Sixers Will Make The Finals. Fact.

Trust me on this one, the ESPN NBA Playoff Predictor never lies. Sixers = Eastern Conference Champions. Especially when it only take 87 tries to make this happen. Like I've always said, 87th try is the charm.

PS - By the way, in this predictor the Grizzlies seem to beat the Lakers like 50% of the time. ESPN must know something we don't know.

PPS - Don't ask me what happens in the Finals simulation. There's a reason I'm not showing a picture of that.

PPPS - I highly recommend not wasting a half hour of your life doing this. Not exactly the most rewarding way to spend your time. Or. Is. It?

PPPPS - Cliff Lee.

THE HEAT IS ON

On Friday the 49-22 Miami Heat host the 37-34 Philadelphia 76ers in what could be a playoff preview.

Going into their third regular season matchup The Heat are up 2-nothing on the Sixers, but this time of year it's all about playoff seeding. Right now Miami holds the 3-seed sitting 2 1/2 back the first place Chicago Bulls and 1 1/2 behind the Boston Celtics. The Sixers are currently holding the 6th seed.

If the playoffs started on Friday this would be Game 1.

Yes, We Have A Good Basketball Team

[SI.com] The Sixers are an East-best-tying 12-4 over the last 16 games, they are arguably the deepest team in the conference and they have a versatile shutdown defender in Andre Iguodala, who also has performed with the command and efficiency of a point guard since coach Doug Collins flipped him the keys to the offense last month. The center tandem of Spencer Hawes and Marreese Speights is the weak link in the rotation, but the length and quickness of their wing and perimeter players (including Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner, as well as Iguodala) often compensates. Everyone gets out in transition -- their controlled, three-quarter-speed fast break is superb -- and their interior passing is a real advantage against weak defenses, as Golden State discovered Sunday. If the trends continue -- the Heat, Hawks and Magic fragile, the Sixers steadily improving -- Philadelphia could become a first-round dark horse.

Folks, this team is officially good. No, they aren't great, but they don't have to be. As SI.com writer Britt Robson says above, there isn't a team in the East that wants to play them right now. They are deep (they seem to consistently have at least six guys in double figures each night) and are playing the kind of team basketball that isn't flashy but sure is effective. Our ballers are 14-4 in their last 18 games, including victories against playoffs teams like the Spurs, Knicks, Hawks and Nuggets. And while the fans haven't necessary come back yet, as the John Smallwood pointed out today, they will if this keeps up. Philadelphia doesn't want flash, we want winners. If the Sixers keep this up, especially in their next two games against the Thunder and Celtics, people will notice.

They'd be silly not to.

[photo courtesy Michael Conroy/AP]

Two-Part-Giant-Sized-Mega-Colossal Podcast!

We have a very particular set of skills that makes us mildly entertaining for people like you.

In part 1: Our take on the NBA trade deadline

In part 2: We call Wetz to talk Brian Wilson, Phillies, and Fantasy Baseball. Then we call Maurice for a little Jeffrey Lurie Oscar discussion, an intense review of Angelina Jolie's career, and some other randomness.

(Note: we aren't the most technologically savvy people so we're still working out the kinks. Phone calls may be a little fuzzy, and I have no idea if the 1 speaker issue has been resolved. Nonetheless, give it a listen and enjoy)

Part 1
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Part 2
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Should We Be Celebrating a .500 Team?

By TWW friend 'Anonymous'

Hell yes, we should! How's Lou Williams' nuts taste??  Party at the Moon Tower! Alright, alright, alrighhhht. The Sixers are the best team in the NBA. Forget that 3-13 start, that was weeks ago muthafucka, I'm partyin'! Over the last 43 games, the Sixers are 27-16. That's a winning percentage of .628, which is top 5 in the NBA. They've had three straight winning months for the first time since 2001. ESPN has us ranked 8th in the power rankings, while the New York Knicks aren't even in the top 15! So, suck on that!

The Sixers are a really good team all of a sudden. I can't stress the word "team" enough (even with italics and accent marks) they are playing inspired, unselfish basketball. Sucker-free, if you will. Iggy has finally stopped going Jackie Moon, and bought into a NBA scheme. During the 9-3 February campaign, Iguodala has never been the leading scorer, not once. Elton Brand is playing extremely well, Thad Young and Lou Williams are great bench players, and Evan Turner is starting to get used to his Avatar body.

