On tonight's broadcast of Inside the NBA on TNT, the reserves for the upcoming NBA All-Star game will be announced. It's no secret that the Sixers haven't had a player named to one of these teams since some guy named Allen Iverson represented them.

This year is looking like it will turn out different for you beloved Sixer squad. They currently sit atop the Atlantic Divison over both the Boston Celtics and Jeremy Lin led New York Knicks and are percentage points behind Indiana for the third slot in the Eastern Conference. Every NBA fan knows that a winning team usually means all-star. While the Sixers might not have a statistical stud or someone that scores 20 points per game, they have the league's best perimeter defender and one of the best all-around players in Andre Iguodala. There have been years in the past where Iguodala probably deserved to make it but didn't because of the team's record. That excuse won't be made this year and the national media has been putting him on their theoretical rosters.

So folks, we ask you, from what you've seen of number 9 this year and considering the team's success, will tonight be the night that Mr. Iguodala is named to his first all-star team?

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! In case you didn't know, Super Bowl 46 will be played today in Indianapolis – a re-match of Super Bowl 42 between Tom Brady and the New England Patriots and Eli Manning and the New York Giants. Whether you're rooting for the Giants, Patriots or neither, there's no sporting event that brings America together like the Super Bowl. Parties, food, beer and 1400 inch TVs are a plenty, but the thing that makes the actual game enjoyable for every fan is gambling, assuming your 21+, of course!

Prop bets have become a staple on Super Bowl Sunday as people attempt to create artificial rooting interest in the biggest football game of the year. Among this year's absurd prop bets (found here) are: Will Kelly Clarkson's National Anthem be over or under 1 minute, 35 seconds, what color will the Gatorade bath be (clear is the favorite) and who will have more points, LeBron James (+1.5 against the Raptors) or Patriots in the game? (I may or may not have wagered on one of the aforementioned props).

To get in the spirit of Super Bowl Sunday I've conjured up five imaginary prop bets tying the Sixers to the Super Bowl. Feel free to imaginarily bet on these imaginary bets amongst yourselves.

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So the NBA All-Star Starters were announced last night and to no one's surprise, the world got it wrong. The only guy undeserving in the Eastern Conference is Carmelo Anthony by an overwhelming margin. He's been nothing short of terrible this season on both ends of the court. The other 4 are fine. For the West, it's a bit trickier. I probably wouldn't have had Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, or Andrew Bynum as starters. Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge and probably either Kyle Lowry or Danilo Gallinari are more statistically deserving. But it's a popularity contest and unless you want the Black Mamba dancing all over your face with knives, he's gonna start until he retires.

And now it's time to discuss the backups. The coaches get to pick 7 reserves on each side, so there's plenty of wiggle room for a Sixer to nudge in there. Boasting one of the best records in the league and a number of young talents, could this be the year the Sixers finally have their first All-Star since Allen Iverson? Who's it gonna be?

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While everything is sunshine, daisies, and lollipops for these current Sixers, it's never too early to look into the crystal ball to see your reflection what's next. With the offseason set to be here much quicker than any of us would like, there's a particular Old School Chevy whose future Rod Thorn will have to decide. Elton Brand and his $18 million contract will be expiring after the 2012-13 season and that's a pretty penny to pay a mediocre rebounder with a limited offensive game these days.

Another thing to think about: the Sixers could be big players in the free agent market this offseason. While it's not quite The Summer of 2013 we've been waiting for, there are a number of well-dressed gentlemen that figure to be moved at some point either this season or over the break that could be, shall we say, rather impactful (ahem, Dwight Howard). If the Sixers buy into the idea that the extremely impressive 12 games (only 323 minutes) from Spencer Hawes this season are a sign that he has turned the corner, then Elton is definitely expendable. Hawes would be overmatched defensively against quick 4's but with Thaddeus Young right behind him, they're pretty insured on the liability front.

The Amnesty Clause, for those who aren't familiar, allows a team to essentially waive one player that they signed before the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was passed. Teams with room under the salary cap would then be able to bid on said player, and the highest bid would net the player, with the amnestying team (in this case, the Sixers) paying the rest of the player's salary. It's basically a Get Out of Jail Free card for loaded contracts offered to teams who are looking for abortions on previously doled out monies.

