76ERS

The Philadelphia 76ers had made the playoffs for five consecutive years before missing the playoffs last season. The team went through quite a transitional phase while falling all the way to 33-49 at the end of the season. Head coach Larry Brown left the team to coach in Detroit before the start of last year and the team really couldn’t surround Allen Iverson with a legitimate second weapon that could do more than score. The team has made numerous big trades in recent years to try and find the right player but so far, no player has made the team a real threat to win the title. In 1999 and 2000, the team made it into the playoffs and lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals but in 2001, the team advanced all the way to the NBA Finals and even took a game from the mighty Los Angeles Lakers before falling in five games. The team finished 16 games under .500 to give them their worst finish since the 1998, the last year the team had missed the playoffs before last year. The team has a new coach in Jim O’Brien who coached the Boston Celtics before coming to Philadelphia.

Allen Iverson, also known as “The Answer”, hasn’t been able to get the team into the winner’s circle in previous years. In all fairness to him, he’s been forced to work alone, but his numbers would point towards a more successful team. Iverson finished last year averaging 26.4 ppg and 6.8 apg but he was only able to play in 48 of the team’s games. Iverson has a slashing style of play and he’s by no means the biggest body on the floor so he takes more than his share of hits on the court. It’s amazing his body has held up as well as it has over the years but last season saw him miss time because of various injuries. Last year, the team expected Glenn Robinson to provide some help in the form of scoring and rebounding and while Robinson didn’t play badly, the team got a huge contribution from Kenny Thomas who averaged better than 13 and 10 a night while playing in 74 games. The team traded starting point guard Eric Snow to the Cavaliers for Kevin Ollie and Kedrick Brown and also acquired Brian Skinner and Corliss Williamson in the off-season. The team’s biggest move might have come in the draft where they had the #9 pick in the first round. The team needed help at defense and athleticism and they were thrilled when they chose Andre Iguodala, a shooting guard and small forward from Arizona, who could be a starter this season. Iguodala isn’t the greatest shooter but he’s incredibly athletic and should work well with Iverson.

The Philadelphia 76ers will play this season in the Atlantic division along with the Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks, the New Jersey Nets, and the Toronto Raptors. The Nets have dominated the Eastern Conference in recent years but they look to be falling back a bit with the Knicks coming on strong. The Raptors and Celtics both made moves in the off-season to improve as a team but the Atlantic Division is quite open and could easily be won by any of the five teams. The 76ers realize they probably won’t be picked as the pre-season favorite to win the Atlantic division but they could make the playoffs and be competitive in a short series when the series is usually won by the team with the best player (i.e. Iverson). Iverson will lead the team this season but will likely have to play more point guard with Eric Snow now in Cleveland. Willie Green will start at shooting guard and Glenn Robinson will play small forward with Iguodala spelling each of them at times. The 76ers are hopeful that Kenny Thomas can continue his stellar play this season and the emergence of Samuel Dalembert in the paint last season meant that this team has its first shot blocker since the loss of Dikembe Mutumbo. Dalembert could be an all-star in the depleted East but the team will have to play together if they want to make it back to the playoffs this season.

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