They are holding it down at home, with a 19-9 record- which is comparable with big time West contender, OKC's 20-9 home record. Playing great at home is very important during the playoffs, which leads me to believe that we can catch the Hawks and beat Orlando in a first round series. In order to do that, the Sixers are going to have to continue playing defensive basketball. They are 2-17 when the opposition scores 100+ points, and that's no good, cause playoff teams score mad points.

500 might not be something to celebrate in Juggernaut Town, but here in Philly, we've seen where this team was, and how they've grown into a competitive team without any superstars, and we appreciate hard work and diligence around here. I'm damn proud of the Sixers and how far they've come this year.

GO SIXERS!

[pic Via AP]

Let's All Laugh At The Knicks

This boxscore was amusing when I went to bed last night, and it's still laughable this morning. I don't wanna here "They haven't even been playing together for a week yet, give them a break." That's loser talk. The Cavs are pathetic. A team with a roster makeup of the Knicks should win this game on sheer talent alone. That would be like he Sixers losing to a team who hates their coach and only had six available players. Only difference is that Coach of the Year Doug Collins wouldn't allow that shit to go down. In the words of coked out Charlie Sheen: WINNING.

We Have Melo! And Amare! And...Some Other Guys!

First off, let me begin this by saying I’m a fan of what the Knicks did. If you have a chance to acquire a top 10 (or 15) player, and pair him with another top 10 (or 15) player, you have to do it. When Melo is dropping 35 on Miami on Sunday, nobody in NYC is gonna miss Wilson Chandler or Danilo.

HOWEVER, the Knicks still aren’t that great. Yes, this gives them a base that could potentially be great over the next few years, but as of right now they really aren’t much of a threat (outside of taking one of the East’s contenders to 6 games in the first round) to win anything this year.

“But Dave,” you drunk-as-shit-happy-as-fuck Knicks fan might say, “We got Chaunce too. And Melo will own the Garden. You don’t know shit, we owned the Bulls twice AND we beat the Heat. Eastern Conference Finals, here we come! Bitch.”

Bitch, I'd respond with the quick fact that the Knicks only have three good players now. And remember defense? Yea, the Knicks don’t play any. Melo isn’t exactly a defensive force, and Amare basically blocks a few shots and that’s it. I mean, I'm a Billups fan and everything, but that guy isn’t guarding Rondo, Rose or Nelson in the playoffs, trust me. Over a seven game series the Knicks aren’t stopping Wade/LeBron/Bosh, Garnett/Rondo/Pierce/Allen or Rose/Boozer/Noah/Deng. It’s just not happening. Sure, they can catch fire from the three for a game or two…but remember they just traded Gallinari, Chandler AND Felton, who accounted for 5-threes per game at about 34% shooting. Sure Melo and Billups probably can make most of that up, but there isn’t the depth of 3-point shooting anymore. While the Knicks will still score a TON, how they score will need to change (Billups isn't a pass-first PG, which this offense is predicated on). It's definitely going to take some time. Again, I’m not saying this trade shouldn’t have happened, but it doesn’t exactly leave the Knicks as a true contender. Certainly more interesting, just really not that scary...yet.

If you don’t believe me check this link out. This guy knows a whole lot more than I do, and says it in a whole lot better way than I can. Long story short? Melo and Amare ain’t a perfect marriage…not like Cliff Lee and Phillies.

But don’t worry New York, we got your back. Our 76ers will be out in the first round too. Shared pain, baby. Shared pain.

Doug Collins is Abe Lincoln

A day after knocking down the San Antonio Spurs at home the Sixers continued their winning ways by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night by a score of 107-87.

And Doug Collins has now become Abe Lincoln.

"Did you say Hey Blinkin'?"

The Sixers improved to 26-28 on the season after toppling the 13-41 T'Wolves. Despite facing a less-lofty challenge as the night before, Doug Collins knew he couldn't let his squad rest easy on Kevin Love and his wolf-pack. "I don't know if we could've won this game earlier in the year after a big win," Collins told the media after the game. "I used an Abe Lincoln line before the game … Abe Lincoln always said you don't judge a man in adversity, everybody's humble then, you judge him when you give him power."

On face value Collins is talking about maintaining his team's determination following the win over the Spurs ... but he also could be speaking of himself. If he keeps flashing that humble smile after every win he'll finish the season by resting his top hat on the Coach of the Year Award.

