Eventually, these losses will turn into wins

I'm very, very close to retiring the "Project Lottery" countdown. Not only because the Sixers are playing good basketball, but because I'm falling in love with this team.

I won't do it until the Sixers are mathematically eliminated from the race for the bottom, and I probably won't have to. But I think I'm beyond the days of actively rooting against them. Tonight's 104-102 loss to the Timberwolves in Minnesota was a perfect example of why there's light at the end of the tunnel if you're a Sixers fan.

The Sixers never gave up. This was the seventh game of a seven-game road trip and they battled for four quarters plus overtime. They scrapped, they played tough D, they moved the ball, they moved without the ball. Pretty much every member of this Sixers team can hold his head up high after this loss. The player of the game is Kyle Korver, who is demanding the ball in the second half of games, and delivering when he gets it. Korver finished with 25 points on 9-18 shooting.

That being said, I still spent a good portion of this game fuming, and it's time to vent. First of all, why can't NBA teams get their act together and show all of their games in HD. It's a joke and I'm sick of watching a distorted picture. Second, even when the rare game is broadcast in HD, I don't get it because DirecTV doesn't have enough HD channels to show them. Come on. Last, and probably most important, when is Mo Cheeks going to realize that Willie Green does far more harm to this team than he helps it. The reason this team is playing so well is that they're running the offense, not isolating and taking bad shots. This is the only game Green knows. 99% of the time Green touches the ball he puts up a bad shot. He's like an offensive black hole. When Mo Cheeks put him on the floor early in the fourth quarter the Sixers quickly relinquished their lead and fell behind by 8. When they took him out, they came back. This is not brain surgery Mo. Keep him on the bench, or better yet, let him fake an injury like Webber and sit out the next couple months. Trust me, they aren't going to miss his 38% from the field or his 31% from three.

A picture of Willie Green exactly where he belongs...on the bench. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)