What's Gotten Into The Philadelphia 76ers and made them so competitive?

What’s Gotten Into The Philadelphia 76ers?

By Bret Stuter | Jan 27, 2017

Jan 3, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) reacts with Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and guard Nik Stauskas (11) and forward Dario Saric (9) after hitting the game winning shot against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 93-91. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jan 20, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) and center Joel Embiid (21) celebrate after the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers won the game 93-92. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /

Rally Around The Big Guy

Nobody could have predicted what happened next. Players who felt alone with just an optimistic head coach suddenly had someone with a very bright future in the NBA place his reputation on the line. Joel Embiid instantly became the brunt of jokes in the NBA, again.

wait, it's fun to hope for playoffs and all for embiid talking about it...but let's not start expecting it. that's how you get brown fired.
— Andrew Porter (@And_Porter) January 12, 2017

But Embiid knew what he was doing. The team needed to kickstart focus. Players were rumored to be key participants in every NBA trade being tossed around. Players were focusing on playing minutes and box stats.

From the moment Embiid said playoffs, the team has kicked it up a notch.

Ha Great Win from the lads #Playoffs #TrustTheProcess
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) January 26, 2017

Sometimes a single snowflake can start the avalanche