Is it time to start being concerned about the 76ers? Wednesday's 98-88 road loss to the Magic, one night after a 23-point defeat in Miami, dropped them to 2-4. But it's not necessarily the Sixers' record that has Philly fans filling up the message boards nine days after beginning a season filled with so much optimism. The Sixers are turning the ball over at an alarming rate. Andre Iguodala, the team's leading scorer a year ago, is struggling to feel comfortable at the offensive end with his first legitimate low-post teammate (Elton Brand). Coach Mo Cheeks' rotation seems to change on a nightly basis. And that's not nearly all.
Starting center Samuel Dalembert and point guard Andre Miller are off to so-so starts. Opposing lead guards are getting to the basket far too easily. The Sixers continue to have a hard time knocking down jumpers. Reserve Kareem Rush, who signed a one-year minimum contract over the summer, publicly complained about his limited role after a blowout win in Game No. 4.
The turnovers and Iguodala are major issues. Until the Sixers stop giving away so many possessions, they're going to have a tough time. As for Iguodala, he isn't getting easy baskets and continues to clank his outside shots. He's going to have to adjust to once again become effective -- and to start justifying his six-year, $80 million contract.
The good news is Cheeks and his coaching staff have four days off before the Sixers are home against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. Given everything, the Sixers should have more than enough to keep them busy.
MAGIC 98, SIXERS 88: The Sixers got off to another slow start, thanks to too many turnovers and too many missed shots, and rallied to make it competitive only to again fall short. The Sixers continued to have spacing issues on offense -- they hit 37.9 percent of their shots, including 29.4 percent of their three-point attempts, and got to the foul line only 13 times to host Orlando's 26.
