“They say we die twice. Once, when the breath leaves our body. And once, when the last person we know says our name.”
That was Al Pacino in the criminally-underrated 2012 release, Stand Up Guys. Pacino was talking to Christopher Walken, a friend and former colleague who he fears will soon kill him, per the request of their employer — a menacing, uncompromising mob boss played by Mark Margolis. That second part isn’t really germane to this column, but it feels like necessary context, nonetheless.
Like Pacino’s character, the Sixers will die twice in this 2019-2020 season.