Obviously we have all been reading over the last week about how Allen Iverson’s personal life is a an absolute mess right now.  We did a post last week on the fact that his wife had filed for divorce on the same day that he and the Sixers parted ways for good this season.  Stephen A. Smith wrote a lengthy story in the Inqy yesterday about how Iverson is battling the bottle and gambling problems.  Every NBA “expert” on TV has weighed in on the topic as well.  Last night “The Answer” finally spoke — sort of.  Iverson sent a message to his fans via his Twitter account and the “statement” is sad and encouraging at the same time.

Here is the Tweet that Iverson posted last night… 

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This Friday, how many points will we lose by tonight edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” — Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews upcoming 76ers opponents — features tonight’s opponents the aging, but still very good Boston Celtics and of course the lovely Alison Preston. 

Are you old enough to remember when the Celtics at 76ers on a Friday night in March was something really big?  Some of us here at Phildaunkia are old enough to remember the days when a nasty rivalry existed between these two franchises and we miss it.  Back in those days, a Friday night game against the visiting Celtics would have been the only thing people in this in town would be talking about and the Spectrum would have been standing room only.  Sadly, in 2010 a visit by the Celtics does not garner a whiff of interest from sports fans here in Philly and there are plenty of seats available for tonight’s game down at the Wachovia Center.  Everyone in this sports crazy city is significantly more focused on the Phillies spring training games or the Eagles free agent moves.  To be honest, we can’t blame the Philly sports fan for not caring about the 76ers, as the Sixers (22-38) have been horrific to watch lately and they are an NBA team that lacks direction in every aspect of the game.

It’s not going to get any better tonight with Boston in town either, as this game is a brutal mismatch.  Boston will be looking for its League best 22^nd road win tonight.  The Sixers are the third worst home team in the NBA.  Philadunkia’s home team has lost four straight, the last two by an average of 20 points, while the C’s have won two straight and 6 of 9.  The Sixers are ranked 24^th in the League in scoring at 97.6 ppg., which is not helpful when you are facing Boston, the #1 ranked defensive team in the NBA (94 ppg. by opponents).  The Celtics boast stars like KG, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.  The Sixers, well we have Iguodala, Louis and Willie G.  The C’s are intense and focused as they are fine tuning their game for a big playoff push.  Philadunkia’s home team, to be honest, based on their last two on-the-court efforts, we’d say they’ve mailed it in for 2009-10.  Alright, you get the point.  This isn’t going to be fun tonight.  So let’s move on. 

For a little more insight into the Celtics team the Sixers face tonight, we turn to our man Brian Robb from celticshub.com to answer two questions on the Celtics from us here at Philadunkiaas well as provide us with two points of analysis on this Boston squad from an insider’s perspective. 

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So you think you’re having a  rough week?  Well quit your whining and check out what has been going on lately in the life of Allen Iverson.  We guarantee the stretch of days between March 1st  and March 7th does not make Allen’s “Best Week Ever” list. 

A little over a week after he announced that he was leaving the 76ers for the foreseeable future to be with his ill 4-year old daughter Messiah and just a couple of days after he allegedly made an ill-advised and controversial appearance at a 2010 CIAA late night club party in Charlotte, NC there is now a story in the Atlanta Journal Constituiton today that claims Allen’s wife of 8+ years Tawanna Iverson, has filed for divorce. 

What makes it even more difficult for Allen, is that according to the AJC, Tawanna filed the paperwork on Tuesday, the same day that 76ers General Manager announced that Allen “will not return to the Sixers for the remainder of the season, as he no longer wishes to be a distraction to the organization and teammates that he loves very deeply.”  

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Obviously we all know that head coaches in the NBA want to win every game and thus one could confidently state that head coaches in the League hate losing.  We know that’s not rocket science we’re unleashing on you, it’s just a common sense item that hoop heads take as a given.  But we wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page, because you wouldn’t come to that conclusion about our head coach Eddie Jordan if you watched the 76ers last night. 

