Zealand (Played 133, Won 98, Lost 32, Drawn 3).Johnathan Thurston, Ca

This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Philadelphia 76ersOverall: 102 Title track: 85 Ownership: 101 Coaching: 71 Players: 93 Fan relations: 114 Affordability: 44 Stadium experience: 97 Bang for the buck: 116 Change from last year: -4But ... they trusted the process?! Third time wasnt the charm for Sam Hinkie, Philadelphias ill-fated general manager, who, after three seasons spent hoarding draft assets (and losses), resigned from his post in a blaze of 13-page-memo glory in April. As it turns out, 15 wins a season does not a happy front office -- or fan base -- make. Oh, sure, 76ers fans sent their beleaguered GM off on a wave of Thank you, Hinkie! chants after the team landed the No. 1 overall draft pick. But even the glow of Ben Simmons wasnt enough to rescue the Sixers from the Ultimate Standings gutter, where they ranked sub-90 one, two, three, four, five, SIX times. Team of the year!Whats goodThe Sixers stink, but you can see them for the bargain price of $68.54, the NBAs 12th-best rate in average cost per game! (Look, when a team has been as poor for as long as the 76ers have, any ranking in the top half of the league is ... not a bad thing.) Fans have mostly stayed home since The Tank -- Phillys overall attendance has ranked second-worst, worst and third-worst, respectively, since 2013-14 -- but those die-hards who still make their way to the Wells Fargo Center can at least do so without breaking their banks. The Sixers lone ranking that cracked the top 50 this year? Affordability.Whats badAlmost everything else. The 76ers dropped in all categories but ownership, affordability and stadium experience this year and proved egregiously unpopular when it came to fan relations and bang for the buck (third-worst in the NBA for both). Even a fiscally reasonable night out in South Philly, it seems, cant atone for the teams woeful showing on the scoreboard: Fans ranked the Sixers ability to consistently win more games than they lose as -- surprise -- worst in the NBA. The only two teams across all four sports to out-lose them? The San Diego Padres and Cleveland Browns.Whats NewThe city is running out of brotherly love for its promising, if still very young, crop of talent. It has been just three short months since the Sixers landed Simmons, their first No. 1 pick in 20 years, but the teams steepest shift in our rankings was its 20-slot tumble to No. 93 in players. That was before the news broke that yet another Sixer, this time Simmons, would miss significant time in his rookie season. The (potentially) good news? Check back in one years time. After two seasons sidelined by injury, Joel Embiid is finally set to take the court in Philadelphia, and Dario Saric will join him after making his way over from Turkey. 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As Australia and New Zealand prepare to resume hostilities in this weekends Four Nations rugby league final, history, form and the UBET odds all point heavily in favour of a Kangaroos victory.The Kiwis will be armed with a strong weapon though - albeit a weapon they would prefer not to have.Tragedy can invoke some very powerful emotions and in times of hardship, people are often inspired to achieve goals that may otherwise seem forlorn.The recent earthquake in New Zealand has shocked the world, especially the Kiwi rugby league team, but this will provide additional motivation as they attempt to lift their nations flagging spirits.?Former New Zealand captain Gary Freeman told ESPN that the tragedy is sure to provide added inspiration for the players but they must be able to handle it correctly.When you throw so much emotion into this game it can go against you, Freeman said.I think theyll be motivated more from last weeks poor performance against Scotland.The boys would know themselves that they can play better.It would seem that the Kiwis have little to be confident about heading into the game - they have already faced the Kangaroos on three occasions this year; losing all three, conceding 56 points and scoring just 14 across 240 minutes of football.I always remember an old coach of mine Warren Ryan saying, the more losses you have, the closer you are to your first win, Freeman said.This is the number one game, this is the game the Kiwis have to win and theyll have to step up to the mark.The Kiwis understand that a win over old rivals Australia will provide a small slice of happiness to the grief-stricken people in their homeland, but Freeman believes pride in their own performance will be motivation enough.I think theyll be motivated from last weeks poor performance against Scotland. The boys would know themselves that