The 1972-73 Flyers were The Broad Street Bullies; the 2013-14 76ers are the Broad Street Bullied. The 76ers - let's call them the 26ers - are one loss from inept immortality. We've seen less stiffs in morgues than on this shoddy sixers squad. The bottom has fallen out, starkly symbolized by Tony Wroten's sneaker splitting*. The season has been both sole-shredding and soul-shredding.
However, even if their equipment is ripped, the players don't deserve to be ripped nearly as much as the GM. What the front office has foisted on fans has been an affront to The Association. Unlike the slide in Washington state, this one is entirely man-made - make that management-made. The white flag has been waving atop the Wells Fargo center all winter. They've turned tanking into an art, if you consider finger-painting by adults art (they're using only their middle finger).
Coach Brett Brown was handed the keys to a car, which had its brake lines cut and its GPS pre-programmed to go straight into the Schuylkill River. At the trade deadline, the steering wheel was removed. He stands not at the Y in the road where cheesesteak chapels Pat's and Geno's are catty-corner, but at the "why?" between his pleasant past and his pathetic present. To put it in perspective, the Spurs, Brown's ex-employer, have won as many games consecutively as the Sixers have all season: 15. It's a culture shock that might require electroshock therapy. But before Brown throws himself a pity party, we'll point out that things aren't as awful as they appear - at least he doesn't coach the Bucks^.
*to be fair, he was wearing Tear Jordans
^yes, we found a reason for him to be sunny in Philadelphia
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