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Monday, February 22, 2011
Posted: 9:20 p.m.
By Dei Lynam
CSNPhilly.com
Carmelo Anthony is now a Knick, there is the big three in Miami and Boston is still the Eastern Conference's defending champs. Dont look now, but the East is bracing to give the West a run for its money in the number of dominant teams.
The West counters with San Antonio, who still have the best record in the NBA and, of course, the Lakers are the two time defending NBA Champs.
So where do the Sixers fit in all this? They spend little time comparing their team with any of the above because they are having too much fun being a team embraced by their coach and that really can win on any given night.
We are focused, were locked in, were trying to win as many games as we can, Lou Williams said. We would love to go 26-0. Is that realistic at this level? I would say no, but guys are focused and we had a really spirited practice today and we arent taking anything lightly, we are just ready to go.
They will face the Wizards Wednesday night, the first of their 26 games to the finish line. Washington has twice beaten the Sixers this season. First with Cartier Martin hitting a three pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime and then Jrue Holiday fouling John Wall on a desperation three pointer at the end of regulation. Those two games were lost in overtime by a combined three points.
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The Sixers did beat the Wizards by 12 at home on Jan. 5, but once is not enough given the disappointing defeats. This team has had a number of heartbreaking losses this year and in the rematches that followed, they have spent little time thinking revenge and more time focusing on playing good basketball. Its a strategy that suits them.
I want to keep building on what we have been doing, Doug Collins said. I love the personality of our team now and I love where our team is. I said yesterday if we were 27-29 and it was win a couple, lose a couple that would be real different from being 3-13 and now being 27-29. I dont think our guys ever want to go back there.
Not only do they not want to go back to the 16 game mark, they believe 26 games ahead will have them in the postseason.
If you look at our last five games teams are shooting 41 or 42 percent against us. We are defending the three well and if we do those things I think we will win games, Collins continued. We would like to continue to make home a really nice place for us and go out on the road and do our business like we have been doing. We want to be in the play-offs, I think our guys have that in their sights and we are in the gun lap now. Twenty six games is a sprint coming in.
Part of that sprint includes a date with the new look New York Knicks. The Sixers know the 13-player deal between the Knicks, Nuggets and Timberwolves is huge on paper, but the changed personnel still has to come to fruition on the court.
They have definitely added talent to their team, now they had to give up some things but they get back one of the best players in the NBA, Collins said. New York has to be excited because they added another star to their franchise to go along with Amare Stoudemire, so you have 55 points in the bank before you start every game so that was a big thing for them.
Currently the Knicks are two games above .500 and two games ahead of the Sixers in the Eastern Conference standings. If the Sixers had their sites set on catching their New York brethren, that took a hit with this monster move, or did it?
You cant discount the caliber of players they got out of the deal, Williams added. On paper it is going to be difficult but who knows what happens once they put that team together, hopefully they get off to a rocky start in my eyes and we can continue to roll and well see what happens.
Mark your calendar for April 6, as the Knicks and Sixers will play at Wells Fargo Center. The two teams will likely still be battling for playoff position. One team is young and together, the other star-studded and under the gun to have chemistry before the playoffs role around.
Notes
The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. The Sixers (27-29) play seven of their next nine games at home. Their record at Wells Fargo is 17-9.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com