Down in Atlanta on Wednesday evening, the Sixers suffer through yet another embarrassing loss and dropped to 16 games below .500 (22-38).  However, we bet today in that twisted basketball world of his, Eddie Jordan is probably smiling ear to ear.  See even though the Sixers lost and lost bad, Jordan ran the team his way last night and not in the style that had been directed from the front office back in January.  The style of play which had racked up a 7-5 record between January 31^st and February 23^rd, which for the 2009-10 Sixers was a tremendous feat.

Here’s what we are talking about…

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There’s really not much to say about the embarrassment the 76ers (22-37) suffered through on the court last night against the Orlando Magic.  Willie Green summed it up best when he said post-game that last night was, “an old fashion butt whoopin.” 

The depleted Sixers looked tired and disinterested vs. the Magic and the result was a debacle of a loss.  Their defense was horrible last night.  In fact it was so bad that somehow defensive standout Jrue Holiday contracted the “ole’ virus” that has plagued the Sixers locker room this season.  The offense went completely off the rails as well, as the Sixers unwisely tried to match Orlando 3-ball for 3-ball.  The coaching, well it was at its usual suspect level.  In short all of the ills that have destroyed this Sixers season had key roles in the blowout loss to the Magic last night.

But what happened on the court Monday evening is not the real story that came out of the Wachovia Center last night.  No the real story is the drama that unfolded when Eddie Jordan decided he was going to throw his players under the proverbial bus and then grab the keys to that bus and run his team over a few times for good measure.  It was a desperate move by a head coach that is desperate to hold onto his job or at least save face.  In the end, we are willing to bet that the only thing Jordan’s tirade did last night was move up the date of his eventual dismissal. 

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No, we’re not talking about the 76ers 2009-10 season, that was over several weeks ago, long before they got embarrassed by the Orlando Magic tonight. 

What we are referring to is that on Tuesday the Sixers will hold a press conference to announce that Allen Iverson’s leave of absence to be with his ill daughter will continue for the remainder of the season and that his second run in a 76ers uniform is now officially over. 

That’s right, Iverson’s return to the Sixers three years after being traded to the Denver Nuggets, one of the few good stories to come out of this otherwise miserable season, will come to an odd and unfortunate end on Tuesday.  Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com is also reporting that Tuesday’s press conference will “most likely” signal the end of Iverson’s NBA career.

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Let’s be honest here, outside of the effort Philadunkia’s home team put in against a disinterested Lakers squad this past Friday night, the 76ers were pretty horrific on their latest west coast swing. 

However there was one thing that occurred during this four game stretch that was more disturbing to us then the poor defense shown in the blowout loss to Chicago; or blowing a 23 point lead vs. Golden State; or the ridiculous coaching decision made vs. the Phoenix Suns.  We’ve seen those issues pop up before during the 2009-10 season, so we are equipped to deal with those Sixer ills.  The one item that has us searching for answers over the last four games is the suddenly poor play of Elton Brand.   

There’s no doubt that Elton struggled out of the gates this season.  One could argue that his struggles were directly related to the fact that Eddie Jordan was not playing and we would not call you crazy.  Of course Jordan will counter with the notion that Brand was not getting PT because his legs weren’t under him or that he was still recovering from last season’s injuries.  Where ever the blame lies, let’s just agree that Brand was off his game early on. 

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This Friday , over-hyped blizzard edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” — Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews upcoming 76ers opponents — features tonight’s opponent the defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. 

Is it wrong to root against Philadunkia’s home team?  Is it even more of a basketball sin to hope that the 76ers (22-35) get their doors blown off by the Lakers tonight?  Well if it is wrong, then we don’t want to be right.  Here’s why…We have to figure that a blow out loss to the Lakers tonight would be the final nail in Eddie Jordan’s coffin.  Numerous Sixers insiders and beat writers were proclaiming this current road trip, which ends against the Lakers tonight, as some sort of last stand for Jordan.  If the Sixers did well on this trip, then Jordan holds onto his job until the end of the year.  If the Sixers soil the bed on this trip then allegedly Jordan is done.

