A MIRACLE? HARDLY.
Ever since the Sixers sat at 18-30 in January, something has changed. To pinpoint exactly what that ‘something’ is would be impossible. It’s doubtful that getting rid of Kyle Korver was the sole reason, and it’s probably unfair to say that the firing of Billy King and the bringing in of Ed Stefanski was the catalyst. No, the reason the Sixers turned it around it because they had a lot of players all get better at the same time, and pretty much at the same rate. That’s really the only reason I can think of. The team that stepped on the floor back in October is nothing like the one that beat the Pistons last night in Game 1.
In the first half of the season you had the still unproven Andre Iguodala stupidly turning down a contract that was going to pay him much more than he was worth. You had a point guard in Andre Miller who was too old, and your only hope for him was that he played well enough during the season to have good value in a trade, come deadline time. You had a glimmer of hope in Louis Williams as a point guard, but he would probably end up being on the bench most games, and was still too young to realistically invest any significant amount of faith into. You bring back Korver, a nice player off of the bench, but who would still always be the 4th or 5th best player on a slightly above average team and a guy who solely shot three pointers. You may have had a decent draft class, but you’ll have to wait a few years to see how that works out. You had Sammy Dalembert as your starting center. Enough said.
Now? Iguodala looks like a genius in turning down that contract, probably earned himself 10-20% more money, learned how to play great defense, and arguably catapulted himself into one of the top 25 players in the league. The scary thing is that he still has A LOT to improve upon. Andre Miller has turned into a top five point guard in the NBA, and, at 32 years old, looks like your guy for the next three years. The scary thing is he finally plays on a team that showcases his one talent that has never be truly utilized before. Scoring. Lou Williams is officially a stud and has shown you he has a brain and can rebound extremely well. Two plusses. The Korver trade not only got you a 1st round draft pick down the road (for free basically) but……it allowed some of the younger guys to get playing time. Thaddeus Young? Can you say “Thank you Billy King”? Reggie Evans? Fucking rebounding machine. Even Sammy gives you 18 and 10 every night, although still has a brain capacity of a turd sandwich. It’s like the stars have aligned.
So after all of this, after the huge turnaround, after actually getting fans to show up at your games, after beating some of the best teams in the NBA, what happens? You go 1-5 down the stretch (the one win against Detroit, ironically) and blow the chance to play a lesser team in the first round.
Didn’t matter. A ten point underdog going into Detroit, the Sixers pulled off a come from behind miracle that even Andre Iguodala couldn’t blow. They literally shocked the world. And as scary as it sounds, that is three straight wins against the Pistons. The thought of going into Philly against a red hot team and playing in front of a bloodthirsty crowd has all of a sudden got to be a little unnerving for the Pistons. The Pistons had chances to bury the Sixers last night, but they continued to miss easy shot after easy shot. I think the Pistons now know that it’s going to take a few more made open shots to fend off this Sixers team. They also need to take 4 of 6 against a team that has beaten them three straight. Slightly daunting if you ask me.
Teams that win Game 1 win the series 83% of the time. Do you believe yet? After everything I’ve seen this year, yes. A much hungrier and younger Sixers team in 6.
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