The game against the Warriors was the Sixers' third consecutive loss and encapsulated the problems they are going through. They got Aaron McKie back after he missed two games because of an irregular heartbeat, but even McKie could not spur a victory.

The Sixers' defense is lacking. Their ability to break a zone - which they are seeing more frequently now - is basically nonexistent, and the frustration, at 8-10 and 31/2 games behind New Jersey in the Eastern Conference yesterday, is reaching a peak.

McKie said late Wednesday he thought that a team meeting, players only, might be necessary. If the Sixers hope to repeat as champions of the East, this unsettling trend of losing to inferior opponents - Memphis on Sunday, and Golden State - has to stop.

"Not to take anything away from those guys, but we're losing to teams we should beat," McKie said. "These are the kinds of games that haunt you down the stretch of the season. You look at the conference, and teams they say are supposed to be winning are losing, losing games that they should be winning. So if we continue to go like that, it's going to be a struggle."