76ers Avoid NBA Record, Notch 1st Win of 2014-15 Season vs. Timberwolves
The Philadelphia 76ers avoided matching an extraordinary standard of losing on Wednesday evening.
As road underdogs, Philly averted an all-time NBA-record 18th straight defeat to start the season by notching an 85-77 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center in Minneapolis. SportsCenter had the news:
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today provided context for the record the Sixers were (hopefully) glad to avoid tying:
Sure, Minnesota was without perhaps its two best cogs in point guard Ricky Rubio and center Nikola Pekovic. But who's counting? A win's a win, baby!
Andrew Perloff of Sports Illustrated hinted at the taboo "tanking" concept for both sides after witnessing the game:
Grantland's Jared Dubin alluded to the disparity between the Association's two conferences in his analysis:
Marc Berman of the New York Post weighed in, hinting frustration at the New York Knicks squad he's on the beat for:
Reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams had a near-triple-double with 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to lead the rare winners.
Carter-Williams appears to be one of the few players on his side genuinely interested in putting a quality, professional basketball product on the floor. Or maybe that's just how much talent the Philadelphia roster lacks as it heads for another draft lottery in a deliberate, prolonged rebuilding process.
Coach Brett Brown discussed before the game how he didn't expect the results to be so sour after picking up two high draft picks recently, per The Washington Post's Michael Lee:
One of those lottery picks, Joel Embiid, led the celebration:
Let's just hope he didn't hurt his foot in the process, since that's keeping Embiid off the court at the moment. Meanwhile, young core players like Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel and other misfits are trying to assemble some semblance of competitive ball for the City of Brotherly Love.
The risky plan must be for this adversity to help bring the Sixers' young nucleus together. ESPN Stats & Info's anecdote offered little solace in the aftermath of the win, though:
Amid a most treacherous 2014-15 campaign so far, there's a fine line between creating a losing culture—or breeding a mutinous fraternity, if you will—and setting a foundation for sustainable, long-term success sometime in the future.
Circumstances were too favorable for Philadelphia to be very excited about Wednesday's victory. The next step would be to win a home game as a reward to the fans still attending, bearing witness to what should go down as one of the worst teams in NBA history.
