After humbling loss, questions arise about Sixers' direction

THERE IS nothing like an embarassing loss to light the fans' ire, and the 76ers did their part on Wednesday in a 112-85 thumping at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. When you pile onto the blowout that the Sixers committed the most turnovers in a game by an NBA team (31) since 2000 and that it was the 12th consecutive loss to open the season, the 22nd in a row counting the end of last season and dropped the record during The Process to 37-139, it's understandable why the boos were deafening at the Wells Fargo Center through much of the game. The tweets and emails came pouring in afterward, not surprisingly heavily leaning on the negative side. So many questioned whether this is going to work and whether general manager Sam Hinkie really knows what he's doing. Others want to know about the future of coach Brett Brown and whether he fits into all this.

Let's take a broad look at what was on the minds of fans following the Indiana debacle:

* It's all worth it.

The Sixers will get LSU star Ben Simmons with the first pick and Dario Saric is coming next year, and they could have another lottery pick along with a couple of other first-rounders.

Well, that is the perfect scenario, isn't it? The 6-9 point forward will be watched closely at LSU this season by Sixers fans, as they envision a front line that could include Simmons, Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid and Saric next season. If all that comes to fruition, nights such as Wednesday will be a distant memory come June.

But there also has to be the bad taste of possible reality, and that is that the Sixers don't get Simmons at No. 1. Or that Saric either doesn't come over from Turkey for next season (it wouldn't be a good monetary move for him), or his game doesn't really translate to the NBA style. I got a call last week from an NBA executive who had just talked to a scout who had seen Saric play many times recently. The report was not good, as the scout questioned his quickness, shooting ability and ability to keep up with the speed of the NBA.

What I've been most eager to see is Embiid on the floor. He just has the look of an NBA big man, with crazy athleticism running through that 7-something frame. But whether he can come back from two navicular fractures is a big uncertainty. Also, let's not forget he hasn't played much basketball in his life, having started the game at 16. He didn't play a full season during his only college year at Kansas and will have missed two straight years of basketball.

* Will Brett Brown be here to see this through?

Brown and Hinkie get quite uneasy when this subject is brought up and say that when the time is right, they will talk. Brown is in the third year of his four-year contract. How he has remained as positive as he has and has kept his players' attention is nothing short of amazing. But he is starting to show signs of wear and he has mentioned several times that this season is the hardest to endure. No chance when he signed up for this - and he came in with eyes wide open - that he envisioned it still being this bad.

Whether he stays or not should be Brown's call. Hinkie has put him through this torture, so he should give his coach the option of seeing it through. I don't think management will fire him. How could it with a clear conscience? I want to see the guy's ability to coach with NBA talent surrounding him.

* Besides Okafor and Noel, what other players can really help this NBA team?

I'll use my baseball pitcher reference here. The Sixers have a lot of players whom they need to be No. 3, 4 or 5 starters, but are actually a bunch of mopup bullpen guys.

Robert Covington has an NBA skill - three-point shooting. Problem is, other teams know it. What he must develop is something off the dribble when teams run him off the line. He is not a really good finisher around the basket, which is where he usually winds up when the three is taken away. He needs to develop something else, like a side dribble to stay at the three or a pull-up somewhere.

Speaking of developing, many are disappointed in the play of Jerami Grant and JaKarr Sampson. I don't think it's that they haven't developed as much as they should, I think it's that they've developed as much as they can. These are two great kids who work their butts off every day. But they might have reached their ceilings. Isaiah Canaan would probably be a good 10- to 15-minute spark off a good team's bench, and T.J. McConnell probably could get a lot of years as a serviceable backup point.

* Why hasn't Hinkie addressed the point guard situation?

Some think Kendall Marshall will be a pretty good starting point guard for this team. We'll see. This is his fourth team in four seasons. Tony Wroten probably is better off at shooting guard. McConnell is best served coming off the bench, most likely.

What is concerning here is that the team didn't try to bring Ish Smith back, and only part of it has to do with his playing ability. He made Nerlens Noel better. Noel enjoyed playing with him, and played hard to get to spots where he knew he would get the basketball. Noel would have loved to have Smith back, but management didn't really seem to entertain the idea. That couldn't have sat well with Noel.

Yes, Ish Smith is a backup in the league and not the Sixers' point guard of the future. But wouldn't it have sent a message to Noel had Smith been brought back?

So many questions. Perhaps answers are as close as the June draft. Or maybe that will be when more questions arise.

Upcoming games

Who: Sixers (0-12) at Charlotte Hornets (6-6)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte

TV/Radio: Comcast SportsNet/ESPN (97.5 FM)

Game stuff: The Hornets have won six of their last nine to crawl back to .500. Nicolas Batum averaged 25.5 points a game last week in garnering Eastern Conference player of the week honors. This game starts a six-game road trip.

Who: Sixers at Miami Heat (7-4)

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami

TV/Radio: Comcast SportsNet/ESPN (97.5 FM)

Game stuff: This will be a fun matchup between Jahlil Okafor and Miami's Hassan Whiteside, who posted a triple-double Tuesday against Minnesota: 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks. He leads the league in blocks at 4.6 a game.

Who: Sixers at Minnesota Timberwolves (5-7)

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Target Center, Minneapolis

TV/Radio: The Comcast Network/ESPN (97.5 FM)

Game stuff: Things have changed for the better for Minnesota, thanks to two great drafts in which they got Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, who has eight double-doubles this season.

Who: Sixers at Boston Celtics

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: TD Garden, Boston

TV/Radio: Comcast SportsNet/ESPN (97.5 FM)

Game stuff: This already will be the Sixers' second visit to TD Garden, as they opened the season there. The Celtics blew an 18-point, first-half lead at home to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, snapping a three-game winning streak.

By the numbers

65-28: That's how much the Sixers have been outscored on points off turnovers the past two games.

92.9: On average, that's how many seconds between the Sixers' 31 turnovers against Indiana on Wednesday.

Blog: ph.ly/Sixerville