The Sixers' next hairy match-up comes in the form of The Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. It won't be long before the All Star Break, and then we'll see who's left holding the reigns.

Andre IguoDEFENSE

A few weeks ago 76ers GM Rod Thorn was quoted as saying that Iguodala was the Darrelle Revis of the NBA. He’s crazy, right? Crazy like a fox.

In the Sixers victory against the league best San Antonio Spurs, Iguodala dominated. He was 2 of 15 for 7 points. Still, I stand by my statement. Iguodala made at least 5 or 6 amazing plays on the defensive end against Richard Jefferson and Manu Ginobili. The same Manu Ginobili that has entered himself into the MVP discussion this season. Is Manu the only All-Star Iguodala has locked down this year? Hardly.

A week earlier I watched Iguodala shut down Carmelo Anthony. Melo managed only 12 points on 3 of 12 shooting, and was clearly frustrated throughout the game. You might be thinking Carmelo has checked out from the Nuggets, but this is the same Carmelo Anthony that has averaged 33.4 ppg in the 7 games since playing the Sixers.

Back in late December, in a loss at Boston, Paul Pierce (Iguodala’s main assignment in games against the Celtics) went 4 of 15 for 11 points. The same Paul Pierce that’s name happens to be Paul Pierce.

Then, there’s Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba. Surely, my case for Iguodala fails when you check the box score from December 31^st and see that Kobe dropped 33 on the Sixers. Wait…what’s that? Iguodala didn’t play in that game? Nope. But in the one game Iggy played against Bryant this year, Mr. Mamba scored a grand total of 9 points.

Is this a small sample size? Kinda. But those guys are all All-Stars this year. Joe Johnson, another All-Star, has averaged 14ppg in two games against the Sixers this year. Kevin Durant did score 33 on the Sixers, BUT…you guessed it, Iguodala was out. The only perimeter All-Stars this year that have good numbers against the Sixers (w/ a healthy Iguodala) are Ray Allen, Lebron, and D-Wade. Hold on, are you telling me Lebron shot a combined 10 of 27 in two games against Iguodala? Yep. Well, Iguodala doesn’t typically guard Ray Allen or D-Wade (See Pierce, Paul and James, Lebron).

If you recall, one of my hopes for this season was for Iguodala to embrace the shut-down defender role that he played on the FIBA World Championships team. There’s a good chance that he won’t find himself on either of the All-Defensive teams at the end of the season, because voting for those teams is like Gold Glove voting in baseball. However, if he continues to play like this against the NBA’s best, it’s going to be hard to talk about the best defenders in the NBA without putting Iguodala in the discussion.

Jrue = Hot, Turner = Not

7.4, 40%. 4.5, 2.0. I think we are all aware this season hasn't gone as well as it could have for Evan Turner. A player that was touted as the most "NBA ready" in the draft has done very little to impress besides the occasional flash. If you wrote the perfect story for how a rookie year should go, and then scrapped that story and wrote the opposite...you'd have the story of Turner's season.

Well, today, it got a little worse for our #2 muppet pick. The NBA released the rosters for the 2011 Rookie Challenge, and Mr. Turner wasn't on it. Seriously, he hasn't even been one of the best NINE ROOKIES. Sure, if you told me someone like John Wall or DeMarcus Cousins would have a better year than Turner I wouldn't have been surprised. But Greg Monroe? Landry Fields? Gary Neal? UGH. Evan Turner, how bout you stop sucking. LIKE. RIGHT. NOW.

On a good note, Jrue Holiday made the sophomore team. I have a feeling that it's only a matter of time before he's playing in the real game...so at least we've got that going for us, which is nice.

[NBA.com]

The Sixers Would Like You To Sit On Deez Nuts

By TWW friend Eric

76ers Community Assist is a program where players, coaches, season ticket holders, and businesses donate tickets for youth groups to attend games. The Sixers get to fill up some empty seats, the kids get to see a free game, and absolutely nothing funny happens...until they decided to create names for the groups based on the player that donates the tickets. For instance, there is Mo-Reese's Pieces for Marreese Speights, Jrue's Dream Team for Jrue Holiday, and LouWillVille for Lou Williams. Every player has one...even Darius Songalia. The name for his group? You guessed it: D's Nut House. Section 211 of the Wells Fargo Center has a 20-foot banner that says "D'S NUT HOUSE". The jokes write themselves really.