While Elton certainly isn't the player he was back in his Clipper days, he's extremely valuable to this team, especially considering how thin/injured they are up front. He'd also have a fair amount of value on the bidding market. Amnestying him would certainly not tickle Doug Collins, a guy who fights for the value of his players, even when they aren't particularly valuable (see: Battie, Tony). But if a big signing is on the horizon, it's doubtful that Collins would object to it.

The other option is the Sixers could use Brand's fat expiring to attract teams looking to shed salary, picking up an expensive, big time piece that's not on the free agent market. Guys like Pau Gasol, David Lee, Emeka Okafor, and, natch, Amare Stoudemire come to mind. There's a lot the Sixers can do with the flexibility of Elton's expiring, I'm just worried that they'll let his value lapse by being indecisive due to any loyalties to Brand they may harbor.

After a win last night over the Magic in which it looked like the Sixers would hold Dwight Howard's team to under 60 points until a late surge, it seems like the right time to talk about just how phenomenal the Sixers defense has been over the first 21 games of the season.

They're easily the number one ranked defense in the league, locking down a defensive efficiency of 92.3. The league average is 99.8 and the first team behind the Sixers is the Eastern Conference leading Chicago Bulls at 94.6. That's not even close. Doug Collins' team has held offenses to under 80 points 7 times already this season, including three straight games. Opponents are only averaging 86.1 points against them, good for first in the league. The defense is the reason for all the 20+ point blowouts, all the points in transition, and mostly why they're sitting at 15-6 with nobody on the team averaging over 16 points per game.

With Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner locking down the wings, Jrue Holiday keeping better hold of his man up top, and the surprisingly terrific Spencer Hawes/Elton Brand/Nikola Vucevic trio down low, they've been able to mask the inefficiency of Jodie Meeks and Louis Williams and (to a pleasingly lesser extent) Thaddeus Young.

But are they this good? I mean, really. This is phenomenal. Can they sustain holding opponents to a 41.8% field goal percentage while shooting under 30% from beyond the arc? I don't have a clue. Through almost a third of the season, the Sixers have the best team defense in basketball, and that's without a dominant big man to back them up. That's damn impressive.

The Philadelphia 76ers are 14-6, tied for the fifth best record in the NBA, and sit atop the Atlantic Division, leading the second place Boston Celtics by four and half games. However; fans, analysts, writers, bloggers still question the team's legitimacy, and rightfully so. To this point, they've played the easiest schedule in the league (combined .398 winning percentage) and have exactly two wins against teams above .500 – the Hawks and Pacers.

The Sixers also 0-4 in games decided by seven points or less and 0-2 in overtime, so not only are they unproven against the league's elite, but they have yet to show the ability to win a close game.

Beginning tomorrow night when they host Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic, the Sixers will face eight teams (six at home) whose combined record is 102-59. That's good a .634 winning percentage, which would easily qualify as the NBA's most difficult schedule if sustained for a full season.

vs. Orlando

vs. Bulls

vs. Miami

@ Atlanta (back-to-back)

vs. Los Angeles Lakers

vs. San Antonio

vs. Los Angeles Clippers

@ Cleveland (back-to-back)

We'll have more on these games individually as they present themselves, but as of right now all eight of the Sixers' opponents are relatively healthy. San Antonio is without Manu Ginobli and Atlanta is without Al Horford, but they've been playing without them a while, and Jameer Nelson won't play tomorrow, but he's not very good anyway. It's unclear whether Nikola Vucevic will play in any of these games, but it sounds like Spencer Hawes – who's missed the last seven games – will try to give it a go tomorrow night.

Orlando will be playing the Sixers in the second of a back-to-back, as will the the Cavs, but the six other teams will be rested and healthy, so no excuses if the Sixers win.

I'm predicting an optimistic 5-3 record during this stretch. Anything more I'll be ecstatic, anything less I'll feel like "They are who we thought they were". There's going to be a few close games mixed in here and maybe even an overtime game or two, which makes me nervous. These are good teams, with good players and good records. Let's hope the Sixers are up for the challenge.

