Don’t Panic Yet On Sixers, They’re Headed In Right Direction

Before you push the panic button because the Philadelphia 76ers are 0-3 after one week of the young NBA season, take a step back, grab a tall glass of your favorite drink and partake.  Despite their lackluster record, the team is actually showing some signs of good things to come.

After watching this team battle Miami and Atlanta, two playoff caliber teams, while also playing Indiana tough, it is obvious that this team has talent. It is just as obvious that this team has a bright future as well. There’s not an urgent need to clean your glasses, you read that correctly, a bright future is upon us.

The Sixers have vastly improved on the defensive side of the ball. They have yet to surrender 100 points to any opponent yet. Meanwhile, that was something that they did twice in the first three games during the 2009-10 season.  The problem appears to be that they are unable to string together any consistency through an entire game of basketball.

Take the Miami and Atlanta games for example. In both games , Philly came out and matched their opponent’s intensity and actual play on the court during the first quarter. Surprisingly, they outscored both teams in the fourth quarter.

However , during the second quarter, the Sixers were outscored in both games (all three if you include the Indiana Pacers). So either the other teams are waking up at the start of the second quarter, or the Sixers are simply just a youthful squad that has yet to learn how to keep the intensity up throughout the entire game.

Although the first may be true sometimes, the majority of time is the latter of the two. So that’s where Doug Collins comes into play.

After a 99-86 defeat to the Indiana Pacers, Collins said `I told the guys after the game that there is not one guy in this room who has a winning record in the NBA as a pro. Are we going to change? That’s my job, to get it done.”

That’s an eerie stat when you think about it. Not one guy on the entire roster has a winning record as a pro. Wow!

Certainly, if Coach Collins, plans to change that he may want to look at this stat. The Sixers are tied for second to last for most free throws attempted per game (20 per game). That’s pitiful and means your team is settling for jump shots instead of attacking the basket and creating foul problems for their opponent. That’s not too bad if you have a team full of sharpshooters, but you’d have a better chance of finding a sharpshooter at a convention for the blind, than you would in a Sixers uniform.

Nevertheless , this is a marathon and anything is possible during an 82 game season. The most important thing during the season is playing time for the young guys and chemistry among the core guys.

As long as Collins keeps stimulating the development of the team, while not preventing any advancements like former Sixers Coach Eddie Jordan, this will be a good season. If not…well lets just say there will not be a winning season anytime during the next five seasons. Next up for the Sixers are the Washington Wizards, Pacers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

All three games are very winnable and should be just what this young team needs in order to get the ball rolling. Side note: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. the last time a Collins-coached club started 0-3 was during the 1995-96 season with the DetroitPistons. That team went on to win its next three games and finished with a 46-36 record