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

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: