The Sixers won yesterday for the 10th straight time since the season began, and in convincing fashion against the vaunted Jazz to boot. The victory enables them to keep pace with the Raptors, Heat, and Celtics as the only remaining National Basketball Association contenders with blemish-free slates at home. And, if nothing else, it consolidates the progress they’ve made since their unexpected stumble early last month. Five losses in seven outings, even over a long season, set alarm bells ringing, and to the point where head coach Brett Brown’s job status, hitherto solid, was called to question. To his credit, he promptly righted the ship, and they’re back to competing with conviction.
Not that the Sixers are trouble-free. Far from it. For one thing, their one-two punch of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons continues to be a work in progress. The unique skill sets that precisely enable them to stand out in a league full of talents are also what make a seamless fit tenuous at best so far. Then again, the annals of pro hoops are replete with examples of the best ultimately managing to find ways to make music together in pursuit of collective objectives. The successes these examples have generated are what fuel the optimism within the organization that they will inevitably figure things out.
Admittedly, the Sixers’ progress featuring their resident All-Stars was stunted by the roster changes dating back to their previous campaign. Effective but demanding Jimmy Butler came and went, and with him, seemingly, their capacity to produce with consistency in the crunch. Thankfully, steady Tobias Harris stayed, and the veteran smarts lost following the departure of perimeter threat JJ Redick were more than offset by the acquisition of all-around Al Horford. In short, their premise looks sounder, and their promise appears on the way to being fulfilled.
Yesterday, for instance, the Sixers made the otherwise-outstanding Jazz look decidedly pedestrian. They were, if anything, so good that Embiid’s so-so showing and iffy conditioning proved immaterial to the bottom line. So, yes, they’re trending upward, albeit with much room for improvement. Once they’re able to do as well on the road, where they have more setbacks than triumphs, look out. And, at this point, their development seems to be a matter of when, not if. No wonder fans in the City of Brotherly Love, invariably jaded, have found cause to cast moist eyes on the hardware anew.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
