Well, they’re in. The Philadelphia 76ers are in the playoffs. They might not be there very long, and once they exit, their leading scorer might be leaving as well. But for now, all is well in the City of Brotherly Love. The Sixers won a game they were supposed to win, had to win, needed to win, pulling away for a 105-87 road victory over the shorthanded New Jersey Nets that clinched their second playoff berth in as many years under coach
Imagine how mad Doug Collins would have been had the Philadelphia 76ers lost. Collins was fined $15,000 for verbally abusing a referee as he left the Bankers Life Fieldhouse floor in Indianapolis on Saturday night – after his 76ers won, 109-106, in overtime. The fine was announced Monday by NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson. The Sixers held a three-point lead when Indiana’s Danny Granger missed a 3-pointer. There was some serious pushing and shoving underneath the basket, and Pacers
Sixteen days to glory. The title of Bud Greenspan’s documentary of the 1984 Olympics also is fitting for the NBA season, which has just 16 days remaining and a dozen playoff spots still up for grabs. For argument’s sake, we’re going to assume middle-of-the-packers Indiana, Boston, Atlanta and Orlando will eventually clinch berths in the Eastern Conference, while the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis will sew up spots in the West. All seven of those teams have fewer than 25
With 11 games left in the regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers can slice their Atlantic Division deficit in half on Sunday with a win over the division-leading Celtics in Boston. It could come down to a battle of the benches. Saturday, Ray Allen came off the bench for just the sixth time in his career and hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia’s leading scorer, Lou Williams (15.3 ppg), comes off the bench every game; and Saturday the Sixers were paced by
When the shortened season started and the Philadelphia 76ers came out blazing with a 20-9 record to lead the Atlantic Division, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind about the new direction Doug Collins and the team was headed. They had experienced a tough playoff run against the Miami Heat the previous season, and had looked to grow from the experience. It was, however, noted that they also had one of the easiest schedules to start the season. Looking back, they played the
This week, there was a groundswell for Kevin Love’s inclusion in the MVP conversation. Thanks for joining us in 2012, folks. Love should should have been in it months ago. We know all the names that already comprised the conversation – LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul – with Tony Parker and Dwight Howard on the periphery. Those six candidates differ from Love in two ways. 1. They all play on winning teams. 2. This season, they all couldn’t wash Love’s socks. Yes,
When both the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks got off to sputtering starts to their seasons, the Philadelphia 76ers gladly assumed the void at the top of the Atlantic Division, which simultaneously is the worst and most valuable division in the NBA. Despite opening with a five-game road trip, the 76ers grabbed first place before arriving home and held onto it like it was a winning lottery ticket. Since Dec. 28, Philadelphia has not been out of the top spot
There are a variety of ways to quantify a player’s worth to his team, with a myriad of variables with which to play. One way is by utilizing NBA.com/Stats’ PIE (Player Impact Estimate)*, which measures a player’s overall contribution to his team. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James leads the league in PIE at 23.2 percent, and is the lone player in the league with a PIE above 20 percent. James is on pace to set new career