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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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 much improved Washington Wizards who are playoff bound in 2013-14.  But tonight’s not really about the 76ers and Wizards.

Nope, tonight is all about Allen Iverson.

Still, we have to show the game itself a little love, so after the jump I’ll look a Fo’ key items for tonight’s game.  Additionally, we’ll get a little more insight into the Wizards team the Sixers face tonight from our man Abdullah Sharif at HoopDistrict.net as Abdullah will answer Fo’ questions on the Heat from us here at Philadunkia.

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Despite a respectable three quarters of play by a rag-tag roster against Orlando the other night, the 2013-14 76ers have become unwatchable on the court.  So with 24 games remaining in this season for the Sixers, it’s time to REALLY start watching the race between the Milwaukee Bucks and the 76ers for the most pingpong balls at the 2014 NBA Draft Lottery.

The 76ers  (15-43) sit 3.5 games behind Milwaukee (11-46; 25 games remaining) in this season’s tanking quest.  However, thanks to the recent stellar play of Brandon Knight, the Bucks are 2-3 since the Alll-Star Game (1-1 after the trade deadline) and lost in respectable fashion to the mighty Pacers last night.

Obviously the Sixers have some work to do if they are to track down the Bucks and secure the 2014 NBA Draft Lottery pingpong ball crown.  However there is an outside chance they can do it.

After the jump, I breakdown the details of this Buck hunting adventure.

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