The Sixers defeated the Cavilers third string tonight. Hooray! It didn't even take them an overtime. Oh wait...
In all seriousness, it felt good to get back in the win column. In doing so, the Sixers racked up a few meaningless accomplishments.
- They finished with a better record and a better seed than last year.
- They avoided going into the playoffs with a seven-game losing streak.
- They managed to finish .500.
- They prevented the Cavs from tying the Celtics 40-1 home record.
Should we be proud? No, not really. The Sixers barely managed to beat a team with Darnell Jackson as their power forward. It'll be a different story if they accomplish these goals in the playoffs.
- Win at least two games.
- Avoid losing by double-digits.
- Give the fans something to be excited about next season.
As for the game itself, it went like this: The Sixers mailed in the first half, going into the locker room down 12. They came out in the third quarter, turned up the intensity on defense and crawled back into the game. Then, in 2008-2009 76ers' fashion, they allowed a game-tying three at the buzzer, forcing overtime. They iced the game in overtime with a ton of free throws and came out with a 'W'.
Injury update: Sam Dalembert missed the second half due to a right shoulder strain. I'm sure it was strictly pre-cautionary and he'll be back for the playoffs. If not, Theophilus is clearly a capable center as he showed tonight.
That's it. I can't believe the regular season's over. Now the fun begins. I'm 99.9999 percent sure the Sixers won't disappoint -- just a gut feeling. Take a couple days to prepare yourselves mentally and come back intensified. There's nothing better than the NBA playoffs.
Check back over the next 48 hours for previews galore.