(AP)

MIAMI -- Tony Wroten accepts that he has a way of pairing highlight-reel assists with clunker passes that end up in the front row. It’s something Wroten said he’s worked with 76ers coach Brett Brown to curb.

“You pick your spots. Coach always tells me it’s a gift that not a lot of people in this league have,” Wroten said. “I just have to pick my spots and not always go for the home run and just try to get some singles – in baseball terms. That’s what he always says. This season, I learned a lot. I don’t try to make the home runs as much. I try to make the right play.”

Outside of his mistake-prone play – he averages 2.8 turnovers per game – Wroten has impressed in his first season with the Sixers.

Monday against Boston, Wroten had 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting. His seven turnovers nullified the four assists he turned in. Brown seems to think “a high number” of Wroten’s turnovers stem from the pace with which the 20-year-old plays.

Wroten said he’s gotten better at controlling his instinct to make the ‘go for it’ pass that will end up on ESPN’s SportsCenter, though the turnover totals might not reflect that alteration to his game. He said pulling back on that urge was difficult.

“In the beginning, obviously it was,” said Wroten, who’s under contract through next season. “That’s what I’ve been doing all my life. That’s what this process was.”

The Sixers (18-63) had Tuesday free from practice as they traveled to Miami, where they'll finish the regular season with Wednesday's game against the Heat.

(BleacherReport)

The line between tanking and rebuilding continues to look blurry.

Jalen Rose and Avery Johnson, NBA analysts for ESPN, broached the topic Tuesday – ironically – on a conference call with reporters in advance of the the third of four regular-season meetings between Eastern Conference titans Miami and Indiana.

Rose, left, believes what the 76ers are doing is tanking. Johnson, right, said the Sixers are doing nothing more than rebuilding.

“You know how bad you have to be to lose 25 in a row?” Rose said.

Johnson defended the Sixers (15-56), who finish a three-game roadtrip Thursday at Houston, saying so many seasons of middle-of-the-road basketball had reached its apex.

“I just think there was really nowhere for this franchise to go,” Johnson said, “…and they made a decision to move assets and play with a lot of young players and get as far under the salary cap as they possibly can and just continue to develop and nurture Michael Carter-Williams, and I think that was a really terrific decision.”

That being said, Johnson admitted that there are no guarantees for success, given the path the Sixers have chosen.

“But they at least have set themselves up to have the best chance,” Johnson said. “It’s definitely about trying to get to the playoffs and being a perennial playoff team with a chance to win the championship. So I would like to call it rebuilding.”

Rose begs to differ. He sees the Sixers’ efforts this season, which include shuffling D-League players in and out, trading away their best players, and trimming their payroll, as a means of losing intentionally.

“They play a game this Thursday night and there are going to be people that actually are paying to watch that game – whether it’s on cable, whether in person. That’s bad for the league,” Rose said. “So many empty seats, (so many) games that are meaningless on the schedule. If you’re a 76ers fan, obviously you understand what they’re doing. They may be able to turn around their fortunes really fast.

“For the paying customer, yes, it should be deemed as tanking because you want to see good basketball game this Thursday. But if you’re looking for an outlook as a Sixers fan, I could say they are possibly trending up.”

(Associated Press)

For those patiently waiting for Andrew Bynum to take his first steps in a 76ers uniform, you might want to sit down. It'll be a while. And, well, because this next sentence is a doozy.

ESPN.com is reporting that Bynum, who already had a right knee bone bruise, sustained a similar injury to his left knee while bowling.

Yes, bowling.

A source told ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Chris Broussard that Bynum suffered an undisclosed injury earlier this month while bowling, a sport which the report says Bynum enjoys.

To the tune of millions, apparently. Friday, Bynum addressed reporters concerning a "mirror thing" going on his left knee. He then added that he's suffering from "weakened cartilage" in both joints, yet remains on a timetable similar to the one he released Monday. That means he'd be checked up on Dec. 10 and, assuming he gets the thumbs up, would be OK to pick up basketball activity for the one to four weeks that follow.

Bynum is making $16.5 million this season, the final year of his contract and his first with the Sixers. He's due to make much more than that in the offseason, too, assuming he can demonstrate to an employer at some point that he can return to the court. He hasn't played since May 21, in a Western Conference semifinal for the Los Angeles Lakers.

While it wouldn't seem prudent for the Sixers to offer Bynum a maximum deal, the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent could garner max deals if he was to hit the market. Finding a franchise-altering center -- even one with chronically injured knees -- is never easy. It was difficult enough to make the Sixers get involved with that four-team deal back in August, the one in which they cast off Andre Iguodala for a swing at Bynum.

Friday, Sixers general manager Tony DiLeo reiterated what has been a longstanding belief shared by he and the ownership team: Locking up Bynum long-term is essential. It's fair to assume DiLeo knew about Bynum and the nature of his injury (the bowling, that is) when he said this before Friday's game against Utah:

“From our point of view, we have to continue to be patient, to be cautious,” DiLeo said. “We’re looking long-term, not short-term, and big picture. We’re going to do what’s best for Andrew and what’s best for this organization and get him healthy as he can be and get him on the court when he’s ready.

“Plain and simple, we’re trying to rehab his knees so they’re healthy enough to have him play, like he did last season. That’s our goal. And when he’s ready, and it’s hard to predict when he’ll be ready, but hopefully sooner than later. Main concern is Andrew’s health. Main concern is big picture. We want to have a long relationship with him. That’s why we’re doing this.”

 

So bad knees or not, it sounds like the Sixers want Bynum in their plans. It'll be interesting to see whether Bynum's proclivity for bowling over basketball will alter that.