Sixers Whip the Road-Weary Kings

As the Kings announcers were sure to point out, time and time again, Sacramento came into Philly tonight playing their fourth game in five nights. It may have seemed like overkill, but the Sacto definitely played like a tired team. The Sixers had a spring in their step and sent the Kings packing 89-82.

Even Willie Green's typical 1 for 7 from the floor in 11 minutes couldn't derail the Sixers tonight. Dalembert was huge, and he's the player of the game, finishing with 20 points, 17 rebounds (7 offensive), 1 block and 1 steal. Iguodala was back to being the new AI: 22 points, 7 boards and 7 assists. Andre Miller carried the offense for stretches of the game, totaling 18, 6 and 6.

The Sixers now stand at 19-38, if the season ended today they'd have the third-worst record in the league, 1 game ahead of/behind the Bucks, who seem to have righted the ship somewhat since Michael Redd's return. The Celtics and Grizzlies seem like mortal locks for the bottom two spots, 4.5 games separate them from the Sixers. The Nuggets squeaked out a win over the lowly Grizzlies tonight, and they remain the #7 seed in the Western Conference, but they're only 1 game out of the lottery. With the injury to J.R. Smith, I don't see them hanging in to make the playoffs, which means the Sixers could have 2 lottery picks. I'll say it, David Stern, if you're reading, I know you've fixed the draft in the past (Ewing to the Knicks, back-to-back No. 1 picks for the Magic when they first came into the league), this year, Philly really needs it, and in a big way. If you're going to fix the draft, don't do a half-assed job, fix it all the way. Give the Sixers the number 1 and number 2 picks. Who out there wouldn't love to see Durant and Oden on the same team in the NBA? How much fun would it be to watch this starting lineup: Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, Samuel Dalembert and Greg Oden? You've done it before, now it's up to you to give Philly fans a reason to come back to the Wachovia Center. By the way, have you noticed that the 4th largest market in the U.S. currently has the LOWEST attendance in your precious league? You can change that in a heartbeat, I implore you, FIX THAT DRAFT.