The Philadelphia 76ers

[AllSussedOut]

Sixers fans need to get a little realistic. The Bulls are not that good with Luol Deng, and they played without him vs. Philadelphia. This same Bulls team barely beat a truly horrible Knicks team the next night. The Bulls have 1 1/2 great players right now.

I like the Sixers and hope they keep building and getting better. But we're one month into a bizarre season. Remember what happened to the Nuggets last year - another team that was stocked with good players - but no star - playing team solid team basketball. And when push came to shove, nobody took over. Nobody strapped the team to their back. And they were shown the door by Durant and Westbrook.

They're getting there! Doug Collins is a great coach and there are good guys on the team and they're playing hard. But they've got a ways to go before they're real, unless "real" means making the playoffs.

Don't let the Philly Way - proclaiming the Eagles "Superbowl Bound" as soon as they're 2-0 - compromise what is a fun journey. Don't expect TOO much from them because they're just not there yet.

Tom.

I like considering this to be a "fun journey," as it will be interesting to see where this team goes in the next 2-3 years (arguably moreso than where they go in the next 2-3 months). 

And contrary to another vaguely Philadelphia tradition, I don't think that the fans are impatient with regard to this team... it's more a matter of genuine intrigue.  Given the last 3-5 seasons or so, that's a great thing.

[dovate]

This thread has confirmed everything I already thought. No matter what, they're fun to watch and playing better than I expected.

But... if they win tonight, I'm going to go just throw everything in and act all shocked and heartbroken when they lose. Greggulator is right about 00/01. They scrapped and fought through the playoffs while LA just swept everyone. When they went into LA and took game 1 in overtime, it was incredible. No one thought they'd actually win the series and of course they got swept after that, but that night was great!

I just found the game on youtube and rewatched the OT:

2001 NBA Finals: Sixers at Lakers, Gm 1 part 14/14

[Pregnant Pause]

I just found the game on youtube and rewatched the OT:

Even now, after a Phillies World Series, this is my favorite sports memory.  My prom was the same night as game 2, and about 80% of my class's dudes spent the first two hours in the lobby watching the game.  Must have been a great night for our dates. 

Those early 00s teams were fighting above their weight, but Billy King made so many terrible decisions to just totally destroy everything.  My friend and I still debate which was the worst Billy King move, my money is on Kenny Thomas extension for 7 years $50M.  This is the guy running the Nets, no wonder they are in the terlet

[Mr. Spacely]

I hate your stupid-dumb team, Philadelphia. You ruined my night. I had to eat half a bag of Ralphs-brand, generic "M&M" chocolate-chip cookies just to get back to my normal self.