76ers say they're still motivated

The 76ers' season has had more subplots than a reality show.

There's the new head coach, Eddie Jordan, with his Princeton offense that was scrapped. Allen Iverson had a ballyhooed return only to leave again. And there's the all-too-familiar mounting losses.

Despite all the distractions, the Sixers (22-39) say they remain motivated.

"I don't think it's that hard to motivate," said forward Andre Iguodala, whose squad faces the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre today at noon. The Sixers didn't practice yesterday.

"If the guys enjoy playing, you have to go out there and play," he added. "You have to go out there with pride as well. You just don't go out there to shoot shots and see how many points you can get."

For Iguodala, the goal is to grow as a team, get better, and play with pride in the final 21 otherwise-meaningless games.

But even the optimistic team leader admits this season has been a disappointment.

After the team came off 41 wins and a playoff appearance in 2008-09, this season's goal was to step up and contend for Atlantic Division supremacy.

Instead, the Sixers have struggled to grasp Jordan's Princeton offense and are counting the losses until they are mathematically eliminated from the playoff chase.

The hope was that they would receive a pick-me-up when Iverson rejoined the squad. But the NBA all-star, with diminished skills, and the Sixers officially parted ways Tuesday so he could deal with the illness of his 4-year-old daughter. Iverson, who played in 28 games, had been away from the team since Feb. 20.

And instead of battling for the division title, the Sixers are piling up losses that will ultimately deny them a third consecutive postseason appearance.

They head into today's matchup at Toronto (32-28) with a five-game losing streak. The Sixers lost those contests by an average of 14 points.

And it won't get any easier against a Raptors squad with a 2-0 lead in the four-game season series with the Sixers.

Raptors all-star forward Chris Bosh is expected to play today. After missing six straight games with a sprained ankle, he missed Friday's game against the New York Knicks with a stomach virus. Bosh, who is averaging 26 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 assists against the Sixers, practiced yesterday.

Should Bosh play, the Sixers' immediate goal will be stopping him. Their long-term goal, however, is maturing as a unit.

"We just have to go out there and try to get better," forward Elton Brand said. "That's what it's all about. We got a lot of young guys. You look around. There's not a lot of guys over 25 on the team.

"So they need the minutes. They are going to get better. And the veteran guys need to go out and play their hearts out, also."