A Common Misconception About the Philadelphia 76ers

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone tell me that the Philadelphia 76ers are extremely boring to watch. Anyone who says such a phrase did not watch the 76ers play last season. I understand that, at this point, we lack the roster talent to get too many people outside of Philly to turn on their TV sets for every game, but talent shouldn’t be the only factor that drives people to watch the game of basketball.

As we know from this past season, Philadelphia finished dead last in the NBA in attendance. Each Philadelphia fan, which includes myself, has a knack for being greedy, so the low attendance rate shouldn’t be too alarming. If the wins start to come, the fans will return. But, the question must be, why do the wins have to return for people to come to watch?

Everyone enjoys the David and Goliath story. It’s been a biblical reference that so many people have pointed to referencing how the underdog always has a chance. The smaller or depleted side might not look all that tough, but damn’t do they play their heart out. The 76ers are that weak team. Yes while, unlike David, they did not ultimately win, they made a habit of putting a show on for us every night.

There were times where we were down by too much to even think of a comeback, yet you’d see every player laying down to fight for loose balls. One stat I love is that last season the Philadelphia 76ers finished 1st in the NBA in Defensive Rating in the 4th quarter. You could argue that it was easier for the 76ers since they would be down by so much and would face the back-ups from the opposition. While that might be true, it wasn’t just in huge blowouts because they were also 1st in the NBA in Defensive Rating in the 4th quarter in wins. While those might not have come too often, they still finished with a Rating of 78.2 in the 4th which is significantly ahead of anyone else around the league.

The mindset from fans around the league shouldn’t be that the 76ers are rebuilding so they aren’t an enjoyable team to watch. No, NBA fans should see the 76ers as a young and exciting team that can possibly pull up an upset even though they are outmatched.

Even if the wins don’t end up coming right away for the Sixers this upcoming season, continue to watch them as the promising young players won’t give you a disappointing showing. During the Finals, at times, we saw LeBron James jog back on defense or not even decide to get back at all. You will never see that from a Sixer, and if you do? Expect Brett Brown to sit him on the bench for the rest of the game because that is not Philadelphia 76ers basketball.

Are the 76ers going to make the playoffs this upcoming season? Maybe not. But, will they increase their win total from last season while continuing to play like they can beat their opposition each and every game? I can guarantee you that they will.