The Philadelphia 76ers: The East's Sleeper?
I know what you're thinking.
"Sure, they have talent, they've always had talent—look where it gets them every year."
The Philadelphia 76ers have long been regarded as a team that always seem to center on the word, "potential." Problem is, they never seem to live up to expectations. Since their glorious run to the NBA Finals in 2000, the team has been largely cast away by their city, who were caught up in "Eagles" frenzy during the mid-2000's, and the unforgettable Phillies' runs in the last part of the decade.
The team desperately tried to satisfy its rabid fanbase, trying to find an ideal No. 2 guy for then star player Allen Iverson. Whether it was Keith Van Horn (a good player who was unfairly chastised wherever he went. He was a solid player off the bench who left the NBA too early), Glenn Robinson, or even Chris Webber, no experiment ever panned out. The result was usually a first-round exit to a much better opponent, or no playoffs at all.
Enter five years of drafting, firing coaches, trading, and one massive disappointment of a free agent signing in Elton Brand. Now, after all the chaos, the Sixers might just be this year's sleeper out East.
Hear me out. I know most are thinking the same thing. This team isn't going anywhere. Who cares if they got Evan Turner? He's exactly like Iguodala, they're still developing a very similar prospect in Thaddeus Young, and they just traded away the only menacing post presence they had in Samuel Dalembert. Right?
Not exactly all true.
It seems the team has finally landed on a coach who has the ability to turn this team around. Doug Collins has pulled all the right moves since coming to Philadelphia. Andre Iguodala was distraught because he was going to have yet another coach, but Collins decided to meet with his star player and ease his worries.
Elton Brand, disgusted over his recurring injury problems that he didn't know he packed when he left the LA area, also had a meeting with Collins who told him that he didn't have to be an All-Star player, just to get back to playing what Collins called "winning basketball."
I'll admit I wanted the Sixers to hire Avery Johnson originally, but I'm becoming a bigger fan of Collins as the summer rolls on. While he doesn't rank amongst the greats of coaches, he's a basketball encyclopedia. If you listened to any of his commentary on TNT, it's clear that the man just loves the game and is in awe of many of the NBA's players.
The Sixers also made the right decision in drafting Turner, who looks like he could pull off being Iguodala from both a playing and appearance standpoint. The Sixers have always had talent, they just have never had the right coaching to combine that talent into a powerhouse.
Sixers fans are tired of hiring and firing coaches, as well as mediocre or bad renditions of their team. Philly needs the sport of basketball to return. The stadium was electric whenever Iverson was lighting up teams, Aaron McKie was draining 3's in the corner off the bench, and solid role players like George Lynch and Tyrone Hill did what was required of them consistently.
Collins has a lot of weight resting on his aging shoulders. He has to teach Spencer Hawes to become a respectable post presence both offensively and defensively (Hawes has the....potential, to be a very, very good center in this league). He has to figure out how he's going to juggle his shooting guards and small forwards around, since he has plenty of talent to go around at those positions.
He has to instill confidence in Jrue Holiday that he can run this team, all at the ripe age of 20. Andre Iguodala needs to become a top 15 player in the league, Elton Brand has to just put up around 15 points and 10 rebounds a night for the season, Lou Williams must continue to be the spark-plug off the bench, and newcomer Andres Nocioni will have to bring some nastiness and aggressiveness whenever Collins calls his name.
Collins has proved to be a competent coach in the league before, but the Sixers might be his tallest order yet. He might not be able to do all of these things, but even if he does one or two of these things,the Sixers will be a better team than they have been the last few years.
You factor that in with a still weak Eastern Conference, and all the attention being focused on the super-team Miami Heat, the Sixers will again be under the radar all year. They probably won't be the team with the best record in the conference at the end of the year, but as I said in another article I posted on here, the NBA is all about who comes together at the right time and makes the biggest run.
You can bet that if this team makes the playoffs and attains a respectable seed and match-up that the mastermind Collins can exploit, they might just go a round or two more than expected. It all comes down to team chemistry, Collins introducing a winning brand of basketball back to the club, and a roaring fan-base back in the arena that made the 1999-2000 team such a special one.
