By Peter Berger
This is the week the Sixers have been targeting all season.
If they play their cards right — which includes playing as abysmally as they have in the NBA’s first season — they will have achieved the ultimate in failure.
To avoid getting off to the first 0-19 start in NBA history, Philly must beat San Antonio, Minnesota or Oklahoma City before Friday.
No, the odds are not with Philly right now, and the sheer magnitude of the losing is staggering.
The 76ers have lost 22 straight games against Western Conference teams, doing so by a daunting average of 21 points per game – which isn’t a good sign for a team that will play its next three against teams from the stronger side of the league.
The Sixers have seven wins in their last 65 games. The Associated Press has pointed out that the Eagles have seven wins in their last 10.
At 0-16, the 76ers already have the fourth-worst start in NBA history. Lose to the NBA champion Spurs on Monday, and the 76ers will tie the 1999 Clippers and 1988 expansion Heat for the second-worst, 0-17.
The New Jersey Nets are the not-so-proud owners of this particular record, going 0-18 to start the 2009-10 season.
And things could actually get worse.
If they lose all 14 of their games in December, they’ll finish 2014 with a 10-72 mark. That would surpass the Dallas Mavericks, whose 11-73 mark in 1993 represents the worst full-calendar-year record in NBA history.
Winning once would save Philly from that dubious distinction.
