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Stephen A. Smith: Magic make clear 76ers' deficiencies

For a moment last night, lamenting the malady that is the 76ers took a backseat to deciphering precisely how they have become so sorry. For this team, wins are accompanied by bewilderment, not celebrations. Fans find themselves walking into the Wachovia Center, pointing at the visitors, then asking themselves, "Why aren't we that team?"

The Sixers fell to the Orlando Magic, 126-105, at the Wachovia Center on Monday. (Ron Cortes / Staff Photographer)
The Sixers fell to the Orlando Magic, 126-105, at the Wachovia Center on Monday. (Ron Cortes / Staff Photographer)Read more

For a moment last night, lamenting the malady that is the 76ers took a backseat to deciphering precisely how they have become so sorry. For this team, wins are accompanied by bewilderment, not celebrations. Fans find themselves walking into the Wachovia Center, pointing at the visitors, then asking themselves, "Why aren't we that team?"

And the worst part is that the Sixers are still looking for answers with barely a month left in the season.

Last night was no different as the Orlando Magic strolled into town. The outcome - a 126-105 Magic victory - was, basically, of no consequence. It didn't make a bit of difference that the Sixers got routed. Who cares? When the final buzzer sounded, these two teams - locked in a contentious first-round playoff battle last April - departed as two franchises heading into completely different directions:

One into a promising horizon, the other into its latest form of purgatory.

The Magic are destined for the playoffs, and possibly the NBA Finals. The Sixers are heading to the draft lottery. Dwight Howard is the cornerstone of Orlando's franchise. Philadelphia's best representative is Andre Iguodala.

The Magic banter about championships and stability, something Philadelphia only dreams about. And worst of all, the Sixers are the ones who are miles away from Disney World.

"That's a pretty darn good team," the Magic's general manager, Otis Smith said of the Sixers during last night's game. "They are always a real tough opponent for us. They're a dribble-drive team, capable of making plays for themselves. They're tough and they play hard. There are no easy games against them. It just helps that we have [Howard]."

That's only part of the truth.

The rest of it is that less than a year after the Sixers had the NBA world on its heels, threatening to knock off the Magic in the first round, it's nauseating to see the separation that now exists.

While the Magic maintained their continuity with Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy, they upgraded with Vince Carter replacing Hedo Turkoglu. The result has been a team that is more athletic, more suited for the slowdown pace of postseason play.

The Sixers moved on from the Tony DiLeo era. Now look what we have before us.

They commit one turnover after another. Jrue Holiday seems to be the only one who can hit jump shots. They are getting little production from Elton Brand or Samuel Dalembert. They basically look as if April has already arrived and they're heading home for vacation.

But is has become necessary to say this much: The Sixers have talent. They just don't have a team.

And chairman Ed Snider will need to come out of hiding and do something quickly before mutiny ultimately invades the Wachovia Center.

After yet another night of ineptitude from this squad, it's clear that the talent does not match coach Eddie Jordan's system.

"It's usually a tweak here or a tweak there that makes the difference," Smith said. "Everyone in this league has to deal with that reality, with the prospect of taking that chance. And you never know how it's going to end up."

Well, Philadelphia knows.

And now that the harsh truth has confronted this team and its fans, it's clear that one of three things must take place:

Jordan needs to get rid of this Princeton "offensive" system.

President and GM Ed Stefanski needs to get players who can adapt quickly to Jordan's system.

And if neither scenario suffices, either Stefanski or Jordan must go.

Plain and simple.

To be fair, this is not to advocate the firing of anyone. Jordan, who guided the Washington Wizards to four straight playoff appearances, has proved he can coach in this league. With Stefanski, if there's anyone who doubts what his contribution was in New Jersey, just ask team president Rod Thorn, who joined with him to guide the Nets to two straight NBA Finals appearances.

When a highly respected NBA executive told me the other day, "Stefanski's knowledge of the game of basketball is not an issue at all; the man knows the game," I totally believed him. But he added: "The problem is not that Stefanski picked Jordan, it's that he picked his friend [Jordan], someone he was familiar with, instead of the best man for the roster he had in place."

Based on what we've seen thus far, that point cannot be denied.

The Sixers stink, folks. And perhaps the ultimate indictment is that it's not because of their talent, just how that talent is being utilized.

Comparing this team to the efficiency of the Orlando Magic last night raised too many questions - all of them painful ones.