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Around SBN: What If This Is It For The Celtics? End Of An Era Looming

Sixers Week 23 Power Rankings + Rookie Rankings

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John Hollinger, ESPN - 13th (6th in East)

Marc Stein, ESPN - 15th (6th in East)

Only the Thibodeau Bulls have improved more since last season than Doug Collins' Sixers. Yet the immediate focus in Philly, I'm afraid, has to be on the recent defensive slippage and iffy health (Iguodala and Lou Williams).

Hollinger Playoff Odds - 100% (projected 43-39)

Tom Ziller, SB Nation - 15th (6th in East)

Has Doug Collins sucked all he can out of the Sixers, or do they have another level to reach down deep into for the playoffs? Tuesday's game against potential first round opponent Boston could be a good test.

Kurt Helin, PBT - 13th (5th in East)

We've been saying they can scare one of the East elite in the first round, but only if Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams get healthy.

Star-divide

HoopsWorld - 14th (5th in East)

Suddenly the Knicks are challenging from below but the Sixers are a lock for either the sixth or seventh seed which means Miami or Boston.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com - 13th (5th in East)

The biggest difference between last year's 27-55 Sixers and this year's team is how well they defend the 3-point line. They ranked 30th in 3-point defense last season (39.3 percent) and third this season (33.7). Thaddeus Young had a big week, averaging 19.8 points on 59 percent shooting as Philly went 3-1.

Composite: 13.8 (5.5 in East)

Bonus: According to Basketball Reference's Wins Pythagorean the Sixers should be 44-33 instead of 40-37.

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Rookie Rankings: Evan Turner remains 13th in David Thorpe Rookie Rankings (ESPN).

Awful in summer league and early in the regular season, Turner is starting to look as though he'll end up being a pretty good player. It's been challenging for the second overall pick, who has had to adjust more than any other player in this class to learn how to play without the ball in his hands a lot, but he's been looking more comfortable now. Although consistency is still a problem for Turner, that's partially because both his minutes and his opportunities fluctuate from game to game. In March, he has seen as many as 28 minutes in a game and as few as four minutes. So it's no surprise to see he's gone scoreless in four games this month but also scoring 20 points in a fifth game.

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Has Thorpe watched Turner play? I’m curious.

Liberty Ballers / Ridiculous Upside / SBN Philly / Twitter

The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Michael Bourn

by Michael Levin on Apr 5, 2011 10:15 AM PDT reply actions  

but he’s been looking more comfortable now

Sixers’ bench has some comfy chairs.

'Things are more like today than they have ever been before." Gerald R. Ford

by nyunole on Apr 5, 2011 10:20 AM PDT up reply actions  

comfey chairs aside i just dont see his prodction among the cheerleading squad. he must work on making contact on high 5s or hell never become a mo speights

PHI "We Know Drama"

by DaaaBirdsDaBirds on Apr 5, 2011 10:24 AM PDT up reply actions  

Steve Nash runs a camp for it. I heard Doug is enrolling Evan.

Liberty Ballers / Ridiculous Upside / SBN Philly / Twitter

The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Michael Bourn

by Michael Levin on Apr 5, 2011 10:26 AM PDT up reply actions  

Yeah, I don’t expect his bench game to improve until after this Summer. Some time with Nash will definitely help…

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/15442/how-many-steve-nash-high-fives-per-game

by tk76 on Apr 5, 2011 10:57 AM PDT up reply actions  

good good what a relief. i really think with some of his shiftyness he can be great he just needs to drive to the handshake not let the handshake come to him pfft.

PHI "We Know Drama"

by DaaaBirdsDaBirds on Apr 5, 2011 10:31 AM PDT reply actions  

Marc Stein, ESPN:

Philly, I’m afraid, has to be on the recent defensive slippage

I hate when I have slippage.

by tk76 on Apr 5, 2011 10:58 AM PDT reply actions  

Most of these writers are still underestimating the Sixers and the changes they have made. I suppose it comes from having to cover every team, and then depend on statistics for their ranking, as opposed to watching the team play.

The team has maintained a winning record in spite of a difficult schedule and injuries. Never mind the losses to Utah and Milwaukee, how about the demolishing of Chicago and the defeat of Boston standing toe to toe?

The ones who say that Philadelphia will push the elite 4 in the Playoffs are closer to the mark. The caveat about injuries is legitimate, the Sixers will need Williams, Iguodala and Brand at the top of their potential and Doug should be focused on that.

Also, Boston is in free-fall and considering the on-again, off again relationship the Sixers have with the Celtics, I think a Sixer victory that knocks them out of the playoffs will signal the end of their heavy-spending run on the backs of old stars. Miami on the other hand, is a different matter since when LeBron and Wade go into BOSS mode, the Sixers fell apart and couldn’t handle the pressure.

This isn’t to say they can’t do better against Miami, but I’d like Miami to face another team like the Knicks first, who seem to have a way to beat them.

Based on the scoring differential for the Entire season, Philadelphia is ranked 12th in the league. Atlanta is ranked 16th. All the writers seem to consider Atlanta better, but this is clearly not the case. Philadelphia is 5th in the Eastern Conference behind Chicago, Boston, Orlando and Miami. It is only their poor start that has these writers fooled.

In the end it doesn’t matter, the Sixers are stronger than everyone thinks and they will show it in the playoffs.

by RickoT on Apr 5, 2011 11:38 AM PDT reply actions  

We r definitely the 5th best team in the conference. Couldn’t agree more. All the games we should’ve won..we’d b there now

by Matt3511 on Apr 5, 2011 3:15 PM PDT up reply actions  

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by anyw on Apr 13, 2011 12:52 AM PDT reply actions  

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