The Sixers Show Signs of Life
AP Photo
The Sixers are getting hot right before the All-Star break which might throw some kinks into any trades they were thinking about doing. At 19-31, they still aren’t great but their 4 game winning streak is proof this team still has some fight left in it.
Besides a win against the Nets, the other 3 teams they beat in this short winning streak all have much better records than them. They’ve also been putting up a lot of points during the winning streak and scored over 100 in their last 3 games which is very rare for them. Their next game is against Minnesota which may add to their season high 4 game winning streak and they won the last 3 without AI.
Those are all good signs but it’s still too early to tell if this winning streak is a permanent change for the season or just a fluke. If you look at their losses for the year, a ton of them have been close. They are among the lead leaders in blown double digit leads and a lot of their losses have been by 5 points or less. To keep winning like this, the Sixers need to find ways to hold on to big leads and close out games.
A true test for them will come in the next 5 games. They play the T-Wolves on Tuesday in a game they need to win if they have playoff hopes. Minnesota is ranked last in the West but the Sixers still managed to lose to them in their last match up.
After the Timberwolves game, their next 4 are against teams currently holding onto playoff spots. The Raptors, Heat, Bulls and Spurs are some of the stronger teams this year and if the Sixers can win at least 2 of those games, it will be a good sign of things to come. If they play like they are outmatched, it will show us that they don’t have what it takes to handle playoff caliber teams night in and night out. Keep an eye on them for the next few weeks because we will learn a lot about them and what we can expect for the rest of the season.
