They have raced out to the fourth-best record in the conference with a collection of youngsters, aging veterans, and the much-criticized Andre Iguodala, who was never able to pick up the mantle left behind by Allen Iverson but now doesn’t have to.
The strength in their attack is versatility. Eight players average at least 9 points per game, and 11 players average at least 11 minutes. Coach Doug Collins has battered opponents with depth and variety.
Philadelphia’s leading scorer comes off the bench: Lou Williams, drafted out of high school as an Iverson clone, has found a home as a volume scorer in a reserve role.
The resurrection of the 76ers comes with a change in philosophy. In a town that has high-profile sports stars in Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, Roy Halladay, Ryan Howard, and Claude Giroux, the NBA team has played in near-anonymity until last week when the Bulls and Heat came to town.
“The competition here is very stiff, because virtually every team is very, very good," said 76ers president Rod Thorn. “I would have said last year, during the early part of the year, that the fans had sort of turned the Sixers off. The Sixers had had a really poor year the year before [27-55] and had really lost a lot of cachet they had with their fans.
“When Doug Collins came in as the coach last year, one of the first things he said was that he was going to try to change the culture. Philly is a kind of city where you need a team that is tough, willing to do all the little things to help you win games."
“As we started to win games, we started to get some more attention. And we were very hopeful that would carry over to this year.”
The 76ers are 22d in the league in attendance at 14,999 per game. The locals are not yet convinced.
“Well, we had a lockout," Thorn said. “We were starting over. In the past couple of weeks, as people have seen that we have built on what we had last year, our crowds are getting bigger and we’re getting a lot more attention."
After facing Atlanta last night, the 76ers will play the Lakers, Spurs, and Clippers this week, which should help NBA observers determine how much of a threat they are.
Williams may be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, and the 76ers have also won with defense, rebounding, and steady point guard play from Jrue Holiday, one of the league’s more overlooked young players.
