Ira Winderman

Rare is the NBA game that is decided by halftime.

NBA seasons, however, are another story.

With the league nearly halfway home, it has become abundantly clear to several teams that they will be home for the playoffs.

Yes, the league is replete with stories of late charges to the postseason, with last season's 76ers the perfect example, having stormed back from 18-30 to a playoff berth with a 22-12 finish.

Of course, that's the Eastern Conference, where good often is good enough.

In fact, it would not be a stretch to consider a second consecutive push from last place to a playoff place for Philadelphia, considering no team figures to get a stronger boost than the boost the 76ers will receive from the return of Elton Brand from his shoulder injury.

So who's toast before the season's midpoint?

Burnt to a crisp

Oklahoma City Thunder: Oh, there will be drama over the second half of the season, but it won't have anything to do with the playoffs.

Instead, the race is on with the 1972-73 Sixers, whose record-worst 9-73 might just get a run for its money.

Understand, this is a team that currently does not have a very high sense of self, with no less than Kevin Durant this week stressing he does not see himself in any way as an All-Star.

Word is, if you look real close in the Ford Center, you can see Kevin Loughery and Fred Carter embracing opponents as they take the court.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Perhaps the season ended on draft night, when someone in the front office thought it would be a good idea to trade the rights of O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love.

Think about it: For two hours, the team that tampered with Joe Smith, fired Flip Saunders and Dwane Casey, and dealt Brandon Roy for Randy Foye, actually got it right.

Then they again became the Timberwolves.

It's gotten so bad you kind of miss Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, J.R. Rider and Michael Olowokandi.

Sacramento Kings: Didn't this team used to be fun?

Wasn't that the entire point, that while they'd never actually catch the Los Angeles Lakers, they would be entertaining enough to make the Maloofs not second-guess their flights from Vegas to Sacramento? (A one-way ticket to [fill in your own blank].)

Of course, once you lose a Bibby here, a Webber there and a Peja and an Artest elsewhere, you're basically nowhere without a start-to-finish contribution from Kevin Martin.

What? Martin played two games off the bench this week?

Driver, back to the airport, and Vegas. Pronto!

The reality is Sacramento could finish as high as third in its division.

But this is the West, and that's not nearly good enough.

Might as well fire Reggie. Oh, he's already gone?

Golden State Warriors: Ah, nothing like the Nellie-doesn't-care-anymore tour.

Haven't we seen this post-extension approach before?

Let's see, he can't be bothered with defense anymore, so now Keith Smart is his defensive coordinator.

And barely six weeks into the season, he states his team is already out of the playoff race, that this is about building for the future.

So he promptly sets about breaking the spirit of first-round pick Anthony Randolph.

As punishment, management is refusing to fire him. But give Don Nelson time. That fight isn't over yet. He'll soon have Manute Bol back shooting 3-pointers.

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Los Angeles Clippers: This is one of those injury-excuse teams that will continue to stress that it's better than its record.

Considering the ailments that have limited Chris Kaman and Baron Davis, there is merit to that notion.

But also consider this: Lakers, Spurs, Hornets, Nuggets, Suns, Mavericks, Rockets, Blazers and Jazz.

From the season's opening tip, this team was playoff toast. In the rush to land Davis, and amid the defection of Brand, this was never a well-balanced roster. Heck, Jason Williams and Ricky Davis were brought aboard from the 15-67 Heat.

Elgin Baylor would probably have been kept around if he didn't run out of frequent-flier miles to Secaucus.

Memphis Grizzlies: Is any team worse-positioned in sports than the Grizzlies?

They're really not that bad. O.J. Mayo could be Rookie of the Year. Rudy Gay could be Most Improved Player. Marc Gasol could be Gasol of the Year.

But there they are, stuck in the Southwest, with San Antonio, New Orleans, Dallas and Houston in the same division.

They're not only toast, they're the oversized bagel that you can't dislodge with the knife as the smoke alarms continues to shriek.

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