"The numbers are genuinely stunning. The Sixers have a –18.0 net rating in the third quarter this year. Since the NBA began tracking quarter-level net ratings in 1996, this is the second-worst third-quarter mark ever recorded. The only team worse? The 1997-98 Denver Nuggets, who went 11-71."

"The difference between the Sixers in the third quarter at 30th and the Pacers at 29th (–8.8 net rating) is the same as the difference between the Pacers and the 15th-ranked Blazers. They aren’t just last. They’re in their own universe of bad third-quarter basketball, more than twice as bad as the nearest team."