Sixers Grab Much-Needed Momentum Before All-Star Break

Prior to the commencement of the 2008/2009 season, the expectations for the youthful, energetic and impressive on paper Philadelphia 76ers were high.

The Sixers had finished the 2007/2008 season on fire, and with the signing of marquee free agent Elton Brand, who previously played for the Los Angeles Clippers and the drafting of the impressively long Marreese Speights, chatter began to swirl around NBA fanatics about a possible Eastern Conference Finals berth for the 76ers.

And expectations grew even higher during the Las Vegas Summer League. Fronted by second-year player Thaddeus Young and the aforementioned Marreese Speights, the Sixers posted a 3-1 record.

During the games held in Las Vegas, Young led the team in scoring with 19.5 points per game, with Speights leading them in rebounding at nearly 10 rebounds a game and adding 18 points per game to boot.

But when the season began, the Philadelphia team did not look very youthful, energetic, or impressive.

Marred by the inability to shoot the three-point shot, or the ability to play efficiently in the half court system, and catering to Brand, the 76ers began the season with a subpar 2-5 record.

Andre Iguodala, the team's previous season leading scorer, began the season shooting below 40 percent from the field, and hadn’t gotten his rhythm back until the most recent few months.

Brand, although beginning the first few games well, struggling to get a grip on the 76ers playing methods, slowly began the fall into being merely a role player on this team.

Thing didn’t get much better for them from then on, beginning a season of which seemed to be raveled with inconsistencies, namely, having two four game winning streaks, only to have two three game losing streaks.

With a 13-20 record to begin the New Year, the 76ers were sitting outside of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference.

Thing began to change for the Sixers and the Sixers faithful with an eight point home win on Jan. 6, 2009, vs. the Houston Rockets. The duo of Andre Iguodala and back up shooting guard Willie Green put major pressure on the oft-injured Tracy McGrady, holding him to 5 for 15 shooting (33 percent) and only 14 points.

Meanwhile, Iguodala came up big in that game, shooting 12-for-19 from the field (63 percent), for 28 points. He also chipped in three rebounds, three assists and four steals.

The 76er bench had one of their strongest games of the season, namely both Louis Williams and Speights, who both had 15-point games and shot over 50 percent from the field.

And since this game, the future of the club has began to look bright. They are currently on a 12-4 tear without Brand, who went down for the season with a shoulder injury.

Three of their losses during this run have been by a combined five points. The wins during this run included blowouts of the Atlanta Hawks, the Portland TrailBlazers, the San Antonio Spurs and two wins over the New York Knicks.

In the months of January and February, the 76ers have held their opponents under 100 points six times during their seven game winning streak.

Currently, their record stands at 27-24, only half a game behind the fifth-seeded Miami Heat, a team the 76ers beat only six days ago.

Since Brand's injury, Igudodala has finally began to assume leader roles for this team. Since moving to the small forward position, Iguodala has been on his own tear within the teams run, averaging 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, on excellent shooting, and smothering defense.

In the month of January alone, Iguodala put up numbers even the All-Stars would be jealous of, with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists along with 42 percent shooting from the three-point line.

But, it wasn’t all about Iguodala, as much as it was about his whole team upping their production to fill the seemingly large role left by the 6-foot-9 Brand.

In the last 20 games, point guard Andre Miller has averaged 18 points a game to go along with 6 and a half assists a game.

Like Iguodala, Miller has been shutting down opposing point guards, playing strong, hard-nosed defense, the kind that the 76ers were playing to complete the 2007/2008 NBA regular season.

The bench of the 76ers has also been much improved. Speights, an NBA rookie, has been averaging 11 points and four rebounds per game in his last 20 games.

He is also the rookie leader in John Hollinger’s PER statistic, which bases a players production in a per minute statistic. Speights PER currently stands at 21.06, within a few tenths of prominent NBA superstars Danny Granger and Kevin Durant, amongst countless others, and a full two-point lead over other NBA rookies such as Greg Oden, Kevin Love and Brook Lopez.

Not to be outdone by a rookie, Louis Williams has upped his ante also, averaging 14 points and five assists during the same period. To round out the rotation, players such as Theo Ratliff, Willie Green and Royal Ivey have also stepped up their game to fill the final minutes given out by the coach.

Each has played extraordinarily well in the minutes they have received. But, most impressive of all, has been Thaddeus Young, one year removed from his rookie season.

Young began the season leading the Philadelphia 76ers in scoring for a great portion of the season. His 16 points per game, shown through a variety of different ways, has shown his versatility and ability to create a shot for himself, something which was lacking from the other players of this ball club to begin the season.

As impressive as any of their individual numbers might be, the core of this team still believes in "team first" and has played that way.

Although they have no great defenders on the team, aside from specialist shot blocker, Theo Ratliff, who’s minutes are scarce as it is, the team ranks fifth in turnovers forced, with 18 forced turnovers per game.

Their heart and integrity have never been question, as they out-rebound their opponents by four rebounds per game, on average. And most importantly, during their last 20 games, they have been one of the leaders in point differential around the league, outscoring their opponent by nearly six points per game.

So finally, the 76ers are meeting the expectations placed upon them. With an amped up offensive system, and with smoldering defense, they have been placing a beating on their opponents.

This young team, barring any serious injuries to their rotation regulars, will be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.

www.nbadimensions.net

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?