After a dismal 3-13 start to the season the Philadelphia 76ers have been one of the NBA's hottest teams recently winning 12 of their last 16 games, the latest a 110-94 win over a depleted Detroit Pistons, to level their record at 29-29. The Sixers are 26-16 since their poor start and have compiled an impressive 19-9 record at home. While these numbers don't seem eye-popping on the surface one must consider that this team won only 27 games a year ago and have made no major acquisitions since.
Head coach Doug Collins will likely win the Coach of the Year award if the Sixers continue their strong play for the rest of the season as they could conceivably finish as high as the number 5 seed in the East (they are currently number 7). The team's success can be attributed to the revitalized play of Peekskill High's own Elton Brand (who is averaging 15 and 9 after being a major disappointment in his first 2 years), unselfish play from F Andre Iguodala who is thriving as a facilitator and the emergence of a bevy of young, blooming talent headlined by guards Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams as well as forwards Thaddeus Young and Marreese Speights. What's more is that they've done all of this without major contributions from last year's number 2 overall pick Evan Turner who has yet to develop his talent at the NBA level.
The Sixers seem to be getting better every game and currently sit only 1 game back to the New York Knicks who despite their addition of Carmelo Anthony lost to the 11-win Cleveland Cavaliers tonight. With 24 games remaining in the season they'll look to cement themselves in the 6 seed as they try to eat away at the 51/2 game lead the Atlanta Hawks have for the 5th spot. This team really isn't a contender this year but have a great outlook moving forward as they expect to finish the season over .500 for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
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