If a theme has to be attached to the Sixers since getting ousted in six games by the Orlando Magic in the playoffs last season, call it "Extreme Makeover: Sixers Edition."

In is new coach Eddie Jordan with his much-talked-about Princeton offense. Back is Elton Brand, who began last season less than 100 percent from an Achilles' injury the season before, then was sidelined after 29 games for shoulder surgery. Added is veteran sniper Jason Kapono, who is one of the very best in the league from shooting beyond the arc. Drafted was combo guard Jrue Holiday, who spent a year at UCLA before being drafted by the Sixers 17th overall.

The results thus far, if you look only at preseason wins and losses, have been good. The Sixers fell to 5-2 in the exhibition games with a 90-89 loss to the Washington Wizards last night on a puzzling call in the final second before a crowd of 10,972 at the Wachovia Center.

Looking further into performances, however, and it is evident that the team has had so many peaks and valleys, it could turn a coach queasy. Not Jordan. He knows there is a learning curve and he thinks that, despite the ups and downs, his club is ahead of the learning pace.

"I'm not concerned," Jordan said. "They're learning how to play with each other. Some of it is indescribable. I can't sit here and put a finger on it, I really can't. I just don't know.

"I like how our guys are moving through the process. Resiliency shows up. When we're down, we come back. Whether we have a good role like we had against Phoenix or the way we came back against New Jersey."

In Sunday's win over the Suns in Monterrey, Mexico, Jordan's club opened the game with 39 first-quarter points, then scored 34 more in the third for a 116-94 win. In the other two quarters, they combined for 43 points. In the 28 quarters they've played, they've scored 30 or more points six times, including 38 in the fourth against the Nets for a comeback win. They've also had nine quarters when they've scored 20 or fewer.

Starting forward Andre Iguodala went 0-for-6 from the floor in the first game against Phoenix on Friday, and didn't score in his 13 minutes of play. He followed that with 23 points in 27 minutes 2 days later.

That kind of sums up how the preseason has gone.

Still, the ultimate goal is to win games and, whether it means anything in the preseason or not, the team has done that.

"I feel good about how resilient we are and the things we've done in winning games," Jordan said. "I like the way Samuel has bounced back, I like the way the starters have bounced back after not playing so well in Phoenix. They have showed true character and competitiveness."

Last night, Willie Green drained one of two foul shots with 1 second left, and the Sixers appeared to come back from an eight-point deficit to begin the final quarter. But a phantom foul called by one of the replacement referees against Green as Mike James attempted a desperate three-pointer put the guard on the line with 0.3 seconds left. He drained two for the win.

"I didn't think it was a foul," Green said, smiling. "But it's the preseason, and it's a time for everybody to get the rust off. It wasn't a situation where I was gonna be upset with the ref. They're doing the best they can. I went up and asked him what he thought about the call, and he said 'I shouldn't have made the call, because it wasn't clear-cut.' And that's it. That's what preseason is for, for everybody to get a chance to get accustomed to how the games are going to be called [by replacement refs].

"But there were some things we could have done during the game before that play."

Andre Iguodala had 19 points and Marreese Speights added 14 and eight rebounds to lead the Sixers. Villanova's Randy Foye led the Wizards (4-3) with 17. Washington was without guards Gilbert Arenas and Mike Miller, who were scratched with flulike symptoms. Forward Antawn Jamison is out with a right shoulder injury.

The Sixers trailed, 70-62, entering the fourth, but behind Speights and Jason Smith, who combined for 17 points in the final stanza, they climbed back and appeared to have the game won before the call on Green.

Smith finished with 11 for the Sixers. Lou Williams was also a double-figure scorer with 13.

Six shots

 

Donyell Marshall, who played with the Sixers last season, will be an analyst on postgame telecasts on Comcast SportsNet. Marshall had been a candidate to replace Bob Salmi as the color commentator next to play-by-play man Mark Zumoff. That job is now Eddie Pinckney's. John Celestand will return to his postgame analyst duties . . . More than a smattering of Phillies hats, shirts, jerseys and jackets littered the stands . . . The team will play its final preseason game Friday night at the Lou Carnesecca Arena on the campus of St. John's University in Queens, N.Y. against the New Jersey Nets . . . Ed Snider took in the game from his normal front row, center-court seat . . . Jason Kapono was at Monday's Phillies game and commented about how loud the stadium was when Jimmy Rollins got the game-winning hit.