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Since there's not much going on besides everybody and their mother considering Europe and Royal Ivey joining the Sixers, I thought it would be cool to look back at the season that was and count down the top 10 Sixer games. It's been a couple months since the season and my mind might be a little cloudy on some of them, so if I miss a game or pull a Roger Clemens and mis-remember some minor details please correct me. If you think my list is completely whack or just feel like coming up with your own, feel free to do so in the comments section. Without further adieu:

10. New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers (Feb. 20, 2008)


This game was over before it started. The Sixers were coming in on a terrible loss the night before. Just before the All-Star break Philly was showing signs of life and ended the first half of the season on a five game winning streak. Then, we had a huge letdown game in Minnesota where our win streak came to an end on a 104-88 loss to the terrible T'Wolves. This Knicks game was ultimately the start of a trend for the rest of the season. No matter how big of a letdown the Sixers had, they put it behind them and came out the next night or next quarter like a new team. And after the Minnesota letdown the Sixers came home to play the Knicks. Philly took a 37-17 in the first quarter and the rest of the game was just a party all-around. It was a great game to watch because the crowd seemed into it, I never once worried about a comeback, but rather if we could beat them by 40, and the Sixers did just that. Thad Young had his best game to date and Philly ended up winning 124-84. This was easily the least stressful game of the season and one of the most enjoyable to watch.

9. Philadelphia 76ers vs. Memphis Grizzles (Dec. 22, 2007)


Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to watch this game, but this makes the list because of the way it ended and the disappointment it caused me for missing it. The game really needs no explanation. All you need to know is the Sixers won on the road and then this video sums up the rest.



8. San Antonio Spurs vs. Philadelphia 76ers (March 15, 2008)


This game was during a month where Philly went 11-4. Of those 11 wins, five were against playoff teams, including Boston, Detroit, Phoenix and San Antonio. This game might have been higher on the list, but at the time it just seemed like another day at the office for the Sixers. The win brought the Sixers to within one game of .500 and made their playoff chances look very possible. My thoughts during this game were, "Are we really going to beat the Spurs in a grind it out game in March, when the Spurs are in their playoff gear?", "Can Sammy really shut down Tim Duncan at the end of the game?" and "Does this mean Philly really has a shot at the playoffs?" The answer to all those questions was yes. The Sixers held a small lead throughout the entire game, until the fourth when the Spurs made their push. Andre Miller had an absolutely ridiculous game, finishing with 32 points (11-14 shooting) , 7 assists, 5 rebounds and ZERO turnovers. They tried defending him with everyone. Mike Finely couldn't stop him, Tony Parker couldn't stop him, Manu Ginobli couldn't stop him, Jacque Vaughn couldn't stop him and even the oh so wonderful Bruce Bowen couldn't stop him. Everybody on the Sixers played near perfect basketball, only turning the ball over a whopping four times. Besides Miller, if I had to single one player out, it would be Samuel Dalembert. Dalembert owned Tim Duncan defensively in crunch time. Cheeks allowed him play one-on-one for the most part and Sammy made it pay off, either blocking or bothering Duncan's shots in the last few minutes. This was one of the most balanced, team effort victories of the season and it came against the defending champs.

7. Phiadelphia 76ers vs. Chicago Bulls (March 14, 2008)


This game was just one night before the Spurs game. It was in Chicago and the Sixers looked completely out of it, down 16 entering the fourth quarter. The Sixers then went on to outscore the Bulls 40-20 in the fourth and won the game 110-106 in Chicago! If I'm not mistaken the lineup Cheeks had out there for the comeback was Kevin Ollie, Lou Williams, Rodney Carney, Iguodala and Jason Smith. I could be wrong on one or two of those players, but I'm 100% sure Rodney Carney was on the floor because he was the star of the fourth. He finished with 18 points, with 12 of them coming in the final quarter. He was 3-3 from downtown in the fourth including one that cut it to a three-point lead and one that gave Philly their first lead of the 2nd half. This was just another one of Philly's great comebacks throughout the season.

6. Portland TrailBlazers vs. Philadelphia 76ers (Nov. 16, 2008)


Speaking of comebacks, this was THE comeback in my opinion. It also doesn't hurt that it was against my good friend Jason's favorite team. Not to mention the fact that it was basically Lou Williams coming out party. Here's the quote from the post-game that I really enjoy:

"The 76ers mobbed each other at midcourt and the fans went wild as confetti made out of programs and scraps fluttered through the air."

Jason mocked me for getting excited about the team getting over-excited for the 9th game of the season, but this team is young and inexperienced and I'm glad they celebrated like they did because I celebrated just the same. The way a team celebrates also shows how much team chemistry they really have. We all knew the Sixers had great chemistry, but this was just a reminder. It was also a reminder of how fun this team is going to be to watch grow into championship contenders over the next few years. For the game itself, the Sixers were down 41-16 at one time. Are you kidding me? They ended up cutting it to 25 in the second quarter and 22 in the third, but all of a sudden the lead was under 10 and the Sixers had all the momentum. The Sixers made 25 of 33 shots to end the game for the highest-shooting percentage in a half in team history (76 percent). In the middle of the comeback, like every other comeback this season was none other than Lou Williams. Lou scored all of his 19 points in the 2nd half. He dropped the final 10 of the third quarter and then started the fourth with the first 4. He was an absolute spark plug. He finished with a line of 19 points (8-13 FG, 2-3 threes, 1-1 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 25 minutes. Little did I or anyone else know, these performances by Williams would be a regular occurrences for the rest of the season. Philly had a knack for the comeback this year and Lou was always involved.

