They should never have shown up at all.
A show of hands from those who still think the Sixers are better these days. Who still think this team is heading in the right direction, with the right players, after a 124-74 annihilation by Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets.
Please raise your hand if you still think it's an absolute plus that these players even bothered to win games over the last few weeks, diminishing the Sixers' chances at grabbing a coveted franchise-caliber draft pick.
Let your voice be heard if you're comfortable with the idea that more wins do nothing but ensure that resurrection will be left in the hands of Billy King and Co. - without a sniff in the direction of Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.
"It was a whipping from start to finish," a depressed Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks deadpanned, stating the obvious. "There's not even a whole lot I can say about it. From the start of the game to the end of the game, they just beat us from beginning to end. From coaches to players.
"I've been in this league, and that's a very good basketball team. I told the players, 'They're not 50 points better than us but [Houston's] a good team.' Certainly the progress we've made over the last few games is not going to be negated by the game we played tonight. We throw this game out the window and try to come back tomorrow and, obviously, be a lot better."
It can't get much worse.
The Sixers have two 56-point losses in franchise history, but it wasn't this bad because it wasn't under these circumstances. Back in 1993 when both losses occurred, they finished 26-56, so everyone knew this franchise was garbage.
