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2012 NBA standings: Sixers fall below .500 for first time since opening week

The Philadelphia 76ers have struggled without Jrue Holiday in the lineup, losing five straight games and dropping to fourth place in the Atlantic Division.

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Without Jrue Holiday, the Philadelphia 76ers have hit their first rough patch of the season, losing five straight to fall to two games below .500.

Holiday is the team's leading scorer and also the catalyst for the offense, averaging 18.4 points and 8.9 assists per game. He's missed the last four games, and unsurprisingly, the team has dropped all four. With no real interior presence, Holiday's scoring and creating was keeping the team afloat. The losses haven't been pretty: a 13-point defeat against the struggling Los Angeles Lakers, and a 22-point loss to the Houston Rockets Wednesday night. Without him, they're searching for answers: In Holiday's starting spot, Nick Young put up points against the Los Angeles Lakers but derailed the team offensively in his other two starts, and Maalik Wayns brought little to the table against Houston.

Holiday's injury is only a sprained foot, and isn't expected to keep him out long term, but the losses hurt Philadelphia in the standings and are a bad sign going forward. The skid has dropped the Sixers to fourth place in the Atlantic Division, ahead of only the Toronto Raptors. Even without Andrew Bynum, this had looked like a playoff squad as they'd stayed above .500 since opening the year 1-2.

Here's a look at the full conference standings:


Eastern Standings

GP W-L PCT
New York Knicks 25 19-6 .760
Miami Heat 22 16-6 .727
Atlanta Hawks 23 15-8 .652
Chicago Bulls 24 14-10 .583
Milwaukee Bucks 24 13-11 .542
Indiana Pacers 26 14-12 .538
Brooklyn Nets 25 13-12 .520
Boston Celtics 25 13-12 .520
Orlando Magic 25 12-13 .480
Philadelphia 76ers 26 12-14 .462
Charlotte Bobcats 25 7-18 .280
Toronto Raptors 27 8-19 .296
Detroit Pistons 28 7-21 .250
Cleveland Cavaliers 27 5-22 .185
Washington Wizards 23 3-20 .130