(Associated Press)

MILWAUKEE --- Remember when the Sixers were four games over .500? Remember when they were thought to be a challenger in the Atlantic Division, even without Andrew Bynum?

Yeah, about that...

The Sixers (17-24), who are at the Bradley Center tonight against the host Bucks, are at the midpoint of their season. Since they opened with a 10-6 mark, they've lost 18 of 25 and have slid into fourth place in their division ... and ninth in the Eastern Conference, on the outside looking in at the playoffs.

The good news is Bynum is feeling better and maybe (just maybe) he could be ready for the Sixers' return trip to Brew City, Feb. 13 against the Bucks, in the final game before the All-Star break. (Just an educated opinion, but that would give Bynum almost a full week before having to next take the floor for the Feb. 20 game at Minnesota. Might be desirable for a guy looking to test out his knees and see how they respond.)

The hope of Bynum's return isn't enough to keep the Sixers afloat, though. As Thad Young (pictured) put it yesterday, the Sixers failed to step up "when we needed to play big." That's what it's going to take in order to string together wins ... and assemble their first winning streak in nearly two months.

“These last two games (Jan. 18 vs. Toronto, Monday vs. San Antonio), it definitely showed that we're going out there paying attention, trying to make runs, and we're trying to focus in," Young said. "The effort was there. The focus was there. The concentration was there. Everyone's playing on the same page and at a high level. It's just about finishing games."

Fortunately for the Sixers, they get a chance tonight against the Bucks. And all they had to wait was 24 hours for a fresh slate.