory. Fans of the team are still optimistic for the future because of the young talent they have and will soon acquire in this year’s draft.
Jesse DeFiore, 22, a physical education major from Bensalem, said “I know they’re one of the worst teams in the league but they have a bright future ahead of them” and “they’re in the process of rebuilding, we have to be patient.”
Unfortunately for Sixers fans, they still have about another 30 games to suffer through till the end of the season. One thing they can look forward to is Allen Iverson’s No. 3 jersey retirement ceremony take place at the Wells Fargo Center on March 1, 2014 when they host the Washington Wizards.