Listen –

I don’t know if the Chris Sheridan story describing some dysfunctional behind-the-scenes Sixers stuff is true or not. I pointed out some factual inaccuracies in this morning’s write-up, but like the Joe Santoliquito Philly Voice story, I can’t tell you whether the guy’s sources are legit or not. You and I are not in the Sixers locker room or wiretapping Elton Brand’s phone, so how are we gonna prove or disprove this thing with actual hard evidence? You can’t.

For what it’s worth, the Sixers put less than zero stock in the New York Daily News article, which was brought up at today’s practice session.

Brett Brown said this about the column:

I am aware of it. I have not read it, and I won’t. I have nothing to say about it.

Short and to the point, huh?

Ben Simmons said this, after the jump:

Similar response.

Sheridan, however, teased us with this:

And said this, among other things on Twitter:

There are two ways I see this playing out:

  1. This thing serves as a distraction, the Sixers lose game three and have more pressure and negative energy heaped on them.
  2. A galvanized Sixers squad goes out and drops 150 on the Nets to take a 2-1 series lead.

Feels like there’s not really a middle ground here, but I could be wrong. The brevity at which the Sixers brushed this off is interesting to me, because Brett, for instance, did speak at length about the story describing confrontation he had with Jimmy Butler back in December. That incident he addressed, this one he swatted away in three seconds. And head PR guy Dave Sholler could have squashed other stories he may have deemed fake, but went after this one instead.

Anyway, that’s the update. The next story will be about actual basketball, hopefully.