SB Nation's effervescent Tom Ziller published his two installments of the Power Rankings split between top 15 and bottom 15. It shouldn't be too difficult for you to figure out which one the Sixers are in. They've played four straight games against the four sub .500 teams directly behind them in the East, and only managed to win two. Going 2-2 versus teams under .500 doesn't make you a .500 ball club and it certainly doesn't make you a good team when you consider how they won the games against Milwaukee and Charlotte.
Here's what Ziller said about the 18th ranked Sixers, just behind the Pacers:
Battling Indiana for that spot are the 76ers, who, of these mediocre Eastern teams packed together, stands the best chance of reaching .500. You'd think that the defense would be better than No. 14, but then you realize Spencer Hawes is the starting center. Too bad.
The defense vacillates between very impressive and completely porous over the course of a game, and it's certainly not all Spencer's fault. Major minutes to Louis Williams and recently Marreese Speights doesn't help either. I would disagree that the Sixers are a better team than the Suns and Clippers, both of whom Ziller has behind us.
They'll get a chance to prove it against Phoenix next Monday. But tomorrow is the first of a back-to-back on the road at Orlando then Charlotte. Philadelphia took the first matchup against the Magic when they were missing half the team after the big three-team trade. If I recall correctly, Stan Van Gundy played a few minutes.