San Antonio Spurs Did Their Best To Give Philadelphia 76ers A Win
By Jonathan Brannon
@jbrannon89
Getty Images
Not even 20 games into the season, the Philadelphia 76ers are almost definitely out of playoff contention. After starting the season with a record of 0-16, the Sixers welcomed the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs to Philly. Sixers head coach Brett Brown spent a number of years in San Antonio, and head coach Gregg Popovich was in a position to truly make a holiday gesture of giving.
The Spurs have been without backup guard Patty Mills for the entire season and Tiago Splitter has played very little with a calf injury, but that hasn’t stopped the team from winning. However, after a win over the Boston Celtics, Popovich decided to sit Tim Duncan and Tony Parker for the second game of a back-to-back.
As an early Christmas present, Popovich gave the 76ers a starting lineup that included Cory Joseph and Aron Baynes.
Unfortunately for the Sixers, the Spurs couldn’t just sit every decent player they have. Kawhi Leonard led the team in scoring with a 26 points to match his career-high, along with 10 rebounds and two steals. Baynes scored 15 and Joseph finished with 14. Some gift from Pop. Marco Belinelli even dunked on Henry Sims showing many fans for the first time that the Italian can actually touch the rim.
As helpful as the gesture might have been from the Spurs, the Sixers were not in a real position to take advantage of the situation. Maybe if another team could extend a helping hand this holiday season, Philadelphia can snap this sickening 17-game losing streak. Philly has the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons this week, and if it can’t win one of those, look for this to get much uglier than it already is.
Jonathan Brannon is a San Antonio Spurs writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @jbrannon89, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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