they can play better, Freeman told ESPN.As an ex-player, we drew some games and lost some games against opposition that we knew we shouldve beaten and the following week wed stood up to be counted.People only remember the last game and the only game theyre going to remember out of this whole tournament is this final game.Lewis Brown, Jordan Rapana and Joseph Tapine originate from the earthquake affected areas and although their families are safe and well, Freeman expects them to lead from the front for the Kiwis at Anfield.But the man affectionately known as Wiz believes the biggest advantage New Zealand have is psychological; the Kiwis have won on three of the past four occasions when meeting Australia in a final.However, sport doesnt always go to script and in what has been the year of the underdog, New Zealand will privately consider themselves a serious chance of reclaiming the Four Nations title.Absolutely, the Aussies will be trying to rectify, but if Ireland can beat the All Blacks then we can beat Australia. Freeman said.In reality, the Kiwis are probably fortunate just to be in the final - their only win of the tournament was a less than convincing one point victory in their opening match against England.New Zealand have limped into the final after an 18-all draw with minnows Scotland; an embarrassing result which was ultimately the difference between preparing for the final or preparing for a flight home.It wasnt their greatest match against Scotland, buut sometime that can lead you into a false sense of security when youre the Australian side, Freeman told ESPN.ddddddddddddave the Aussies peaked too early? Have they produced their best game one before the big one? Theyve done that previously.You have to remember, New Zealand are the world champions and they will stand up to be counted.In the Kangaroos camp though, confidence couldnt be higher; they have stormed into the final undefeated and racked up an impressive 104 points while conceding just 38; but Freeman pointed out that it will mean absolutely nothing unless they come out on top in the final 80 minutes of the tournament.It doesnt really matter whats happened before. Its whats going to happen this weekend, Freeman said.All of the people back home in New Zealand will be up watching so theres a lot on the line for our boys; theres a lot on the line in this game.A strong start is vital to New Zealands chances and how they harness their emotions in the opening 20 minutes could prove decisive in the outcome of the match.New Zealand captain Jesse Bromwich identified the 2013 World Cup final as an example of why it is so important for his side to be on their game from the opening whistle.Australia ambushed the Kiwis on that occasion by jumping out to a healthy halftime advantage before going on with the job in the second half to thrash New Zealand 34-2 at Old Trafford.If theres anything weve learned, its probably about our start. They came out really hard there, blew us off the park really early and we just couldnt find our feet after that, New Zealand captain Jesse Bromwich said.Its a big ask against Australia, theyve got a very big forward pack. But its something weve been working on, and hopefully we can show that on Sunday.Australia Kangaroos: TBANew Zealand Kiwis: TBAVenue:?Anfield, LiverpoolKick-off: 1.30am AEDT, Monday 21st November, 2016.Key Stats:New Zealand have won three of the last four tournament finals when playing Australia. (2008 World Cup, 2010, 2014 Four Nations)Australia have a 74 percent winning record against New Zealand (Played 133, Won 98, Lost 32, Drawn 3).Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Greg Inglis are unbeaten on UK soil in?14 Tests.UBET verdict:$1.25 Australia, $4.00 New ZealandAustralia has been the standout team in the 2016 Four Nations tournament and will deservedly start heavy favourites to regain the title and rugby leagues world number one ranking from New Zealand.But despite advancing to the Anfield showpiece undefeated, Mal Meninga and his men will know that the campaign will be considered a monumental failure if they dont finish the job this weekend.Everything points to a Kangaroos victory but favourtism brings a degree of pressure and they will also have their hands full dealing dealing with an emotion-charged Kiwi side motivated by the recent earthquake tragedy in New Zealand.The Kangaroos should still have too much skill and class for the Kiwis but this encounter promises to be the most even contest of the previous three theyve already played this year.Weather:?Liverpool is expecting scattered showers throughout the day with a temperature of 6 degrees for kick-off.Prediction:?Australia by 8. 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