The Philadelphia 76ers Keys To Success

Andre Iguodala was clutch in Game 6
Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls in a Game 6 last night at home. Andre Iguodala hit 2 clutch free throws to put the 76ers up 79-78 and gave them the win. This sent them to the 2nd Round. It was their 1st NBA Playoffs series win since 2003. Iguodala played a game high 43 minutes, had a game high 20 points, and a team high 7 assists. 


Chicago  won Game 1 of the series. However, Derrick Rose torn his ACL in the game and this put him out for the playoffs. Game 2 went to the 76ers by a convincing 17 points. This showed that the Bulls would need to play much harder. In the 3rd game, Joakim Noah went down with an ankle injury, making it the 2nd crutial injury the Bulls have had this series.  I think this was the turning point of the series. The 76ers knew this was their opportunity to kick the Bulls while they were down. Two of their best, and most important, players on the 76ers were out. They attacked, winning 79-72 and were led by Spencer Hawes with his 21 points and 9 boards. 


Game 4 again went to the 76ers. Chicago was down 3-1 after winning the 1st game. Game 5 was do or die. For the Bulls, they pulled out a not-so-pretty win to continue the series. The Bulls got back to playing really good defense. The 76ers only scored 10 points in the 2nd quarter, only shot 32.1% from the field, and 18.2% from distance. Game 6 was a great win for the 76ers. 


Andre Iguodala really stepped up his game to prove why he is the leader and star of this team. He is averaging 12.0 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, and 3.5 assists per game in this year's playoffs. He has a great assists to turnover ratio at 5.3, which is in the top 5 in the playoffs. He has also played great defense threw out the series. I was very impressed by his play.

The 76ers have a great cast of players including Holiday,
Brand, and Williams
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The supporting players for Philadelphia are outstanding together. Lou Williams is the team's leading scorer in the regular season, and comes off the bench. Williams was the runner-up in the NBA's 6th Man Award. The player ahead of Williams on the 76ers depth chart at Point Guard is Jrue Holiday. Holiday is the team's leading scoring and in assists in the playoffs. He has an average of 18.2 points and 4.7 assists. Evan Turner is the sophomore starting shooting guard. He is in the top 3 in rebounding by a guard in the playoffs with 6.3 per game. Starting Center Spencer Hawes is having a great playoffs. Hawes is averaging 11.5 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game. Elton Brand is averaging 8.0 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game,and 2.5 blocks per game. Thaddeus Young is a key bench player. He had 12.8 points per game in the regular season (3rd on the team) and in the postseason he has 7.2 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game. F/C Lavoy Allen and G Jodie Meeks have not played much in the playoffs this year, but if they get the playing time, the can play really well. 


Philadelphia has one of the most underrated defenses in the NBA. Opponents average 83.6 points a game against the 76ers. Thats in the top 5 in the NBA in the playoffs. In the regular season, opponents scored an average of 89.4, which is in the top 3 in the league. They also held their opponents to a FG% of 42.7%, which is also in the regular season top 3. Opponents grabbed an average of 10.7 offensive rebounds in the regular season. That put them in the top 5 in the category. ESPN's Hollinger Stats put them with a 96.6 defensive efficiency (top 3), and a 75.2 defensive rebound rate (top 5). 


The 76ers are going to face the Boston Celtics in the Conference Semifinals tonight. I like the 76ers to win the series in 6 games. I believe Iguodala will shut down Paul Pierce in the last minute in at least 1 game. With that being said, I would expect all games in the series to be exciting.