After a miserable start to the season, the 76ers are officially in stealth mode.
They are in playoff contention and have considerably more momentum than many of their seventh/eighth seed competitors in the Eastern Conference.
Elton Brand is back, Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young are having productive seasons and Doug Collins is shockingly evolving.
Jrue Holiday has taken a very promising step forward and I'm not sure where he would rank now if we were to redraft all of those point guards of the 2009 class, but I know it would be considerably, considerably higher.
Jodie Meeks has been part of that famed five-man crew and is averaging a nice 14 points on 10.5 shots per 36 minutes (10.7 on 10.1 for Even Turner). Turner hasn't set anyone on fire, but has been progressively better since the start of this season. He should develop into a Jeff Green, Lamar Odom-like utility man and I like pairing him on the floor with Lou Williams a lot more than Holiday.
Because the Sixers don't have a reliable halfcourt offense other than the post, they have been getting out in transition and quickening the pace. This strategy negates their weaknesses of perimeter shooting and ISO scoring, while allowing them to slash away.
On defense, the Sixers limit the effectiveness of teams in the post as well as contending perimeter shooters. They are frequently knifed by the pick and roll, but they are ranked an encouraging 12th in defense so every team in this range has some sort of vulnerability. Fortunately for the Sixers and their playoff hopes, the Eastern Conference doesn't have quite as many teams that rely on the pick and roll in comparison to the West.
The only real complaint about the Sixers is that their talent is too evenly distributed. They don't have the pure top level upside of the 08-09 Blazers, but there is a similar refrain with this team. Ed Stefanski and Rod Thorn don't possess a superstar, but they have nine or 10 players any team would be happy to trade for, which is undoubtedly a positive indicator. The Eastern Conference has morphed into a collection of superstars, so this is team that would have enjoyed a far higher ceiling in that period after Jordan's second retirement and the Shaq trade to Miami when the Knicks, Pacers, Iverson Sixers, Nets (twice) and Pistons (twice) reached the Finals.
It would take a great deal of creativity and luck for Philadelphia to acquire a superstar at this point, so their mission will be to tweak and see how far they can take their efforts to debunk the superstar theory that has become universally sacrosanct.
Desperation Meter: There has to be a strong sentiment for the Sixers to do nothing right now and let this thing ride into the remaining weeks of the season and into the offseason where they can make a more complete evaluation. They fully realize that contending past the first round is not an option right now, but they can begin to learn how to win and then begin to consolidate the roster into a stronger eight-man rotation overall.
All teams would prefer to trade two good players for one excellent player, unless the excellent player is on an unfavorable contract, so that objective is an easier said than done dilemma. The Sixers aren't the the caliber of team that $68M should yield, but they have about $46M in committed payroll for 10-11 if you don't count the qualifying offers for Young and Spencer Hawes. With their blend of Brand and Iguodala eating up almost half the payroll, and several rookie contract contributors, their financial situation isn't as perilous as it has looked in the recent past.
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