This is it folks, the end of an era. 82 games of Eddie Jordan, and I feel like I've endured Chinese water torture for approximately 30,576 consecutive hours. It's been real. Sometimes it's been fun. But I can't say it's been real fun. I wish Eddie and his sexy new teeth nothing but the best, and tonight I'll say a couple prayers for the fans of the next team he graces with his presence (and his chalk talks) with.

What happens during the course of tonight's game is essentially meaningless, as long as no one suffers a serious injury. The outcome, however, could have a slight impact on the lottery odds, and my pre-season prediction. First of all, if the Sixers win tonight's game they'll finish only 20 games off my pre-season prediction of 48 wins, which would be quite the accomplishment. Second, the Sixers could either finish tied for sixth worst record, in sole possession of the seventh, or tied for the seventh -- ranging from an 18.25% to 12.5% chance of landing a top 3 pick. Here's what we're rooting for tonight:

1. A Magic win.
2. No serious injuries.
3. A Pistons win.
4. A Clippers win.

Listen, we're all still emotionally scarred from that win the other night and I'm just as confused as all of you as to why I wrote my recap as a rewording of the Gettysburg Address. That's not important. What is important is tonight's games.  Detroit hosts Toronto, Washington travels to New York, and the Clips and Kings are in action at home against the Mavs and Rockets. They still have a shot at the 3 seed, but that would require a Michael Bush 67-yard touchdown run against the Bucs in '08 to vault the Eagles into the playoffs for that to happen.  Or something similar.

If we win out, odds are we could steal a 6 seed.  But we MUST win out, otherwise we slide down past 7, which would definitely be a bad time.  Hopefully Dwyane and company come out to play tonight so this game is out of reach quickly.  Pray for some help from the other hapless (and Happless) teams out there and be sure to root against your Philadelphia 76ers in their final home game of the season.  Hopefully Eddie Jordan gets a lovely parting gift at the Wach. 

Some final notes, Jrue Holiday is just a shade under 45% from the field and exactly 40% from beyond -- it would be nice for him to keep those up to round out a tremendous rookie season.  Thread it here, I should be able to catch the end of the game after work.  Make magic happen boys.

As Jordan made clear yesterday, losing has ceased being a novelty and become an absolute necessity. The difference between being a contender in three years and five.  The past few times out, the Sixers have brought their D game, especially Elton Brand, whose averaged 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 24 minutes during April's four games thus far.  Big ups to EB, who has really embraced #missionwtf.  Sar-chasm aside, Eddie Jordan has stepped up his game and lost us 6 straight games and for that I am truly grateful.

I like the Grizzlies, who have tried to follow the Thunder/Blazers rebuilding process, but unfortunately being in the West leaves them out of the playoff race by a significant margin.  Is it me or are there more terrible teams this year than usual? I did some quick quick research.  There figures to be nine teams with less than 30 wins this season.  Compare that to 7 teams in both '09 and '08, 3 in '07, and 5 in '06.  If you can derive any meaning out of that, be my guest.  Anyway, I like the Grizzlies and think that even without Rudy Gay next season, they could make a push for a playoff spot with improvements out of Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, and OJ Mayo, defensive help from Ronnie Brewer, and production out of Hamed Haddadi and Hasheem Thabeet, the centerpiece of Hasheem Thablog.

With injuries to Thaddeus Young, Jason Smith, Rodney Carney and coming off a back-to-back (as are the Grizzlies) that landed them in Memphis around 3 AM last night, this game should be lost.  But there's still three games left for them to break our hearts as they've done on so many occasions during this forgettable year.  However, with the emergence of Francisco Elson aka Frozone and his 2 points and +2 differential in 4 minutes of PT last night, we may be in store for a three game win streak to vault us into the top spot in the Eastern Conference, nay, the world.

In Philadelphia-related-but-non-Sixer-related news of the day, the Phillies are 3-1 and coming off an 8-0 shalacking of Jordan's, and by name, TAFKAMB's Astros.  Jamie Moyer takes the hill tonight at 7 against Cy Young lock Felipe Paulino. Also, the Flyers are in some kind of intense race for the 8 seed against the Rangers.  Check them both out on our sister blogs (no offense dudes), The Good Phight and Broad Street Hockey.  If you're into some hockey friend rivalries, here's a good friend of mine's blog on the Flyers and another friend's Official SNY Rangers blog. Ooohhhhhh things could get heated.  That's the most I've ever written about hockey.

Thread it here for the 7:00 Detroit/Charlotte game, then stick around if you'd like for the Mavericks/Kings Clippers/Warriors games that mean more to me than you do. I'm talking to you yosoysean.  To pull a page out of Jordan's book, Go Sixers!

The Sixers need a loss in the worst way. A win pretty much destroys all hopes at a top 6 pick, and puts the 7th in jeopardy as well. The Sixers must, lose, out. With that in mind, tonight's game absolutely terrifies me.

