Eddie Jordan, Coach of the Washington Wizards, described the play of Gilbert Arenas last night by saying, “He made daggers.”

Well, last night he not only made them, but he used them too.  Leading the Wizards on a 10-0 run in the fourth, the Wizards sucked the life out of the Sixers last drive for playoff position, winning 109-93.

Had the Sixers managed to play well in the fourth quarter of their last two games, they would have gone into tomorrow nights match-up against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a chance to take over the 4th seed in the playoff picture.

Instead, they head into that game with the prospect of staying with the Toronto Raptors for the 6th playoff seed.  So instead of a reasonable first round match-up with Cleveland, they will have to take on either Detroit or Orlando with what should be a brief series before before they head home for the off-season.

Heading into the 3rd quarter last night, the Sixers held a 6 point lead, and still a chance to secure the 5th seed and a match-up with the Cavs.  But Arenas and the Washington Wizards had a different idea.   With a blistering display of good shooting and some nice hustle, combined with poor shooting and erratic D from the Sixers, the Wizards to outscored the Sixers 31-9 in the final period.

In the last 8 games, the Sixers have gone 3-5 and that’s not how you want to head into the playoffs.  They now need to win against both Cleveland and Charlotte to have a chance at securing the 6th seed.  However, their seeding at this point is only for logistical purposes.  If they get the 6th seed, they play the Orlando Magic…gulp.  The alternative here is that they end up with the 7 seed (likely considering the Raptors remiaining schedule), and play the Detroit Pistons…double gulp.  And before you point out that the Sixers have beaten both teams recently, lets not forget that in the NBA, the playoffs are a whole different game.

In either scenario, making either series competitive would be a large task for Mo Cheeks and the Sixers.  But the fact that were talking about the Sixers fighting for playoff seeds instead of lottery balls sure is a far cry from what I expected to be writing about this time of year.

What the Sixers seem to have done is get a little too tight over the past 10 games or so.  Once they realized they were for real, and had a shot to make some noise, they seem to have forgotten what has taken them to where they are; good defense, and creating opportunities for everyone to get involved in the offense.

Andre Iguaodala has played tentatively since injuring his leg early against Indiana the other night.  He played well, just not with the verve he usually brings to the court.  Andre Miller has shot poorly and Reggie Evans has barely seen the court.  In addition, the youngsters, Thadeus Young, Rodney Carney, and Lou Williams haven’t been able to pick up the slack on a consistent basis.

But more then playing inconsistently through four quarters, I feel what’s starting to affect the Sixers most is their own success and obviously their inexperience.  That’s not to say they think they are too good, it’s to say that after a prolonged stretch of outstanding play, they inevitably would be expected to hit a wall at some point.

Hopefully getting humbled these last two games gives them the emotional slap in the face to wake them up and end the season strong heading into the first round of playoff action next week.

Lets just hope they are able to shake off the sting, because rumor has it both Detroit and Orlando have much bigger daggers then Washington.