1, 2, 345, 6ers!

This post is not alcohol related, save for the fact that the Philadelphia 76ers will drive one to drink on any given night. 

Opening day in baseball was today, and the fightin Phils eeked out a 1-0 win.  I have a feeling a lot of their games will be decided with a single run this year as their lineup is depleted.  But as the Phils start up the Sixers are winding down.  Now, everyone in the city claims to be a Phillies fan first, including me, but there was a time when I followed the Sixers more than any team in sports. They had such a promising start that folks started proclaiming that a trade was too risky bc/ it would ruin the chemistry of the team.  Now they just look lost.  They were supposed to use their young legs to outlast the veteran teams in this short season, but that hasn't been the case of late.  Why are they frustrating?  It's not bc/ they are bad.  Bad teams are not frustrating, just bad.  The Sixers play good basketball, almost like watching a college team.  But they are overmatched most nights.  Their veteran big, Elton Brand, has always been undersized, and while he has heart, he now lacks a key element in any great player: knees.  Louis Williams is a pure scorer, but gets thrown around like a rag doll and is not exactly Kobe Bryant on the defensive end.  Evan Turner has showed some of his promise of late, but his increased role has confused Jrue Holliday, and also Doug Collins, who is like the Wizard of Oz, pushing buttons behind the curtain in an effort to find the right mix.  The problem is, the right mix is not there, because the Sixers lack a true star.  Please don't give me Iguodala.  I am an Iggy hater.  I understand that he "fills the stat sheet" and "shuts down the other team's best player," and maybe if he was getting paid half of what he makes and wasn't an albatross in terms of the salary cap, I might actually appriciate him.  But he is not an All Star, I don't care what anyone says.  I went to a game this year when the Sixers played the Clippers, and basically shut down their high octane, high flying offense, including Blake Griffin.  Until Chris Paul hit a circus shot to beat us.  In the NBA, you need a guy like that, who can score when you need it most, no matter what else he's done that night. 

They better hold on to the Atlantic Division, because if they get the 7th seed and face the Heat in the first round, the season will seem like a bust.  And then they better get a stud player.  Not a has been or never was the likes of Toni Kukoc, Derrick Coleman, the other Shack, Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson, and the list goes on and on.  And while I like some of the youth on this team, please don't pull a Billy King and give Thad Young a max contract.  No one on this squad is irreplaceable in my view.  At least they got rid of Hip Hop.

Okay, I feel better getting that off my chest.