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76ers-Wizards Preview

Nov 23, 2009 - 9:03 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Philadelphia (5-8) at Washington (3-9), 7:00 p.m. EDT

Philadelphia 76ers coach Eddie Jordan will be provided with a stark reminder of the one-year anniversary of his firing by Washington.

That day is Tuesday, when the Wizards host the Sixers in a matchup of slumping - and in Washington's case, bickering - teams.

Washington (3-9) parted ways with Jordan last Nov. 24 with the team off to a 1-10 start. He was in his sixth season with the Wizards, guiding them to four straight postseason appearances from 2005-08.

Jordan landed with Philadelphia (5-8) on June 1, signing a three-year contract. The 76ers have been inconsistent under his guidance, losing six of eight after a strong start.

Washington, though, certainly doesn't appear better off for having gotten rid of Jordan.

The Wizards finished an Eastern Conference-worst 19-63 after turning the team over to Ed Tapscott on an interim basis. They replaced Tapscott in April, signing Flip Saunders to a four-year, $18 million contract, but have lost eight of nine.

Washington fell 106-84 to San Antonio on Saturday night, a day after losing 127-108 to Oklahoma City, and the frustration is starting to show.

"Everyone's got their own individual goals, I guess. Hidden agendas," said Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, who made three All-Star appearances under Jordan. "You can't win like that. I guess when you start losing, everyone wants to start pointing fingers everywhere else. I converted my game to try and get people involved."

Arenas had 18 points and Antawn Jamison added 15 versus the Spurs, but Washington shot a season-low 33.3 percent. The Wizards have lost six games by double digits.

"We're very much in a bad situation," Saunders said. "A lot of guys are frustrated, including me."

To make matters worse, the Wizards could be without guard Mike Miller for a month after he strained his right calf in the first quarter. Miller, in his first season with Washington after being acquired from Minnesota in June, is averaging 9.8 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 56.5 percent (13 for 23) from 3-point range.

The Sixers also suffered a key injury when top reserve Marreese Speights partially tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee Nov. 14. Philadelphia has been missing the big man's 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

The Sixers were held to less than 100 points for the sixth straight game Saturday night, losing 97-91 to Cleveland. Still, they were much happier with that performance than their 102-97 loss to Memphis the previous day.

"Something that we do sometimes is kind of play to our level of competition," guard Andre Iguodala said.

Louis Williams continues to be a bright spot for the Sixers. Jordan made Williams a starter for the first time in his career this season, and the fifth-year guard has blossomed.

Williams averaged 23.0 points and 5.2 assists while shooting 54.1 percent over his last four games. He averaged 17.8 points in four games against Washington last season, helping Philadelphia sweep the series.

The Sixers have won six of the last seven meetings.