The 2013-2014 76ers season has not been for the faint of heart, and tonight in Houston it will get a little more painful for us die-hard fans.  Tonight the Sixers will match the NBA record for most consecutive losses at 26 straight.  Two years ago when this franchise was one quarter of solid basketball away from the Eastern Conference Finals, a losing streak of this brutal nature seemed impossible.

What makes this season even harder to swallow is that according to Brett Brown, all this losing is just the beginning.  Brown’s vision requires this once proud franchise to plod through the rebuilding phase for the next “three to five years”.  Sure, that sounds like a very long process, but we all know it’s the right thing to do. 

But will the rebuild truly take three to five years as Brett Brown claims?

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After two years of Lebron like hype building around potential lottery pick and college freshmen Andrew Wiggins, it’s time to prognosticate about what happens next.  My take: the net result from one year of solid college play is that in Wiggins, an NBA team will be drafting a solid prospect, but one that is a project.

Yes I said it, a project.

A lot of people had Kansas as a lock to at least reach the Elite Eight of this years tournament, nope, the Stanford Cardinal clearly didn’t care about anyone’s bracket.  After smooth sailing in the second round versus Eastern Kentucky, Kansas was surprisingly beaten by the Cardinal 60-57.  Against Stanford Andrew had just four points, four rebounds, one assist and four turnovers.  For many this leaves a lot of questions still to be answered about the NBA future of Wiggins.

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With March Madness in full effect this weekend and the 76ers underdogs in their match up with the Knicks on Friday and the Bulls on Saturday, we decided to give the usual Rapid Reacts post the weekend off.

Despite the most recent set backs — a 1-point loss at the Garden against the Knicks  and a 10-point defeat in Chicago — as well as a losing streak that has now stretched to a historic 24 games, we found something positive to discuss about the 76ers.

That one item of sunshine we have noticed happens to be the Sixers’ recent play at the defensive end of the court.  That’s right, after months of bashing this team for their inability to play defense at a respectable level, it appears we may have to back off a little because the 7-6 have improved in that area over their last five games.

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This 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 key upcoming 76ers games – features tonight’s opponent, the New York Knicks, who have won seven in a row and now feature Zen Master Phil Jackson as the savior of their franchise.

After the jump, I’ll look a Fo’ key items for tonight’s game.  Additionally, we’ll get a little more insight into the New York team the Sixers face tonight from our colleague Sam Spiegelman from theknicksblog.com which covers the Knickerbockers for SNY.tv, as Sam will answer Fo’ questions on the Knicks from us here at Philadunkia.

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Those who are predicting the early demise of the Kansas Jayhawks in the NCAA tournament because of center Joel Embiid’s injury may want to rethink their bracket selections.  As the saying goes, “Man down, next man up.”

The man who now has to shoulder an even heavier load for Bill Self’s team during March Madness is freshman sensation and scoring machine Andrew Wiggins, who as my colleague Michael Kaskey-Blomain explained yesterday (Via ESPN.com’s Chad Ford) is a propsect that the 76ers front office holds in high regard.

And for those of you have been living under the Ben Franklin Bride recently — Wiggins has been simply unstoppable in the month of March.

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This 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 key upcoming 76ers games – features tonight’s opponent, the Indiana Pacers who have lost 4 of 5 and as we all know now boast Evan “The Enigma” Turner and Andrew Bynum as a key members of their rotation.

After the jump, I’ll look a Fo’ key items for tonight’s game. Additionally, we’ll get a little more insight into the Pacers team the Sixers face tonight from our colleague Jared Wade at  EightPointsNineSeconds.com as Jared will answer Fo’ questions on the Pacers from us here at Philadunkia.

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In the last week two articles have been published online discussing how Brett Brown believes wingman Hollis Thompson is “a keeper” and foreshadowing a potential vital role in the future of this franchise for this 76er rookie. At the end of January, I wrote a post saying that Thompson deserved a roster spot next year and maybe, just maybe, if he put in a great deal of work, Thompson could become a James Posey type player.

While I still believe that is a possibility, I am also cautioning Philadunkia nation to temper their expectations for the former Georgetown Hoya, because in reality Thompson is simply a decent young prospect in one of the worst rookie classes in recent NBA history.

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Last week I authored a post in which I anlayzed the 76ers’ remaining schedule and hypothesized that the team stood a “puncher’s chance” of winning two or three more games over the rest of this dreadful season.

Yesterday I was emailing with a colleague at Bovada.lv and we were discussing the sorry state of the 76ers, the 22  games they have left to play in 2013-14 and my previously mentioned post, when I inquired if he could send me some odds and info regarding the Sixers chances of winning another game this year.

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Sixers legend Charles Barkley has no shortage of opinions on the rebuilding process Sam Hinkie and this franchise have embarked on since early last summer.  Back in August 2013 “Sir Charles” told the WIP Morning Show crew that he was “disappointed” with the way the Sixers fired their assistant coaches; that he didn’t understand why they waited until after the draft to hire a coach; doesn’t think tanking works and that he doesn’t “believe in that analytical crap.”

Tuesday on ESPN’s Mike & Mike Show, Charles again was not at a loss for words when it came to the 76ers a well as tanking in the NBA.  The odd thing is, based on his comments to Mike & Mike, Barkley seems to have come full circle on Hinkie and the Sixers rebuilding techniques.

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The Sixers haven’t played the most competitive basketball over the past two seasons (That’s especially true in 2013-14), but they have remained relevant in the shoe game. The team has had a couple of the League’s most notorious sneakerheads in today’s NBA on their recent rosters.  From Nick Young last year to Tony Wroten this season, the Sixers have come strong in the shoe department.

Wroten has a deep kick collection, and pulls out new heat almost every game.  The combo-guard is in only his first season with the Sixers, and his long-term future with the franchise is uncertain, but that hasn’t stopped him from shooting the rock at an alarming rate and repping the franchise with his footwear.

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