Neither the Utah Jazz nor the Philadelphia 76ers are happy with the way they've played lately.

The difference is, the Jazz are 16-7, the Sixers are 4-17.Where Utah has been able to win despite frequent lapses into inertia, Philly hasn't. The Sixers have already had 20 different players wear game jerseys. These two teams meet tonight at the Spectrum, exactly one year to the day from their meeting here last year (a Jazz victory), but the cast has changed considerably. Only three players who were on Philly's active roster last year at this time will be on the court Wednesday - Clarence Weatherspoon, Sharone Wright and Derrick Alston.

That's a lot of personnel turnover, as coach John Lucas tries desperately to find a group that will be productive, and it hasn't made for a lot of stability.

Where Jazz coach Jerry Sloan is contemplating a starting lineup change - "I'll probably change it a little. There's a good possibility," he said at Tuesday's practice - Lucas is constantly mulling roster changes.

Lucas has received dubious recognition for turning Philadelphia into the NBA's Halfway House, haven for troublemakers, substance abusers, and malcontents cut loose by previous teams. This year alone, he signed free agents Vern "Mad Max" Maxwell, who quit Houston during last spring's playoffs; Richard Dumas, a talented player who sat out most of two seasons while undergoing treatment for a drug problem; and traded for Derrick Coleman, the former Nets' headcase/power forward.

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Lucas' humanitarianism is praiseworthy, but his efforts have only been partially rewarded. An attempt to make Maxwell a point guard flopped, and he's shooting just 39.6 percent from the field. Dumas, described by one local sportswriter as "distant and detached," is averaging just 8.6 points, 3.4 rebounds per game. And Coleman has played in just three games as a Sixer and will miss the Jazz game (again) with a sprained ankle.

The latest Philly personnel "coups" are the signings of Scott Skiles and ex-Jazzman Mike Brown. Skiles has been heralded as the point guard they haven't had all season; Lucas termed him "one of the 10 or 15 best point guards in the league," which may be a slight exaggeration. And Brown, he of the thunderous dribble and equally earth-shattering fouls, has averaged 25 minutes in his two games as a Sixer.

One thing Lucas hopes Skiles will do is help the development of rookie Jerry Stackhouse. This year's No. 1 pick, Stackhouse started the season hot but cooled off as the Sixers crumbled.

"He gets frustrated, wants to be a big part of things, wants to put points up," ex-Jazzman Jeff Malone said of Stackhouse.

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