Well, if the Sixers get pummeled tonight, then the team would end this road trip 1-3 and it would not be a pretty 1-3 either.  In Chicago the Sixers got simply embarrassed to the tune of a 32-point beat down.  Then at Golden State, the Sixers let a 24-point 2^nd half lead slip away to the pathetic Warriors only to miraculously pull the game out by the skin of their teeth.  In Phoenix the next night, Jordan’s crew got worked by the Suns.  Don’t be fooled by the 106-95 final score, it was never that close in the second half.  The Suns ran out to a 22-point lead in the 3^rd Q, thanks to all-world guard Steve Nash and his maestro-like skills at the helm of the Suns offense.  Nash did not see a single tick in the 4^th Q and Amare played only 2:07 in fourth, yet the Sixers never got closer then 11 points.

If you combine the above evidence with a lopsided loss to the Lakers tonight, then in our opinion Jordan’s demise would finally be sealed.  Hallelujah !!  We for one have been calling for his firing since right before New Year’s.  So if we have to root against the Sixers tonight to rid ourselves of Eddie Jordan and begin to move the 76ers ever so slightly forward, then that’s what we’re going to do and we’ll do it with passion.

For a little more insight into the Lakers team the Sixers face tonight, we turn to our man Darius Soriano from forumblueandgold.com to answer two questions on LA from us here at Philadunkia as well as provide us with two points of analysis on this Lakers squad from an insider’s perspective. 

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In the latest Foxsports.com NBA power rankings, the Sixers are sitting at #21.

ESPN.com NBA Insider David Thorpe posts a “Rookie Watch” piece about which rookies are hot right now.  The Sixers Jrue Holiday did not make the Top 10 nor the Honorable Mention List, but Holiday did eventually get mentioned by Thorpe.

Speaking of Holiday, here’s a great article by CSNPhilly.com’s Dei Lynam on Holiday’s recent trip home in LA to see his mom’s high school team play.  Both of Holiday’s parents are basketball coaches.

Also we have this ray of hope from from ESPN.com NBA Insider John Hollinger…The 76ers have a 1% chance of making the 2010 playoffs.  The problem is we need to decrease those odds even further if we want to get a good Lottery position.

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This snow anticipating, Wednesday edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” — Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews upcoming 76ers opponents — features tonight’s opponent, the fun to watch Phoenix Suns.

After last night’s roller coaster win over the horrific Golden State Warriors, we have two angles on tonight’s game against PHX (35-23), one of the hottest teams in the League and the Western Conference’s current 5^th seed for the NBA Playoffs.  Here’s our breakdown for tonight…

1)      If the Sixers hit the court tonight and play the way they did on both ends of the floor in the first half against GSW on Tuesday night, the Sixers can pull off an upset of PHX.  That means on offense the Sixers must go into the post, specifically to Elton Brand and look to capitalize on either easy interior buckets or when the ball comes back out wide open looks for their guards.  Eddie Jordan’s team must be smart with their up-tempo game and run-n-gun only when they have clear opportunities.  Additionally,  the Sixers will have to play tight D and rebound well as they did in the 1^st half vs. GSW.

2)      If tonight the Sixers play — on both ends — the way they did during the late 3^rd and all of the 4^thquarter against GSW on Tuesday night, the Suns will run them off the floor.  The Sixers can not settle for long jumpers and 3PAs tonight.  They simply don’t make enough of them to rely on those types of shots to sustain their offense, plus the Suns will use those rebounds to feed their lethal fast break offense.  They also can not display the ole’ defense that reared its ugly head again during the 4^th Q vs. GSW.  The 76ers survived their second half collapse Tuesday night because the Warriors are awful on defense and they had an off night shooting.  Thus GSW could not capitalize on the Sixers poor play in the late stages of the second half.  Make no mistake, the Suns are significantly better then the GSW on offense and despite their reputation, PHX actually plays solid defense.  They will take advantage of long stretches of poor play by the Sixers tonight and bury Philadunkia’s home team.     

For a little more insight into the Suns team the Sixers face tonight, we turn to our man Michael Schwartz from valleyofthesuns.com to answer two questions on PHX from us here at Philadunkia as well as provide us with two points of analysis on this Suns squad from an insider’s perspective.   

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