"Come on down to D's Nut House. You haven't had nuts until you've had D's Nuts."

[please excuse my shitty camera quality]

Now All We Need Are Some Starters

Sixers win their third straight.

Sixers Already Won Two More Home Games Than All Of Last Season

Depressed Fan - Consider this. In the first 20 days of the season, the Sixers played five home games. One win over Indiana and four losses to Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland and Toronto. A 1-4 start at home with two losses to sub-.500 teams. Since that Toronto loss, the Sixers are 13-3 at the WFC. The three losses were a one-point game vs. the Celtics, a 12-point loss to the Lakers (which they led after three quarters), and a blip. The Pacers beat the Sixers in Iguodala's first game back from injury. Of the 13 wins, the Sixers have beaten Chicago, Utah, Portland and New Orleans. All playoff teams. They also beat nine sub-.500 teams, including MIL twice, CHA twice, LAC and PHO.

There is no better Sixers resource in the cyberwebs than Brian over at DepressedFan. Dude has all kinds of stats and shit that casual roundball fans won't even understand, so when he makes a point about something I tend to listen. His point this time? The Sixers will only finish above .500 if they can keep up this type of play on the homecourt. Could they contend with the Knicks for the #6 spot in the East? Maybe. But they're so shitty on the road that they probably won't.

Also, DepressedFan contends that Philly fans have an irrational hatred of Andre Iguodala. Even when he plays well. I dunno, I just don't get why people are so quick to criticize the guy. Oh wait.

Remembering Tyrone Hill

There are two important things to mention here:

1) I'm drunk.

2) Tyrone Hill looks like a vampire bat.

I Want A Melo And I Can't Have One And I'm Sad

With the news today that Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has withdrawn his team from trade talks with the Nuggets, it appears that Carmelo Anthony is again available to the highest bidder. However, while that may be true, there are only a handful of teams that truly have a chance to acquire one of best scorers in the NBA.

At this point, there are probably only three realistic outcomes:

1) Carmelo resigns with the Nuggets, accepting the 3-year, $65 million extension that been on the table it seems like forever.

2) The Bulls or Knicks (two teams that Carmelo is known to want to play for) pony up and acquire the star. He then signs the same above extension with them.

3) A team like the Mavericks decides to blow the Nuggets away and take a chance with Melo as a rent-a-player.

That's really it. I guess a fourth scenario could play out, but I really don't know what that is (the Nets re-enter the bidding, but that doesn't look likely at this point).

Now, before I get to the real reason for this post, let me preface this by saying one thing: I fully realize that the Sixers have ZERO chance of ever getting Carmelo Anthony. I know it's not happening. They don't have the right trade pieces and Melo specifically put them on a list of teams he wouldn't resign with next summer.

HOWEVER...this isn't about whether the Sixers can realistically acquire Carmelo. It's about the fact that they don't even have the chance to try to acquire him. Where a bunch of other big market teams (Knicks, Bulls, Mavericks, hell even the f'in Nets) have a chance to get him, the Sixers have zilch. Our franchise is so awful, so unappealing, that they don't even have a chance to put out an offer. That's depressing.

Right now, every other team in Philadelphia is successful. The Flyers are the arguably the best team in the NHL, the Phillies have built the best rotation in MLB and just won 97 games and the Eagles might have the two most exciting players in the NFL. Things are good, they all sell out every game, and each has made the playoffs the past three seasons.

Things for our Sixers however, are terrible. The team is boring. Nobody, besides my brother and that guy in Section 205 that used to yell at Willie Green all the time, goes to games anymore. There are a few young players and a few extremely overpaid, under-performing guys. The rest, well, aren't even worth mentioning, seriously. They are a team that isn't awful enough to get another top pick, but they certainly aren't good enough to give you any hope.

I think what hurts the most here is that Carmelo is exactly what this franchise needs. He's a true superstar, someone that would immediately reinvigorate the team and the NBA lovers in this city (trust me, they exist). Remember the packed houses to watch Iverson? Yea...me too. Melo would go a long way to helping bring those crowds back. Maybe the Sixers wouldn't be a real title contender, but they would be a good team that would be worth watching again. Honestly, that looks really good compared to what we're staring at now.

