Will the 76ers be the Worst Team in NBA History?
By Eric Saar
Delving into the Philadelphia 76ers and if they will have the worst record in NBA history
The Philadelphia 76ers are 0-17. They are last in the NBA in scoring, averaging a miserable 90.8 points per game. That, coupled with a 27th ranked defense, giving up 105.7 points per game creates a negative 14.4 point differential, by far the worst in the league. The next worst is Minnesota’s negative 9.3. The 76ers have won zero games. The Pistons have won three, while everyone else has won four or more.
So we know the 76ers are bad, but will they break records to become historically bad?
With Saturday’s loss to the Dirk-less Mavericks, Philadelphia broke the franchise record for the worst start in history of 0-15. Now they go for the league record. They lost to the reigning champion Spurs team missing both Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. 0-17. That puts them in a tie for the second-worst start in history.
Lose again to the 4-11 Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday and they tie the 2009-10 New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets 0-18 start. If they lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, they will own the worst start in NBA history.
Predicting the next week
After losing 109-103 to San Antonio, there are only two games standing in the way of infamy for this Philadelphia squad.
They are playing a 4-11 Minnesota team, which is in the beginning stages of rebuilding following the departure of their cornerstone superstar Kevin Love. Now they have talented, but very raw rookies in Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine. The Wolves are having injury issues and were just granted a “hardship exception” to surpass the 15-man regular season roster limit to sign Jeff Adrien until some guys get healthy.
I give the 76ers have about a 45 percent chance of winning this game. It will be maybe the best chance to win a game they’ll have all season.
They practically have no chance to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. Westbrook is back with a vengeance and reigning MVP Kevin Durant could be back by that game. The nail in the coffin is, the Thunder even with their injuries won three games against NBA opponents without their two superstars. The 76ers can’t say that. And don’t have anyone coming back from injury of anywhere near Durant or Westbrook’s caliber to save them.
If they don’t beat Minnesota, it’s all over, they will have the worst start in NBA history.
Going forward
In terms of the season, the 76ers will still have to win some games to overcome becoming a complete embarrassment, unless that’s what they want… a horrible record and the best chance to draft a player who won’t be able to play with them for a whole year. They just did that with Joel Embiid this offseason. They had the second-worst record in the NBA at 19-63 and slid to the third pick, and chose the only injured player of the top tier.
That’s how you “tank” from a management position. But to be clear, the coaches and players don’t tank from everything you hear. The management just doesn’t put them in a position to succeed for the opportunity to draft a good player for the future.
Just see what Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said about the Sixers and their coach, his former assistant.
Pop on 76ers' ongoing struggles: "I've seen lots of teams, at every level, just give in and give up. These guys came at us with everything."
— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) December 2, 2014
Schedule
Apart from this week’s games, there are still 63 games on their slate. They won’t be favored in any of them in all likelihood, but there are several games they have a decent chance at winning.
These include:
- December 6 at the Detroit Pistons
- December 15 hosting the Boston Celtics
- January 30 hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves
- February 20 hosting the Indiana Pacers
- March 6 hosting the Utah Jazz
- March 20 hosting the New York Knicks
- March 30 hosting the Los Angeles Lakers
Add in four wins against teams who took the win for granted and didn’t put the effort in and the 76ers would win 11 games, finishing 11-71. They would just get away by a couple wins with having the worst record in a full NBA season, from the 1972-73 Philadelphia team that went 9-73.