Game 56: Sixers @ Wizards Preview

I'm still shocked by the Devin Harris shot. It's time to put it behind us now, and focus on the task at hand -- a road game against the 13-win Washington Wizards.

It seems like just yesterday, the Sixers had a 27-24 record and were well on their way to the fourth or fifth seed. Now, all of sudden their record is 27-28 (the dreaded under .500 record) and sit 4.5 games out of the fourth seed.

I hate to throw out the phrase "must-win", but that's exactly what I'm labeling tonight's game. The Sixers remain winless since the all-star break, and have looked nothing like a playoff team. In the four games since the break the Sixers have shot a collaborative 38 percent from the field, 22 percent from beyond the arch, and 69 percent from the line. No wonder they haven't won a game. Goal for tonight: shoot over 40 percent from the field, over 30 percent from three, and over 75 percent from the line. By no means is that a lofty goal, but hey, it's a start.

In the previous three meetings with the Wizards, the Sixers won in pretty convincing fashion, scoring over 100 points in each game -- something they have yet to do since the break.

The Wizards are actually the perfect matchup for the Sixers at this point in the season. The Sixers are slumping, and tonight the Wizards will act as their slumpbuster. They need a win bad, very bad. God forbid the Sixers lose on another buzzer-beater. The pain might just be too much to overcome.

The Wizards lack of a 3-point shot also bodes well for the Sixers, since we all know that's they're biggest weakness.

The game starts at 7 eastern. Be here. The game thread will be up approximately 30 minutes prior to tip-off. Let's try to set a career high on the game thread comments tonight, no? I expect it to be a big celebration thread. Seriously, there's no way we let the Wizards get their 14th win against us right?

My meaningless prediction of the night: Lou-Will has a monster game. He also breaks out of his slump tonight, and just has a fabulous game -- one that makes all Sixers fans drool over his game for a full 24 hours.

And I give you today's YouTube clip of the day. Marvel at Andre Iguodala's dance moves, and C-Webb and A.I.'s lack thereof.