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Winning can't get in the way of the Sixers' Process

REALITY WILL descend on the 76ers on Saturday in the form of the Golden State Warriors. They will correct any misperception of the Sixers, just in case anyone started to think they were close to being viable. As that moment approaches, it might be wise to understand what this season, and the next, is really about.

Philadelphia 76ers general manger Sam Hinkie, left, takes question from the media as the announce that Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall
of Fame member and Chairman of the Board of Directors for USA Basketball Jerry Colangelo, right, talks to the media as he will be joining the Philadelphia 76ers as the Special Advisor to the Managing General Partner and Chairman of Basketball Operations and co-Managing Owner Josh Harris, center, beside him prior to the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Monday, Dec. 7,
2015, in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia 76ers general manger Sam Hinkie, left, takes question from the media as the announce that Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member and Chairman of the Board of Directors for USA Basketball Jerry Colangelo, right, talks to the media as he will be joining the Philadelphia 76ers as the Special Advisor to the Managing General Partner and Chairman of Basketball Operations and co-Managing Owner Josh Harris, center, beside him prior to the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in Philadelphia.Read more(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

REALITY WILL descend on the 76ers on Saturday in the form of the Golden State Warriors. They will correct any misperception of the Sixers, just in case anyone started to think they were close to being viable. As that moment approaches, it might be wise to understand what this season, and the next, is really about.

The team's six wins since Jerry Colangelo usurped the throne from stubborn Sam Hinkie the last month seem to have clouded the matter. Lately, excitement generated by a win over the Suns and a close game at Detroit, games Jahlil Okafor missed because of illness, have the faithful joyous about Nerlens Noel and clamoring for less Jah.

That is foolishness.

The season is about development. More precisely, it is about the development of Okafor and Noel, in that order, and, together. They must develop a synergistic relationship, no matter how painful The Process.

Because it is the essence of The Process.

As such, every game Okafor misses, because of sickness, soreness or street fighting, is, essentially, a wasted game.

Every time coach Brett Brown decides that winning a close game is more important than using Okafor in the final minutes of that game does a disservice to The Process.

You see, The Process - Hinkie's strategy of construction by destruction - is sound. However, his method of construction - excluding competent guards to shepherd his big men - was flawed.

Colangelo added Ish Smith.

Smart.

Now, Brown is asking Smith to win games.

Not smart.

Smith averages 16.7 shots per game as a Sixer, 1.6 more shots than Okafor, the guy he was acquired to feed.

Smith was a backup in New Orleans before the trade, so he lacks enough attempts to qualify for the NBA leaders list . . . but if he did, he would rank 16th in the league. All 15 players ahead of him have a better shooting percentage. He takes more shots than All-Star starters Dwayne Wade, Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Loenard and Kobe Bryant and more than MVP candidate Jimmy Butler.

To what end?

Let's not lose focus. This cannot be overstated:

In the history of the NBA, there might never have been a 19-year-old rookie center with a body as big and as developed as Okafor's who, on Day One, possessed his array of offensive skills. Debate his ceiling if you like, but compare him with other young big men when they were breaking in. He meets or exceeds their output.

Kevin Garnett didn't match Okafor's 17.4-point average until his third season and, as a rookie, he averaged a full rebound less than Okafor's 7.3. Tim Duncan was better from the start, but he was a 21-year-old rookie, not 19, and is the best all-around big man of his era. Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins needed a season to match Okafor's production, and Cousins needed three to become as efficient a shooter.

This might sound nit-picky. It is, to a degree. But when you are dealing with something as delicate as the architecture of an NBA team, every nit gets picked.

It's hard to blame Brown, or anyone who lives and dies with the Sixers' fortunes.

Before Colangelo began salvaging Hinkie's disaster, the team was 1-30, the worst in NBA history, certain to set a record for losses. The team was starved for wins, for respect, for relevance. Okafor's two street-fighting incidents were spurred when he was mocked as a chronic loser.

They have respect now. They have won six of 16 and twice lost in overtime. No, they haven't beaten a winning team yet. No, that won't change Saturday.

But what's more important, taking the Knicks to double overtime or having Okafor play in a close game down the stretch? Okafor had 20 points in 26 minutes against the Knicks, but Brown benched Okafor after the third quarter in that game because Noel and Smith were clicking.

Well, Noel and Smith were clicking at the end of last season, too. They clicked especially well Tuesday in the win over the Suns, and they clicked on Dec. 26, too, when they beat the Suns in Phoenix, also without Okafor.

So what.

If you want to evolve, then you do not use the old formula, especially against a Suns team that is a defensive embarrassment.

Granted, virtually every metric indicates that the Sixers are better when Okafor isn't the focal point; better, perhaps, when Noel plays and Okafor does not.

So what.

If you want to evolve, then you do not exclude the franchise's best offensive player since Allen Iverson - who, by the way, didn't do anything but score, either.

Obviously, neither Okafor nor Noel can play perimeter defense.

So what.

Both must develop that skill even if, one day, they aren't on the same team. They can't develop a skill without being forced to perform it.

In his first stint as an NBA head coach, Brown rarely has missed a turn: innovative, flexible and, more than anything else, incredibly patient.

Growing Okafor and Noel into a more dynamic duo would test the patience of Job. Each has massive holes in his game.

Those holes get filled only by playing, and by playing together, every chance they get. Especially when it matters most.

On Twitter: @inkstainedretch