It’s currently
sunny in Philadelphia
The Sixers’ great play with
former star Doug Collins at the helm has brought a sunnier disposition to the
City of Brotherly Love. Fan gush by Rick Olivares Photos from the Philadelphia Inquirer and Getty Images
Am I surprised that the Philadelphia
76ers are atop the NBA Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division? Not at all.
Aside from some great draft picks like
Ohio State’s Evan Turner who put the kibosh on the Celtics today, they have
Doug Collins as head coach. Collins, who along with Larry Brown (and to some
extent Rick Adelman and George Karl), is considered “miracle worker” for
turning around the fortunes of woe-be-gone clubs.
Collins, was a star with Illinois
State and later the US Men’s Olympic Team and the NBA’s Overall Number Draft
Pick of 1973 by the Sixers. He was a four-time All-Star before a knee injury
ended his career.
It was Collins’ 1977 Philly team that
was my first-ever fave NBA team. They had Julius Erving, Darryl Dawkins, Steve
Mix, Caldwell Jones, George McGinnis, World B. Free, Fred Carter (who later
coached the Toronto Raptors), Henry Bibby (Mike Bibby’s father), Joe Bryant
(Kobe’s dad), and Mike Dunleavy (Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s pop). During the Finals of
that year, the Sixers spotted the Portland Trailblazers with a 2-0 lead before
losing the last four for one of the greatest collapses in the NBA’s history.
In 1986, Collins would resurface as
the Chicago Bulls’ head coach during the early years of Michael Jordan and
Scottie Pippen.
In his first year in Chicago, the
Bulls finished with a 40-42 record. The Bulls went to 50-32 the next season,
the first of Jordan’s MVP years. But Chicago finished fifth in the Central
Division in Collins’ third year when they went to a 47-35 record and he was fired
after losing in the Eastern Finals to Detroit.
After going to the broadcast booth for
a while, Collins found himself coaching a young Grant Hill in Detroit where the
Pistons went to 46-36 in 1995-96. The next season, the Motor City squad climbed
to a 54-28 record that was food enough for third place in the crowded Central
Division. The next season, he was fired midway through the season when his team
went 21-24.
In 2001, he was reunited with Jordan
in Washington where in their two-year partnership, the team finished with
identical records of 37-45.
While Collins is said to improve
teams, he wears his players down with his intensity and they eventually tune
him out.
Finally coaching the team where he
played his entire pro career, the Sixers began last season with a disappointing
3-13 record before finishing strong by winning 38 of their last 66 games for an
even 41-41 record. In this strike-shortened year, he is still on pace to
improve the Sixer’s standing. Their lopsided 103-71 win over Boston today shows
that they are contenders – at least in the East as Miami and Chicago are seeded
higher.
As a Collins fan, I love the early
success he’s had with this oft-downtrodden franchise. It is great to see how he
has molded this team of no-superstars into a team first mentality. Witness the
dish of Andre Igoudala to Turner for a tomahawk slam against the Cs.
They’ve got Lou Williams, Jrue
Holiday, Elton Brand, Jodie Meeks and well, my old favorite from Chicago,
Andres Nocioni (sorry, I just have to mention Nooch who is not getting playing
time here). Now if Collins can harness Nooch’s talent’s they will be a much
better team. And hopefully as well, we will see a turn in Collins’ luck with
his old club (he oft runs into trouble in the third year of his coaching
stints) and steer them into their third title after the ’67 and ’83
championships. By next season, it will be the 30th anniversary of
that team that Moses led to the Promised Land.
This Sixers team has made a name for
themselves on transition but their half court set is hardly potent. They need
to improve that because teams eschew the break in the post-season for a more
deliberate offense.
They are currently atop the Atlantic
with a 23-17 record. They are three up on Boston and this season is still a long
way before it’s done. Twenty-six games left for Philly to solidify its hold in
the Atlantic with Boston and New York giving chase.
Since the team began winning, there’s
been a love-fest going on in the City of Brotherly Love. Team minority owner
Will Smith is in attendance. So is film director M. Night Shyamalan, Julius
Erving, Bill Cosby, and others. That’s star and Hollywood power right there.
Who knows? This year, this team of
no-stars with their no-nonsense coach just might make a great film ending.
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