Here's highlights.

5. Philadelphia 76ers vs. Phoenix Suns (March 1st, 2008)

This was by far Philly's biggest road win of the season up to this point. They had been playing well as of late and taking care of business at home, but could they march into Phoenix and beat the Suns? They sure could and they did. The Suns were just starting to gel as a team since the Shaq trade. To be completely honest, this was a time during the season where the Sixers put some serious doubts in my mind, but from this game on I believed. The Sixers got off to a fast start, winning the first quarter 28-18, but the Suns came right back and tied it going into halftime. The Sixers played with incredible poise and swagger. Andre Iguodala hit a half court shot at the end of the third that felt like a turning point in the season for me. The Sixers ended up winning the game by a score of 119-114. They stood in there and traded buckets with the Suns in the fourth. They took everything the Suns had and still came out on top. For me, this was definitely the moment I realized this team could actually be really, really good.

4. Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics

Earlier I would have gone into this game expecting the Sixers to lose, especially to the NBA's best team on their homecourt, but after the victory over the Suns I thought differently. I thought the Celtics might be on a slight cruise control and the Sixers could go into Boston and come out with a big win, increasing their playoff hopes, along with a shot of confidence. The game was pretty close throughout, but it still felt like the Celtics were controlling the game, which they were. With 8 minutes and 20 seconds left in the game the C's took an 80-69 lead. If this were a few months earlier, what would've happened? The Sixers would probably have lost all confidence and got blown out. This team was different though. They were confident. They knew they could win. They were lead by Andre Iguodala. Like it or not, this guy is our franchise player and he showed why this night. The Sixers went on a 19-0 run in the next 6 minutes. I couldn't believe what I had just seen. Philadelphia had gone from down 11 to up 8 in six minutes! Against the Celtics! In Boston! Iguodala scored 10 of the 19 during the run and made big shot after big shot against Paul Pierce, then came down to the other end and played lights out defense. If he could learn how to play every game like he played this one, he'd be a perennial all-star. Now that he's a year older and no longer Elton Brand-less this becomes a realistic possibility. The Sixers ended up winning the game by a score of 95-90 and moved a game over .500 and pretty much clinched a playoff berth.

3. Detroit Pistons vs. Philadelphia 76ers (Game 3)

This might be higher on other's list and rightfully so. This was the most fun I had watching a basketball game all season. The Sixers ended up destroying the Pistons in front of the type of crowd I'd been dreaming of for years. My boy Sammy D ended up having arguably the greatest game of his career finishing the game with 22-16. The Sixers led from start to finish and took a 2-1 lead in the first round of the playoffs. The final score was 95-75. The reason this game isn't higher on the list was it wasn't close at all which I can't say about the first two on my list and although it was the best crowd of the season, the best blowout of the season, the best home game of the season and ultimately the last victory of the magical 07-08 season, it does not compare to the top two in my opinion.

Here's highlights, since this game gave Sixer fans such a high:


2. Denver Nuggets vs. Philadelphia 76ers (March 19, 2008)

Allen Iverson's return to Philadelphia. This was a real emotional game for me. I, like most other Sixer fans wanted to see the Sixers win, but also see Allen do well in his return to the Wac. I got everything I wished for. The Sixers won a nail-biter, 115-113. Iverson did well, scoring 32 and dropping eight dimes, not to mention his kiss of the logo and his "THX Philly" shoes. The coolest part of the game was when Andre Miller abused Iverson in the post and scored on an "and 1" to give the Sixers a 3 point lead with a minute to go. Miller is never one to show emotion, but he made it clear he was very pumped to play against his old team and the Sixer legend he was traded for.
This was the most emotional, perfectly scripted game of the season. I don't have much more to say, except watch this:



1. Philadelphia 76ers vs. Detroit Pistons (Game 1)

I could not imagine any other game taking the number one spot on this list. Game 1 of the playoff series with the mighty Detroit Pistons. No one expected the Sixers to be here, let alone win a game. Things were going according to plan in the first half. The young Sixers looked nervous. The veteran Pistons seemed to be going through the motions, yet still dominating the game. They took a 51-38 lead into half time and it seemed irrational to think the Sixers could have any sort of comeback. It seemed especially unrealistic since the Sixers half-court offense was abysmal and their so called "star player", Andre Iguodala was getting locked down by a world-class defender. But just like the rest of the season, when you counted the Sixers out, they came out hungrier than ever. The nerves were gone. They're running attack was back and they fluctuated the lead throughout the third, ending the quarter looking at a mere 7 point deficit. The Sixers ended up outscoring the Pistons in the fourth 27-16 and shocked the world with a 90-86 win to take a 1-0 series lead. The Sixers were led by unlikely hero, Reggie "Shrek" Evans. Evans gave the team the toughness and swagger they needed to compete with the Pistons. For the longest time, he looked like the only Sixer not about to wet his pants. His style of play rubbed off on the rest of the team and they started to believe they could come back and win the game. And they did just that. Evans not only helped by playing hard, but put in an improbable turnaround jumper in the last moments of the game. Now, as a Sixers fan I watched them all season. Not once can I remember Reggie making or even taking a shot like he did in the final moments of the team's first playoff game, but that's just who he is. I'll never forget this game and I'm sure it will be looked back on as a building block for an eventual championship team. One can only hope.

Thoughts?

Your Lists?

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