The last time the Sixers and Bucks met, the Bucks were 15-2 since trading for John Salmons, and 8-0 at home. So what happened? The reeling Sixers went into Milwaukee and absolutely destroy the Bucks, from start to finish. Tonight the Bucks come into Philadelphia, without arguably their best player (Andrew Bogut), playing a team who they matchup terribly against. 

I wish I could come up with logical analysis, but I can't. Will we see the Sixers team who were blown out by the Pistons, or will we see the team who played the Heat tough? Will we see the Bucks shoot 40 percent -- including 5-28 from three -- again? I have no idea. 

You could make the case that the Bucks have nothing to play for at this point. They're virtually locked into 5-6 seed, scheduled to play either the Celtics or Hawks in the first round, without home-court advantage. I guess going into the playoffs on a high matters, but I'm holding out hope that they remember the beatdown the Sixers laid on them a few weeks ago, and come out with some fire.

I'm also hoping we see a lot of Jason Smith, Jason Kapono, and fellow scrubs. The Jrue v. Jennings matchup would normally headline this game for me, but it's completely secondary at this point. A loss really is, all that matters.

As far as the lottery standings go, just know that the Sixers need to lose out -- not only to have a shot at anything top 6 -- but to maintain sole possession of the 7-spot. The Clippers might not win another game, and they're only half a game back of the Sixers. A Sixers win would be crushing. 

Brew Hoop

Two things tonight: 

1. A potential Wade v. Holiday match-up.
2. Lottery Standings.

Needless to say, this is a big game.  The past few days have been jarring, from Phillies opening day whooping of the Nationals to the Donovan McNabb trade to Dook beating Butler in one of the best National Championships in history.  And the Sixers couldn't be any less exciting if Buzz Killington was starting at point. 

Anyhow, thread it here for what stands to be the worst game of the season.  Detroit's lost 11 in a row and holds a 3 game deficit lead on us.  I want 40 minutes for Jason Smith. That should seal it.  Let's rock.

No Lou-Will, no Thad, no Andre? I'm afraid the Sixers will win this game if Andre plays - which might move us to 9th the lottery standings. Say it ain't so.

As we know, the Sixers are in a tight race for pings right now and cannot afford any surprise-wins. The last time these teams met in Milwaukee, the Sixers lost, but it was a little too close for comfort. Elton Brand dominated the entire game - to a tune of 26 points and 10 rebounds - but missed a wide open game-tying layup. However; the Bucks are a different team since then, and so are the Sixers.

The Bucks are 15-2 since trading for John Salmons, including 8-0 at home with wins over: Boston, Cleveland (w/o LeBron), Utah, and Atlanta. And the Sixers will be without Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young for the second straight game. All signs point to a Bucks win, but wait:

1. Who's going to stop Elton Brand? At times this season Elton has shown the ability to score in bunches, and he's averaging 22 points, 8 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks against the Bucks. If I remember correctly, the Bucks guard EB with Luc Richard Mbah a Mounte. LRMaM has a reputation as an all-world defender, but he's shown that he can't stop Elton Brand - unless of course he performs the 'FU', dislocating his shoulder in the process. 
2. Jrue Holiday only played 21 minutes the last time these teams met. Tonight he'll probably play 40+. 
3. Jennings, Salmons, and Bogut provide most of the Bucks offense. All three guys might have trouble against Holiday, Iguodala, and Dalembert. Bogut is averaging 10 points and 8 rebounds on 39% shooting against Dalembert and co. this year. Salmons is averaging 16 points on 46% shooting against Iguodala and co. And Jennings has torched the Sixers this season, but hasn't played extended minutes against Holiday yet.

And tonight's games of note:

Wizards @ Pacers

Kings @ Nets

----------------------------

Go Sixers!

Brew Hoop

76ers vs Bucks coverage

Update: Noah says he'll play. VDN says if he does, it'll only be a couple minutes.

Update 2: Rose playing.

I was going to say that tonight's game is a must-lose, but who are we kidding, every game from here on out is a must-lose. 

The Sixers are coming off a huge loss against the Knicks, but  face another tough task tonight - taking on the Deng-less, Noah-less, and possibly Rose-less Bulls. Both teams are playing the second of a back-to-back, and the Bulls are riding a 10-game losing streak (ouch). Derrick Rose is a game-time decision with a sprained left wrist.

I think the Sixers only hope of losing this game is if D-Rose plays. But I didn't think they could lose to the Knicks without Lee/Chandler or the Pacers without Granger, so hey, it could happen.

The Sixers are the only lottery team of note in action tonight, so take it as an opportunity to gain ground on everybody - or lose ground. Unfortunately they didn't get any help last night. Brandon Roy dagger'd the Wizards at the buzzer and the Kings blew a 4th-quarter lead to the Bucks plus lost Tyreke Evans for a week with a bruised jaw.

Enjoy the game. Enjoy your bracket. Enjoy blowing bubbles in your chocolate milk.

Go Sixers!

Blog a Bull