Philadelphia 76ers Lose by 43, Which Is Actually Better Than Yesterday

Here's hoping the Philadelphia 76ers employ a glass-half-full philosophy.

They'll need that kind of optimism to spin their 43-point drubbing at the hands of the Golden State Warriors on Monday into a positive. What's incredible is that from a literal perspective, the 123-80 bludgeoning was actually a step in the right direction.

But only because the Sixers lost by 45 to the Los Angeles Clippers the night before.

Per Stats LLC (via ESPN), 76ers head coach Brett Brown said after that debacle: "We ran into a buzz saw and we got jumped early."

Well, they ran into the buzz saw again.

Philly ascended into the pantheon of back-to-back ineptitude by dropping two 40-point contests in a row:

Worse still, the Sixers' combined margin of defeat put them in a category occupied by just two other teams in the entire history of the NBA:

That's some epic futility.

In a strange way, Philadelphia's season, though hard to watch, is going exactly as planned. Nobody expected the Sixers to do anything but lose this year, and they're settling into a comfortable doormat groove lately.

This is what they wanted.

As a matter of fact, these two recent defeats might give rise to a new term in honor of 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie:

I'm not sure he'd like to be remembered for what his team has done over the past two games, but it might not be up to him.

The Utah Jazz get a crack at the Sixers on Feb. 12, and no team has ever lost three straight by at least 40 points. History will be on the line in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.

Don't screw this up, Jazz. The world is watching.

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Jared Sullinger Gets Cussed out by Father, Starts Playing Better

Apparently, all Jared Sullinger needed to break out of his slump was a little parental guidance.

Per Jessica Camerato of BasketballInsiders.com, Sullinger's father gave him a spirited pep talk in late January. Sullinger recounted the exchange:

He came up and cussed me out. I was thinking he had to tell me something or he wanted me to talk about how everything was going because he seemed worried about me. But instead the conversation just started off  well, his conversation started off – and I was just saying, ‘Yes sir. Yes sir. Yes sir.’ I was kind of in shock. He was telling me my body language sucks, my attitude sucks, I’m disrespecting the Sullinger name the way I’m acting on and off the court.

The tough love worked, and Sullinger has been an absolute beast ever since. In the six contests immediately following that Jan. 29 conversation, the Boston Celtics big man has averaged 19.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks on 48.5 percent shooting, per NBA.com.

In honor of his breakout stretch, the league honored him alongside Kevin Durant as the Player of the Week for games played Feb. 3 through Feb. 9.

"His father’s visit reminded him of who he really is – he is a Sullinger, he is a Boston Celtic, he is a talented NBA player who is only scratching the surface of his potential," Camerato wrote.

Thanks to a little extra motivation and a clearer head, he's playing better, conducting himself more professionally and looking much more like the building block Boston needs him to be. This is just a brief stretch, but if Sullinger can maintain the kind of focus and no-nonsense approach he's employed recently, he could wind up winning a few more Player of the Week awards.

Better still, he'll avoid another verbal thrashing from his dad.

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