<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Sixers are a lot of things -- young, rebuilding, improving. But they're not losers. At least not according to Steven Hunter. When asked what his reaction was to the team's new habit of winning games and the conflict it presents with fans who'd rather see them lose to improve top draft pick lottery odds, Hunter said the fans should respect the team's current mentality. "I'd tell them you don't want losers on your team, or playing for your city," Hunter said. "If you want a team that goes out there and doesn't play with pride and tries to throw games -- they're not the type of guys you want in this city playing for you. We've got a great group of guys here to try to win every night and try to play hard every night." Currently, the Sixers are anything but losers. Right now, they're streakers. Heading into tonight's game at Atlanta, the Sixers are riding a season-high seven-game winning streak. The streak is the longest by any Atlantic Division team this season and the longest current streak in the Eastern Conference. Only Dallas (17) and San Antonio (12), two of the top three teams in the NBA, have won more consecutive games than the Sixers. "We're trying to make that last playoff push -- we feel like every game is a playoff game," Hunter said. "We want to turn our season around (and) we have a lot of making up to do. We got on that long losing streak of 12 games (in December). So we want to try to get a 13-game winning streak to kind of erase that." Streak or no streak, the Sixers have proven to be a better team with Hunter in the starting lineup. When asked about the team's current successful run, Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks repeatedly credits team defense. The presence of the 7-foot Hunter in the frontcourt, starting alongside 6-11 Samuel Dalembert, has produced winning results. Since Hunter was moved into the starting lineup Jan. 19, the Sixers are 15-9. During that stretch, they've held their opponents to 43.7 shooting percentage from the field and to just under 95.8 points per game. In the first 39 games of the season, opponents shot 47.8 percent and scored an average of 99.8 points per game against the Sixers. "Steven and Sam and Joe (Smith) -- they've been the biggest pluses for us," Cheeks said of his starting frontcourt and Smith, his veteran big man off the bench.</div> Source
It's a weird feeling of being proud, and pissed off at the same time. It's way different for a player who actually have to compete and a fan who just watches. Competitive nature will always tell you to win. That's why they are trying to make the playoffs. The only problem that I have is losing the lottery pick, and likely getting kicked out the first round.
