| Lottery Lock Or… Playoff Bound? Authored by David Mintz - March 11, 2007 - 4:43 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
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And then something clicked.
Now the Sixers are climbing the Eastern Conference standings, winners of seven in a row. Not even the most optimistic of Sixer fans could have predicted such a turn of events. Sacramento came to town with former Sixers John Salmons, Kenny Thomas, and Corliss Williamson, and the Sixers stopped the losing streak with an 89-82 win. Phoenix had an opportunity to become the first team ever to sweep the opposite conference on the road. The Sixers, who have the distinction of winning all but one road game against the other conference in the 1982-83 season, turned back the Suns, 99-94. The Suns were without Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw, but the Sixers gained momentum from the victory.
The Sixers are now 5-0 in March after completing an undefeated homestand and beating the depleted Pacers. Even when the Sixers were losing, they were playing hard and together. Now their effort and camaraderie have paid off as they look toward the playoffs. At 25-38, the team is still a long shot. Orlando, New York, and New Jersey stand in the way. However, none of those three teams are lighting the NBA on fire. Meanwhile, the Sixers are the third hottest team right now behind the Mavericks and Spurs.
Andre Iguodala has played at an All-Star caliber level in March, averaging 26 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists and outplaying Kobe Bryant last Friday. Samuel Dalembert averaged 12 rebounds per game in February and has increased that to 13 rebounds per game in March with 16- and 20-rebound outbursts last week. Willie Green stepped into the starting lineup, due to Rodney Carney’s rotator cuff injury, and has provided a much needed lift with his 46% shooting. Kyle Korver has made 14 of 25 three-pointers in March to give the Sixers some scoring punch off the bench.
This week the Sixers play at Atlanta and against Chicago and Utah in the Wachovia Center. While all of these games are winnable, they are also potentially losable. Given the team’s recent success, a win over Atlanta without Joe Johnson would seem to be a distinct possibility. A split in the latter two games would give the Sixers a successful 2-1 week.
One problem with making the playoffs is that the Sixers would lose their draft pick unless they are the very worst team in the playoffs record-wise. Because the pick is top 15 protected, a finish better than that would move the pick to Golden State. An eight-seed has only beaten a first-seed one time when the Denver Nuggets upset the Seattle Supersonics more than a decade ago. However, a hot Sixers team would be one that no playoff team would want to face.
A playoff upset victory over the Detroit Pistons would add irony to this already tumultuous season. Sixer fans would rejoice with a win over the Pistons, who signed Webber after his contract was bought out by the Sixers. If the Nuggets are to continue to stumble and the Clippers and Golden State Warriors knock them from their playoff perch, and Iverson has to watch the playoffs from home, it would only add to the irony of the situation. Iverson was supposedly traded to a contender in the Nuggets, but they have yet to be able to play as a team consistently. If the Nuggets enter the lottery, it would give the Sixers two shots at a top three pick, as the Nuggets pick traded to the Sixers in the Iverson trade is top one protected.
Sounds bizarre or even unthinkable, doesn’t it? Perhaps. But then again, so does an 18-38 team winning seven straight games. Maybe it is a long shot. But stranger things have happened. |
