An epic fail.
There is no more appropriate way to describe what the 76ers did - or did not do - in front of an announced crowd of 11,879 at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night.
It was bad enough that their 94-76 loss to the Pistons helped Detroit end its worst start in franchise history in dominant fashion. What made it even worse was that before the game, the Sixers had talked about not being the team to allow the 0-8 Pistons to get off the canvas.
Not only did they help the Pistons up, they let Detroit treat them like doormats in their own home.
"You can't blame anybody. You can't blame the crowd, you can't blame the coach," Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday lamented in front of his locker stall. "Sometimes you have to look in the mirror. When you see somebody beating up on you and punking you, you are supposed to hit back."
For the Sixers, who fell to 4-4, looking in the mirror after such a horrendous loss might be more pleasant than looking at the box score, which tells the story of a nonexistent performance that they hope they will not duplicate this season.
The Sixers shot 29.8 percent from the floor (25 for 84), the worst any team has ever shot in the history of the arena, which opened in 1996. The previous low by the Sixers was 30.0 percent against Detroit on Feb. 23, 2004.
The Pistons, ranked 30th in the league in rebounding, pummeled the Sixers on the glass, 57-38. Detroit's Greg Monroe (18 rebounds and a team-high 19 points) and Jason Maxiell (12 boards) nearly grabbed as many rebounds as the 13 Sixers who entered the game.
Lavoy Allen, who came off the bench as Kwame Brown returned to the starting center spot, led the Sixers, with 14 points and had six rebounds. Holiday added 12 points for the Sixers, who committed just four turnovers.
"That was one of the few times since I've been coach of this team that there was a lack of effort," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "We had a great practice yesterday. We're playing against a team that's desperate, 0-8. But they are better than their record."
Collins then paused and appeared to be running the debacle through his mind again before he continued.
"I have no idea idea, I really don't," Collins said. "I don't know how many times I asked the coaches, 'What's going on?' I have no idea. I thought we were in slow motion."
The loss dropped the Sixers to 1-3 at home this season, and they have lost seven of their last eight at home.
But what is more disconcerting is the recent trend in their home losses. The Pistons, who never trailed after taking a 15-13 lead on Monroe's layup in the first quarter, outscored the Sixers in the paint, 42-28. In a loss to Milwaukee on Monday, the Bucks also outscored the Sixers in the paint, 42-24.
In their five previous games the Sixers had outscored their opponents in the paint by an average of 38.0 to 29.6
Contact John N. Mitchell at jmitchell@philly.com. Follow on Twitter @JmitchInquirer.
