The 1972-73 76ers won a total of 9 games the entire season. Their center was a guy named Manny Leaks, who played with NBA legend Calvin Murphy at Niagara. I think that Fred "Mad Dog" Carter, a talented guard, was on that team, but the rest of the squad was populated with players who wouldn't make today's fantasy league rosters, small forwards with no jumper, big guys who could be timed with an hour glass in their dashes down the court, one-time back-ups for good teams who disproved the notion that a back-up on a good team can be a good starter somewhere else, players like that. It was, to say the least, a depressing year in a hoops town.
Rock bottom.
Well, this week's SI predicts that the Philadelphia 76ers will be the worst team in the Eastern Conference. Mind you, I think that anyone who picks the Celtics as the best in the East or the favorite to get to the NBA Finals is just dead wrong, and it hurts as a Philadelphia fan to see the dreaded Celtics rise back to prominence, at least in the minds of the pundits who act as guardians of the pro game. What's more galling is that they do have the 76ers figured right -- they are a bad basketball team, a collection of swingmen, an injured post player who looks like he could be a Q-tip for Halloween, albeit with a gifted if aging point guard. There's not much muscle on the boards, and the collection of swingmen, all relatively young, offers some, but not much, hope for the future.
I pity Coach Mo Cheeks, who deserves much better. Whenever GM Billy King discovers that there are non-Americans who can play and help build a roster, it will be the first time. He's kind of on a parallel course with the Flyers, who only realized about 10 years too late that having good skaters on your team helps win hockey games and that having 6'5", 232-pound monuments does not. In King's case, he gets too much of a pass because he played for Coach K at Duke and communicates well with the press. The bottom line is that he hasn't helped the team win that many games.
Last year the 76ers were second-to-last in the NBA in attendance, and this year promises to be no better. And next year doesn't, either, unless and until the 76ers figure out a way to fortify a roster and make the team a serious playoff contender.
9-73 doesn't seem possible in a bloated NBA, but 23-59 does.
Ouch.
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3 comments:
Yes, 23-59 sounds about right. Nothing to look forward to except more lottery ping pong balls next spring, and relief from salary cap hell next summer. Will Cheeks or King be around at that point? If Iguodala is not resigned, whoever is the GM will truly be starting tabula rasa, which may not be such a bad thing.
The 9-73 team was remarkable. Poor 36 year-old Hal Greer had to suffer through that season, playing in 38 games. He was a guard on one of the best teams in NBA history six years earlier (the Wilt-Walker-Jackson-Jones-Cunnigham championship team), and was on the all-time worst team.
Who can forget the immortal Dale Schleuter on that team?
Even appeared amusing term - "Test of Aunt Manny": we are talking about a leisurely trip to the nearest supermarket and back. Running the engine in these conditions varies considerably.
yes I'm a huge fan too, and I'm a little bit disappointed at this point. but I guess that the real fans keep the hope alive. so, please support the team
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