NBA
The Philadelphia 76ers Should Send a Thank You Note to the Phillies and Eagles After Their Abysmal Start
Writing professionally since 2015, Jack Dougherty spent six years as a sportswriter with publications such as GoPSUSports.com, the Centre Daily Times, and the Associated Press before joining Sports7 in 2020. He covers the NBA, the NFL, and the world of golf extensively and has added expertise on any team located in or around his hometown of Philadelphia. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies. When Jack isn't writing about sports, he's watching them or playing them as he regularly heads to the gym for some pickup basketball or the golf course to hit the links. He's also an avid participant in the sports betting scene who worked at a casino sportsbook for a year and learned the ins and outs of the industry before bringing his expertise to Sports7 with one excellent gambling recommendation after another.
All posts by Jack DoughertyUpdated28 Oct 2022
The city of Philadelphia is in an unfamiliar state of euphoria right now. The Phillies are about to continue their unlikely championship run against the Houston Astros in the World Series, and the Eagles are sitting atop the NFL standings at 6-0. Hell, even the Union are playing in the MLS Conference Finals this weekend, and the Flyers are 6-4 to start their season.
There's hardly been any mention of the 76ers getting their season started earlier this month because of the exciting success elsewhere in the city, but that's good news for Joel Embiid and Co. After an embarrassing 1-4 start, the Sixers should send a thank you note to the Phillies and Eagles.
The Sixers are off to an abysmal start
The 76ers entered the 2022-23 NBA season as one of the top-four favorites to win the Eastern Conference. Through five games, though, they don't even look like a playoff team.
Philadelphia is 1-4 to start the season, and it's been outscored by 7.5 points per game in its four losses. The biggest issue has been the defense, especially in transition. The Sixers are allowing their opponents to score 21.2 fastbreak points per game, which is the worst mark in the NBA early in the season.
Besides Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey, no one else on the team is averaging better than 13 points per game. It's been a three-man show to start the year, and that isn't enough to win in this league.
It's far too early to press the panic button on the 76ers, but if this mess doesn't straighten out over the next few weeks, Doc Rivers might find himself out of a job.
The Sixers ought to send the Phillies and Eagles a thank you note
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If the Sixers were the only Philly team playing right now, the city would be exploding with rage. Fans would be begging for a coaching change, calling for desperate trades, and trashing the team on Twitter every chance they got.
But luckily for the 76ers, hardly anyone cares about their slow start.
Philadelphia is bracing for its first World Series since 2009. It's the home city of the only undefeated team left in the NFL. The Sixers are luckily an afterthought in Philly right now, but they have only a few weeks left to fix things before Philadelphians officially flip the page to basketball season.
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