For The Stat Lovers

I'm a big fan of stats and I had to share this one that I read courtesy of Marc Stein's ESPN Power Rankings: the Sixers are one of only two teams in the last 20 years to go from 12 games under .500 to a record over .500 in the same season. It's interesting where they might be if the Korver trade didn't set them back so far when it happened. They lost 7 in a row and were looking lost before the turnaround. Was it growing pains of acclimating the young guys? Was it a tough Western road swing? Was it perhaps that losing streak that gave this team the mentality to step it up and play better? We don't really know the answer but that defines this season. There wasn't one exact turning point or factor for success but rather a combination of many things (i.e. Cheek's coaching, overall team play, Miller, Dalembert's defense, etc) that has them where they are now.