It is frustrating to watch, so one can only imagine what it is like to be on the court playing the way the Sixers have for the past 18 games.
They compiled a 6-12 record over that stretch, despite holding opponents to a league-low 87.5 points.
I would like to see us bring our connectiveness and our energy and the things we bring defensively to the offensive end, Doug Collins said. Normally, you would see guys being inclined to do it offensively and not do it at the defensive end. My message to them over and over and over again is I cannot ask them to play any harder than they are playing.
The Sixers do play hard, but a lack of scoring is an issue. The current roster has a core group of seven players that were together a year ago and averaged 99 points a game. This season, Collins team is averaging 94 points and since they posted a 20-9 record to open the year, that total has dropped to 91 a night.
Collins stressed to his players that they cant expect to pitch a shutout every night and that the time is now to do a little more, a little better.
We are 47 games in so you are dealing with fatigue, a lack of concentration in certain halves of certain games, Lou Williams said. Collectively, I think we have all played a part in that. It is just a matter of holding guys accountable, getting back on the same page and making sure we all have the same goal in mind.
We cant play selfish, Jrue Holiday said. A couple guys said we are playing selfish, which is not intentional, but in the midst of a game if we see Lou with the ball we have to help him out instead of just standing there.
Collins used video to show the slippage in the Sixers offense. He didnt need to look past the start of Wednesdays loss to the Knicks in which the Sixers missed their first 14 shot attempts.
I showed them how we flowed into our offense. We were jogging, Collins explained. You cant do that. You have to get to your spots. Our guys have to work harder to catch the ball where they are supposed to catch it and we need to deliver it at the right time, and then we have to cut harder.
We are doing everything to give ourselves a chance to win. Our guys want to win, they know the stakes. They want to get it done and I feel very good about that.
The Sixers struggles of late have led to their Atlantic Division lead shrinking to one game over Boston heading into Thursday and New York is three games back. Talk of winning the division was a big part of Thursdays team meeting, or as Collins prefers to say, classroom teaching setting.
Today we had a nice long meeting about finishing this season strong, Williams said. There is no point in babysitting the number one spot in the Atlantic Division for 50 games and then let one of these other teams sneak away with it. We used the meeting to refocus, try to get back on the same page and try and make a strong push to finish things out.
I dont need to drive that because they are driving that themselves, Collins said of the tenuous Atlantic Division standings. We have a very quiet team and that is hard for me because I am so verbal. I find myself a lot of times doing most of the talking, but Lou said something great today. He said, Coach, everything you talked about today we have already talked about with each other.
There are 19 games remaining for the Sixers to secure a division title. A win over the Celtics Friday would be a strong first step in accomplishing that goal.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com.