So, yes, a lot of this was me just rambling about how depressing the current state of the Sixers is. The rest was how sad it is that a big-time player becomes available and our team doesn't even have smallest chance to get him. It's frustrating and it's disheartening. There really isn't much else to say.

At this point, all I can hope for is that in the not so distant future, when a big time player becomes available, that the Sixers might actually be a player in the sweepstakes. But, honestly, that reality seems very, very far away.

Sad face emoticon.

Iguodala Will Incur the Wrath of the Muppet

So here is a video of Andre Iguodala shoving Evan Turner for some reason. I didn't watch this game and don't have the context, but either way this appears to be a certified bitch move by AI9. Dre must be jealous of Beeker's new ugly-ass China shoes. Which will be coming soon to a hipster's feet near you.

If you recall Iggy already How-High-Powder-Bitch-Slapped the #2 overall pick earlier this season. ET -- stick up for yourself, homey.

h/t CrossingBroad

Lou Williams: Killing the Sixers?

How Louis Williams is Holding Back the Sixers - On a very very basic level, [Usage Rate] judges the ball-hogginess of a player during his time on the court. Obviously the best players will have higher usage rates because they'll have the most plays run for them on the court. That's why guys like Kobe, Durant, and Carmelo are above him. But there is no excuse for Louis Williams to have the 14th highest USG% in the entire league. Absolutely none.
At a 27.5% clip according to BR (26.2% for Hollinger), Lou is highest on the team. Next highest among qualified players is Jrue Holiday at 22.1%. That 5.4% difference between the top two usage rates is the fourth most in the league, behind Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, and Amare Stoudemire and the Knicks.

So Lou Will is a ball hog -- what else is new? For real though Rod Thorn, Ed Stefanski, Doug Collins need to get together and find a way to trade this guy (and Iguodala, but that's another story) for some defense as soon as they can. I love his Twitter and he seems like your average egomaniacal 24 year-old NBA player...but dude needs to go. Especially since the building blocks of this squad need more playing time.

And that picture looks just as much like disappointment as it does like O-face. Funny how close those are.

Even in Retirement, Matt Geiger Still Underperforming

Matt Geiger, former unathletic 7 footer for the Sixers and albatross contract owner, just sold his Florida mansion for $8 million. That's only after having it on the market for three years at an original listing of $20 million. Among a shitload of other amenities, the property has 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, sauna and cabana rooms, a shark tank, and a personal heard of livestock. This castle was also used as the home of John Travolta's character in the god awful shit-flick, The Punisher.

I may be too poor to know what a cabana room is all about, but I don't feel too bad for him. Even fetching far less than expected on the home, you know Geiger still has some of the $44 million he made as an NBA player to fall back on. I did the math - that 44 million works out to over $80,000 per game played in his career. Not too shabby for a guy was constantly injured and had a career averages of 9.2 points per game and 5.7 rebounds.

h/t Philly Sports Daily

Happy New Year, Andre Iguodala

Denver seems like a nice city, right?

Go Sixers.

Evan Turner: Actual NBA Player?

For the first time in about a month and half, Evan Turner looked more like an NBA player and less like a confused extraterrestrial wandering the court. It's about damn time.

Turner scored a career high 23 points on 9 for 12 shooting in the Sixers 123-110 victory over the Suns last night. Sure, the Suns are about as interested in playing defense as BlueStarShockTrooper is in personal hygiene, but this deserves a moment of mild celebration. Let's hope this is the start of something positive for Turner to build on going into the new year. As our own Eric pointed out a couple days ago, aggressiveness and confidence are two of the biggest holes in ET's game right now. Last night, our favorite muppet put both on display.

Lay your peepers on some interesting stats below. Derek Bodner gets all the credit for these. He had them on his Twitter last night. They also appear in his post on Liberty Ballers, which you should check out.

• Jodie Meeks is shooting 27.7% over the last 10 games. 
• Evan Turner's stats when Iguodala plays: 4.9ppg on 36% shooting
• Evan Turner's stats when Iguodala is Out: 13.1ppg on 48.5% shooting
• Jrue's stats when Iguodala plays: 13ppg, 5.8 assists, 41.6 FG %
• Jrue's stats when Iguodala is Out: 17.4ppg, 8.4 assists, 49.2 FG %

So a gentleman's golf clap to you, Evan Turner. This was your night. Now let’s just hope the Sixers figure out a way to extract AI9 from this team.

[Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images]