NBA Playoffs 2012: Can the 76ers Pull off Another Improbable Series Win?
Somehow, the Philadelphia 76ers are one of the final six remaining teams vying for the 2012 NBA Championship.
After a slightly above average 35-31 record in the regular season, the Sixers barely snuck into the playoffs as the East's No. 8 seed, and little was expected of them in the postseason.
Philly lacks a superstar (or even a star, really), and before the playoffs started, it's doubtful most casual fans could have named more than two or three players on the Sixers' roster.
However, once the playoffs began, Doug Collins got his team ready to play, and now they sit just one game away from the Eastern Conference Finals.
The 76ers caught a huge break when former MVP Derrick Rose went down with a season-ending injury early in their series with the top seeded Bulls, but even without Rose in the lineup, few expected the Sixers to knock off the team with the best record in the NBA.
After all, Chicago was 18-9 without Rose in the regular season, and they still had plenty of talent on their roster to play with. However, Philadelphia took over and dominated play, eventually winning the series in six games.
Behind the play of guys like Lou Williams, Spencer Hawes, Jrue Holliday, Evan Turner, Andre Igoudala and Elton Brand, the 76ers showed that even if you don't have all-stars on your team, you can be successful in the postseason with the right coach and a team that plays unselfishly with good team defense.
The series win was a shock to many but a treat to the Sixers fans who stuck with this young team all season long through their ups and downs. However, most expected the Cinderella story to end quickly in the conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics.
Boston was figuring to have one more run at a title—with its core group of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo—before they were disbanded, and many believed that getting the 76ers in the second round was a huge relief for an older Boston team that would need some rest before preparing for the conference finals.
However, once again Philly came to play. Last night with the Celtics up 3-2 in the series, Philly held home court once again with a 82-75 victory to force Game 7.
The win wasn't pretty—much like most of the Sixers' wins in the postseason—but it got the job done. Every time it looks like this young team is down and out, they keep battling back, making them truly a fun team to watch.
With my personal favorite team out of the playoffs, (R.I.P. Dallas 2012) I find myself drawn to the scrappiness and never-say-die attitude that the Sixers bring to the table. They failed to get the attention they deserved after knocking off the Bulls and still don't have it, despite their outstanding play in the Boston series.
Doug Collins deserves endless praise for what he has been able to get out of this roster, and I truly believe the team feels as though they can win not only this series but the NBA Championship.
Every night it seems the Sixers get a boost from a different player, and that's partially what makes it fun. This isn't the Miami Heat, where you know that 80 percent of the night's scoring is going to come from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. You don't know which player will step up on any particular night for Philadelphia.
Winning Game 7 in Boston against an experienced Celtics team will not be an easy task.
But nothing has come easy for the 76ers all season long, and yet they are just one win away from shocking the world once again.
