The Sixers Surprise

The Philadelphia 76ers were a team that many (self included) hadn't even considered as a team to be part of this season's NBA playoff picture. The Sixers surged when they needed to and captured the 7th spot, with the fate of facing Detroit, a team which many expected to dominate. Philly pulled off a surprise win in Game 1 in Detroit, after some huddle antics by Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons evened things up in Game 2 and headed to Philly for the 3rd game looking to win again. However, Philadelphia had an impressive showing on their homecourt.

In Game 3, Philadelphia held the lead through the 3rd quarter and finished with a 95-75 victory to go up 2 games to 1. Samuel Dalembert had the stat line of the night with 21 points and 16 boards. Andre Miller also added 21. For Detroit, Rip Hamilton led the way with 23, but they lost the services of Antonio McDyess in the 3rd due to a broken nose. So what's really wrong with the Pistons? According to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Detroit may have an arrogant mentality thinking they can handle business over the lower seed, and Philadelphia has simply been out-hustling them,

The Sixers are an enigma in that they don't have a ton of playoff experience or all-stars. They have the services of Andre Miller, a veteran point guard, and the All-star caliber player in Andre Iguadola. Dalembert lends somewhat of a defensive presence. One would think Detroit would have the edge in terms of bench and experience here. Flip Saunders also has a lot more coaching experience than Mo Cheeks. So it is very possible in this series that the younger, hungrier Sixers have the chance to pull off the shocker of this year's playoffs and take out one of the tougher teams from the East.

So it's a great time to be a Sixers fan, not only because of the recent victories but also because of the 76 cent a gallon gas sale held in Philadelphia on Friday.