Philadelphia 76ers: Despite Early Struggles, Sixers Playing Strong Lately
After an uninspired start to the season, the Philadelphia 76ers now sit at seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Winning just two of their first 12 games, the 76ers now sit four games behind the Amar'e Stoudemire-led New York Knicks.
The team has been getting it done on both ends of the floor, and as a result they are winners of four of their last five games.
Offensively, Philadelphia is averaging 102.4 points per game in its last five contests. Defensively, it is allowing a mere 93.4 points per game. The 76ers 8.8 point average winning margin in these games comes as no secret, as finally, the supporting cast has stepped up to help Andre Iguodala.
In their most recent victory against a 28-19 Denver Nuggets team, players like Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young contributed positive minutes and made plays on both ends.
In the win, Turner had a team-high eight rebounds while dropping six assists and failing to turn the ball over at all. Young was active inside as well, grabbing seven rebounds to go along with 21 points on an impressive 10-of-12 shooting.
Iguodala, a player most considered as good as gone from Philly by the trade deadline, has been playing better than he has all season, as of late. In his last three games, Iguodala has averaged 17 points, 7.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and three steals, all well above his numbers this season.
Although there is much disgust with the team's play this season, they have picked up the slack, lately. Still in a somewhat awkward rebuilding process, Philadelphia fans may not be too pleased with the fact that there may be no lottery pick next season. If the wins keep coming, the team may likely even climb up to the sixth seed in the East come playoff time.
The next six games will be a significant stretch in the team's season, as two games come back-to-back against New York. In games five and six the 76ers will then face the likes of Dwight Howard and Tim Duncan as the Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs come to Philly.
Wednesday at 7:00 EST the 76ers go to New Jersey and take on a struggling Nets team at 14-34 on the year. Philadelphia looks for their third win of the season against the Nets, while the New Jersey hopes to break a two-game losing skid.
