The 76ers Are Out To Prove They're For Real

Basketball is officially back in Philadelphia as the 76ers have begun this year with their best start to a season since the 2000-01 campaign when the reached the NBA Finals (losing to the Lakers who were in the midst of a 3-peat) thanks to an MVP season by SG Allen Iverson. The Sixers have wallowed in mediocrity for most of the past 10 years but may have caught fire under coach Doug Collins who engineered a stellar second half of the season last year to make the playoffs and the team appears to have greatly improved in this season.

The Sixers raced out to a 14-6 record to begin the season but have mostly flown under the radar because they have faced one of the weakest schedules in the NBA. That all changed this week as the began a brutal 7-game stretch against Orlando, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, LA Lakers, San Antonio and the LA Clippers. The Sixers know they have a chance to define their team's identity during the stretch and have not disappointed in the early going.

Philadelphia has thrived on their hustle and unrelenting defense combined with startlingly unselfish offense to stifle opponents with a balanced, athletic and deep attack. That stingy D was on full display Monday night against the Orlando Magic as they won a physical battle 74-69 that was not nearly as close as the final score indicated. The Magic were held under 50 points midway through the 4th Quarter and the game was all but wrapped up before Orlando's bench was able to rattle off a string on 3-pointers to close the gap to a respectable margin. Coach Collins was not happy with his team's soft effort to close out the game and that message must have gotten through Wednesday against the East-Leading Chicago Bulls.

In their biggest game of the season the Sixers again answered the bell lead by SF Andre Iguodala. Iguodala had 19 pts, 9 boards and 4 ast and delivered a handful of highlight-reel plays that energized the crowd and helped Philadelphia maintain the early lead their defense had helped them build. This team is young and more importantly deep which has made them one of the best second half teams in the league. This was on full display against the Bulls and the Sixers and Iguodala came out firing and turned a 5-point halftime lead into a 20-point advantage at the end of the 3rd. The Bulls were held to only 11 points in the 3rd and went only 3-16 from the field as a team during the quarter. Collins' team did not let up this time as they were able to answer every run the Bulls tried to make in the 4th and never let their lead get below 12.

Philadelphia, now 2-0 during the 7-game test, will host LeBron James and the Miami Heat on Friday night with a chance to make an even bigger statement than they did on Wednesday. For the first time in a decade this really could be a team to reckon with. Clap your hands!