Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
DAN GELSTON
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA - Andre Miller might find it easier shoveling a path out of snowbound Denver than digging the Philadelphia 76ers out of last place.
More than 25 inches fell in the Denver metro area since Wednesday morning - about 2 inches for every defeat on Philadelphia's miserable 12-game losing streak - leaving Miller stuck in the Rockies with little chance of making his Sixers' debut on Friday night in Boston.
Not even the smooth point guard can direct his way out of this mess.
"I'm packed and ready to go whenever the plane gets here," Miller said Thursday.
There's no snow in Philadelphia (not even Eric, anymore) but the losses are accumulating at a humbling rate.
Miller was acquired Tuesday as part of a deal that sent Allen Iverson to the Nuggets.
"I was surprised," he said. "If it's something that was going to happen, I didn't think my name would be involved."
Not even when Denver and Philadelphia were involved in Iverson trade talks in the offseason.
But at a summer golf tournament in North Carolina, Sixers assistant Moses Malone predicted the former Utah star was "going to be a 76er real soon."
"I didn't actually take him seriously at the time," Miller said, laughing. "I didn't think it would happen."
Now the pass-happy point guard with a knack for making his teammates better has surrendered his immediate shot at a ring. And he's giving up his No. 24, too - the Sixers retired the number for defensive specialist and top sixth man Bobby Jones.
Third in the league this season with 9.1 assists per game, the 30-year-old Miller has career averages of 14.1 points and 7.6 assists in eight seasons with Cleveland, the Clippers and the Nuggets.
Philadelphia could use his help to snap out of its worst losing skid in a decade. The Sixers, who have lost 19 of 21 overall, are on their longest losing streak since dropping 13 straight from Dec. 28, 1996, to Jan. 20, 1997. The Sixers (5-19) also have lost 10 in a row on the road and have the NBA's worst record.
Since the trade was announced, Miller's play has been compared to the way Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks used to run the floor when Philadelphia was a regular title contender.
"I'm looking forward to playing for a coach that understands my position," Miller said.
Now all he has to do is get here.