Two is the Magic Number

After Lou Williams lifted the 76ers past Nets last nite. Their magic number is two. That's any combination of 76ers wins or Pacers losses will put the 76ers in the playoffs. With baseball wheeling around the corner and the 76ers losing two straight, I heard a few Philly fans looking over the side of the bandwagon for a soft place to land. The Suns game was a dud ... no doubt. But the Cavaliers game Sunday was a competitive game that someone had to lose. LeBron had a poor game the nite before in Detroit and he wasn't going down like that again. Especially at home. So you can't get down on them for losing a game when they had a shot at the end to win.



Now all the NBA talking heads are talking about the 76ers. But if you listen closely you will realize they know nothing about this team. Their 1st playoff game in years will be their first game on national television this season. So the "mainstream" media is playing catch-up. That means you'll start hearing about Iggy the rising star or Andre Miller the wily old vet having the best season of his career. Much of the news will be recycled like Dave Aldridge's piece today about Ed Stefanski's directive to Mo to "play the young guys". Honestly Dave ... how did you get your job back at the Inquirer with such soft reporting. What next? An all access look at Andre Igoudala's shoe collection?

The truth is the 76ers success has come out of now where ... and ... everywhere or at least from every spot on the roster. Its a team effort. Last nite its was Sweet Lou at the end of the game that put them head. Some nites its the dos Andres. Sometimes its Reggie Evans doing the dirty work or Rod Carney hitting the treys. And you have to give Slammin Sammy some props. But some nites its team defense like the wins over the Spurs and Celtics. In the Bulls comeback win it was free throws. It all comes down to good team play. The talking heads want to talk about the stars. Its the hangover from the Jordan days when an individual could carry the nations interest. But its has always been teams that win games. Even Jordan new that.

Wow ... the C's just beat the Pacers 92-77. The magic number is one. If they beat the Hawks Friday nite they are in the playoffs. Got your tickets yet?