With 14 games left in the regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers are tied with the New York Knicks (both teams have a .515 winning percentage) for the 6th seed in the East Conference. But do the Sixers have what it takes to outlast New York and hold on to the 6th seed?
Yes they do!
Hard to imagine that after the Knicks pulled off a blockbuster deal for Carmelo Anthony, that the Sixers would have a chance to finish with a better record than them. Well believe it.
Out of the 14 games remaining on Philly’s schedule, seven are against opponents with a .500 or better record, four of those seven games are at home. The Sixers have the fifth best home record in the East (22-11) and are 5-2 at home since the All-Star break.
If you look past the big names on New York, the Sixers have the advantage. How? Well for starters the Sixers are playing as one unit, unlike the Knicks who are still having trouble building team chemistry.
Second, the Knicks aren’t known for playing defense. In fact their head coach Mike D’Antoni is known for having teams that give up 100 points as easily as they score it. Although his teams are fun to watch, that system is flawed and doesn’t work. Defense wins championships and the Sixers only surrender 97.5 points per game (13th best in the NBA) as opposed to the Knicks who surrender 
106 ppg (second to last).
Lastly Doug Collins is a much better coach than D’Antoni. Not saying D’Antoni is a bad coach, but it’s hard to back a guy who doesn’t believe in playing defense. When is the last time a team had true success without playing defense? This is why I like the Sixers chances of catching and passing the Knicks.
True New York has the sexy names like Anthony and A’mare Stoudemire, but the Sixers have heart. They play top notch defense and are no longer a day off for opposing teams. They’re one of the up and coming teams in the NBA and will prove that during the remaining games.
The two teams will square off one more time this season on April 6th at the Wells Fargo Center. Most likely they’ll still be in the middle of a heated playoff race, and will show how big that game truly is.
*All stats are as of 3/17/11
Good article. I see the sixers possibly passing the knicks and taking over the 6th spot. One thing to keep in mind is that the two big acquisitions anthony and S.T.A.T both don’t like playing defense so they fit right in with a Dantoni team.
They are amazing scorers but defense isn’t something they excel at. The sixers on the other hand are a team that can score but can also play great team defense and they’re climbing the defensive ranks and being recognized league wide for it. They will most likely take over the 6th spot and will have a shot at the 5th too
Yes I agree. The Sixers are a TEAM and right now the Knicks aren’t. It’s very hard for any team to win without playing defense. Also you’re right, the way Atlanta is playing the Sixers have an outside chance at the 5th seed. But one step at a time