Your 1st Place Philadelphia 76ers

Power Rankings: Number 1

If you check it out today (1/11/12), Hollinger's Power Rankings (ever changing) have the Philadelphia 76ers, void of any superstar, ahead of the vaunted Miami Heat (overflowing with superstars). This is likely based on the fact that they have the highest margin of victory of any team in the NBA and that their 2 losses have both come on the road to Portland (7-2) & Utah (5-3). This team will not finish the year ranked number 1 in the power rankings, but they are showing that they are absolutely for real.

Me Ball v. We Ball

The Sixers don’t have a superstar. Philly fans would have loved to sit here today and tell you that Elton Brand has anchored their low-post and been the superstar he was in L.A., but they can’t. They’d love to tell you that Andre Iguodala matured into a superstar, but they can’t. Heck they’d love to tell you that Evan Turner is going to take over the league, but they can’t (although he is looking like he’s turning a corner).

So what CAN Philadelphia fans tell you?

They can tell you they have Lou Williams, the second highest scorer coming off any bench in the NBA (2^nd to James Harden in OKC). They can tell you they have “misfit” Thad Young who was told that he doesn’t fit at any position, but somehow he makes plays on both ends and hustles more than just about every other player in the league. They can tell you that Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand may not be superstars, but they have ACCEPTED that (which most ‘should-be-stars’ cannot do) and are playing off the youth around them. They can tell you that Jrue Holiday just may be the next big PG in a league that is starting to get dominated by PGs. They can tell you that Spencer Hawes is endearing himself as one of the best centers Philly has had since they traded for the finger-waving Dikembe from Atlanta. They can tell you they have a deep bench, a hard-nosed Head Coach, and a new CEO that loves to tweet (@SixersCEOAdam). Folks, I know we’ve been trained to dismiss teams that don’t have superstars as being “medicore at best”, but don’t do that with this Sixers team. Do yourself a favor and watch them play. They play a fun brand of basketball dubbed “WE-ball”. It’s a different guy every night, making it impossible to prepare for any specific player, and they run a legit 8 deep making them hard to defend throughout a shortened, compact season.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you they are going to play nearly .800 ball for the rest of the season. They won’t. They have a real tough schedule in February, and they have been turning the ball over at an EXTREMELY low rate – bound to regress to the mean at some point, but this team will be there vying for the Atlantic Division title and home-court in the first round of the playoffs. This could be the first Sixers team in a few years to make it past the 1^st round and get Philly back into being a basketball town (currently only bringing in 9,000 fans a night).

The Future

While I don’t see them competing for an NBA title this year, this team is a move away from doing so. They still possess their amnesty clause and could use it on Elton Brand’s contract in order to dump his huge salary and make a big free agent signing in the Summer of ’12. They are young (most of core under 25 years of age), they play good defense, and they have multiple scorers in the 4^th qtr that can take over a game.

I’ll say it again. This team is fun to watch. It’s a WE-Ball brand of basketball and it’s working. They are 7-2 and have multiple 20 point wins. They are number 1 in point differential, offensive and defensive efficiency (according to Hollinger’s rankings), showing that they are getting it done on both ends of the floor. If you can get out there, go to the Wells Fargo Center, if you see them on League Pass, watch them, and if they pop up on ESPN/TNT, sit back, relax, and watch one of the best young teams in the league.

Show ya luv, Philly, basketball is back in Philadelphia!