The Death Stretch™️ Has Officially Ended for the Sixers
The portion of the Sixers 2018-19 season that we (me) have deemed The Death Stretch™️ has officially come to a close. The final tally: 8-5. What a ride. Back when this thing started, Bryce Harper not being on a team was only mildly annoying. We made some friends. We made some enemies. We lost a few great men (We will always love you Landry).
In the close to a month stretch of death defying schedule the Sixers faced, they had their peaks and valleys. Let’s see, they lost to the Kings…has an impressive road win against the Pacers…oh yeah and they revamped their entire roster.
I won’t forget the dagger JJ hit to silence to the sellout Oracle crowd as the Sixers sleighed the dragon that is the Warriors. Or the Christmas morning-esque anticipation of seeing the new guys topple the Nuggets at home on a Friday night. I will cherish our fond memories of Markelle Fultz, who didn’t play during this stretch or really play at all. But he still felt like a friend. Just a friend with incurable TOS.
The Death Stretch™️ for the Sixers was a lot like the cast of The Walking Dead. I feel like I barely had gotten to know some of the characters and by the end they were gone.
Unfortunately, the ending of The Death Stretch™️ for the Sixers must be what the Rams felt like after losing to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Won some respectable games along the way, had plenty of marquee moments, and created some crazy stories. But the performance in the finale will leave a sour taste in the mouth of fans and players alike. It doesn’t seem to matter what the Sixers roster is or rotations are, they cannot get over the mental hump of beating the Boston Celtics. Brett Brown’s crew is now 2-10 over the past two seasons against the Celtics. Ironic that The Death Stretch ended with a fate worse than death: losing to Boston in another close game.
The Sixers finish their pre-All Star Break slate with the Knicks, losers of 17 straight. But according to ESPN, things are on the up and up for that franchise! Only the Sixers losing on purpose should be publically shamed. Let’s finish strong, and roll into Spring with this revamped roster ready to beat the shit out of mediocre teams.