Buckle up kiddies, it's gonna get bumpy. I hope your seat on the bandwagon is secure, because in two weeks, after eight games, the basketball world will finally and definitively be able to answer the question, "Are the Philadelphia 76ers for real?"

Can't wait.

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Who doesn't like to win money? Have you ever seen a strapping young lad at a casino put all he's got on the 3rd 12 in roulette, come out with a victory, and frown like he's just lost his favorite WWF action figure? I didn't think so. Well, this same guy would be even more of a happy camper if he's bet on the Sixers to cover the spread all year.

Going into last night's game agains the Nets, the Sixers had a ridiculous record against the spread (ATS) of 13-4. They were unable to cover (or even win straight up), thereby putting their ATS record at 13-5. Despite the loss, the Sixers are still tied with the Nuggets for the league's best winning percentage ATS.

This stat is not surprising to me considering the amount of games they've blown the opposition out. When you consistently beat teams by 20+ points, chances are you're going to cover. Very rarely does a spread hit the 20 point margin and bettors behind the Sixers took advantage of this early on.

Is this streak sustainable, though? Like they normally do, Vegas will more than likely catch up and get the Sixers' ATS record back towards .500. The public will see that the Sixers are covering at this rate and assume that they can keep it up. This is exactly what Vegas wants. They'll start to inflate the lines on the Sixers, much like they do with public heavy teams like the Heat (8-10 ATS), Knicks (4-14 ATS), and Lakers (8-11 ATS) and take advantage of the Sixers' hot start.

If you've thrown money on the Sixers for the majority of the season so far, congratulations, you've made yourself a nice little profit. Always remember, Vegas catches up with itself so choose carefully from here on out.

Denver, Atlanta, Miami. That was the "tough stretch" Jordan wrote about early last week. Finally, after 13 games where the opponents winning percentage was a lowly .371, they'd play some actual competition. Now, we'd find out if this team really had some marbles or if they were pulling the wool over our eyes with deceiving teaminess. 79% of you voted that they would win at least two of those three games.

Well, you know what happened. A crushing overtime loss to Denver at the spiteful hands of Andre Miller kicked it off. Next, the the Hawks came to town and it looked like they were going to upend the Sixers as well before a second half hurricane came through and blew Atlanta out of the water. And then last night, in what was the toughest game scheduled, a road game in Miami on the second night of a back-to-back, the defense couldn't stop LeBron James and Chris Bosh, allowing them to pull away late in the third due to coaching miscues and frontcourt abandonment.

So where do we stand now? At 11-5, they have a commanding lead over the Atlantic, that much is certain. And with the 2nd place Knicks dealing with injuries and chemistry issues, a 5-game lead this early lets them breathe a little bit. But in terms of their place in the East come playoff time, have you gotten any indication that they could beat any of the better teams? Or does the record speak for itself and they're still legit? I'm just interested in what you think, considering that the only two teams over .500 the Sixers have beaten are the Al Horford-less Hawks and the Danny Granger-less Pacers. The next best team they defeated is the 6-9 Suns. Just something to think on...

The next stretch of games includes four straight TERRIBLE opponents at home. Anything short of winning each of those games would be a disappointment. Washington, New Jersey, Charlotte, Detroit. They are the four worst teams in the Eastern Conference with a combined record of 13-51, good for a .203 winning percentage. We'll have to wait until the brutal stretch immediately following that cakewalk, where they face Orlando, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, LA Lakers, San Antonio, and LA Clippers all in a row. Win 4 of those 7 games and we're talking about a team. Until then, they're just beating up on Girl Scouts, and that's not very nice.

On a completely different note, I would like you to read this article from our Milwaukee Bucks blog Brew Hoop. It's a beautifully written piece defending the author's fear that, in Brandon Jennings, the Bucks are investing their future in the wrong franchise guy. I'm begging you to read it and talk about it here, because it seems relevant or at least tangential to what we've been talking about for years. You don't have to write a book report on it, but let's talk about it over tea.