Feel Good Hit of the Spring

I’ve been listening to the Queens of the Stone Age album Rated R quite a bit lately (it’s excellent). The first song is “Feel Good Hit of the Summer”, a blistering double entendre with only these words in the lyrics: “Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy and Alcohol.” The chorus is: “Cocaine.” The idea here is that the Queens have no interest in anything real clever or advanced; they are going to rock, and rock hard.

The Philadelphia 76ers are the Feel Good Team of the ’07-’08 NBA season. After losing to the Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals, the Sixers steadily declined to a 33-49 record in ’03-’04. Then they brought in Chris Webber to compliment star Allen Iverson, but C-Webb went over the hill and the Sixers had a couple more mediocre seasons. Last season Iverson gave the team an ultimatum to find him support or trade him; they chose the latter and shipped him to the Nuggets for Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two first-rounders. This season, in the midst of a seven game losing streak, the Sixers bought out the useless Webber’s contract.

On February 4^th the Sixers were 18-30. Then the fortunes of the franchise suddenly turned around. The Sixers won five games in a row (all at home), lost to the Timberwolves, then won fourteen of their next eighteen including wins over Orlando, at Phoenix, at Detroit, San Antonio, Denver, and at Boston. Though they lost their last four against weak East competition, they comfortably made the playoffs as the 7^th seed in the pathetic Eastern Conference.

I was excited to watch the Sixers play the Detroit Pistons in their first round playoff series. I’ve been curious to watch the Sixers for quite some time, as their young roster has no big names whatsoever. I’ve been wondering how they’re winning these games.

I watched the first game of the Sixers/Pistons series start to finish, intent on uncovering reasons for Philly’s second half surge. It didn’t take me long to realize the Sixers are not a very talented basketball team.

Trust me – these guys stink. Their alleged star player, Andre Iguodola, is an average swingman who takes too many threes. Iguodola is a decent player but wouldn’t even start for most (maybe all) of the Western Conference playoff teams. Their highest-paid player, center Sam Dalembert, has very few offensive skills. Starting shooting guard Willie Green is a dull bricklayer with 28% 3 point shooting and a 2:1.5 assist/turnover ratio. Power forward Reggie Evans, a former Denver Nugget, is one of the worst shooters in basketball (46% free throws).

The Sixers have no explosiveness, no difference-makers, no game-changers, no exciting blast of energy to turn around a game. They traded their one potent three-point shooter, Kyle Korver, to the Jazz for Gordan Giricek (another pure shooter) and a future first-round pick, then released Giricek and became the worst three-point shooting team in the league.

Coming off the bench for the Sixers are 21 year-old Louis Williams, a run of the mill point guard; efficient 19 year-old forward Thaddeus Young, their one exciting prospect; bland young guard Rodney Carney; and a crew of stiffs including Calvin Booth, Jason Smith (a rookie from Colorado State), and former Duke frustration creator Shavlik Randolph. In that first playoff game against the Pistons, Young was the only player who showed the slightest potential.

But here’s the thing about that first game against the Pistons:

The Sixers won the game.

I’m still not sure how it happened. The Pistons were cruising. There wasn’t much doubt about who was going to win. The Pistons are more talented at every position and far more experienced. Beating the Sixers, who finished the regular season with a 40-42 record, should be an afterthought. These are the same Pistons that won the championship in 2004 and have been in the thick of the title chase ever since. On the road with no lurking firepower, making a comeback to win a game in Detroit seemed almost impossible for the 76ers.

From my limited perspective, there are three reasons the Sixers win games. The first is Andre Miller, quite possibly the perfect point guard for this team. Miller has spent most of his career playing the point for bad to mediocre teams, once leading the league in assists while playing for the Clippers. Miller is not a flashy player and is useless as a three point shooter, having made just three all season. But he is a fabulous passer, an underrated scorer, a sly rebounder, a solid defender, and one of the smartest players in the league. He’s the ultimate floor general for this team. While the Sixers lack skill, they are fairly athletic. Miller’s pinpoint passing, particularly on alley-oops and running the break, maximize scoring opportunities for his army of jumpers and bricklayers.

The second reason for the Sixers success is head coach Maurice Cheeks. Coming out of West Texas State in 1978, Cheeks wasn’t drafted in the first round. Yet he played point guard for fifteen years in the NBA, made the NBA Finals three times, won a title, played in four all-star games, and made the NBA all-defensive team four straight years. He retired as the NBA’s all-time steals leader, fifth in assists. Now that the Sixers have weeded out defensive cancers Iverson, Webber, and Korver, Cheeks has them playing his brand of ball – the third reason they are able to win games.

The Sixers play excellent defense. They play HARD. Dalembert is a gifted defensive player in the Dikembe Mutombo mode. Their guards are all very quick and strong and they play defense with passion. They play like it’s the last possession of the game all game long.

The Sixers beat the Pistons on Sunday because they wanted to win more than the Pistons did. They played harder. The Sixers don’t have the ability to do anything too clever or advanced; they are just here to play, and play hard. I don’t think they will win many more games this playoffs, and they have no chance to win the championship, but it’s always great to see superior effort overcome inferior talent.