2010-11
Doug Collins would fill the newly-vacated head coaching role, and the Sixers would use the second overall pick to draft National Player of the Year Evan Turner out of Ohio State University. Samuel Dalembert would be dealt to the Kings for Andres Nocioni and Spencer Hawes, and Jodie Meeks would be acquired from the Bucks.
In the first game of the season, they encountered the Miami Heat and their newly-established Big Three, who were coming off of an embarrassing loss in their season opener in Boston. Once the Heat lead swelled to 28 points in the early stages of the third quarter, I sighed and began doing my math homework. About 90 minutes later, I went down to the kitchen to get ice cream after finishing that night’s assignment. I checked my phone, and grinned at what I saw — the Sixers only lost by 10!
That was a huge moral victory against a team like the Heat. But that was what the Sixers were. A franchise with a bunch of guys who could each score 15 points on any given night. It was grounds for celebration if anyone scored 30. That season, we smiled about moral victories when the Sixers lost to good teams by fewer than 15 points. We celebrated when they managed to beat a good team.
They would fumble to a 3-13 start and spend the rest of the season recovering. Although successful in doing so and going 38-28 the rest of the way, they would face the Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
It was the same old story — big lead in Game 1, the Heat would turn it on late, and the Sixers didn’t have the star power to hold them back. Down 1-0. In Game 2, the Heat came out hot and blew their doors off. Down 2-0, headed home for a must-win Game 3 in order to have a chance. Another sizable lead in Game 3, the Heat would turn it on late, and the Sixers would go down 3-0.
All I wanted was one playoff victory to cling to. One win to hold me over until next October. In Game 4, the Sixers trailed 82-76 with just 1:30 to play. Rookie Evan Turner, who was largely inconsistent in his first season, made a floater to cut it to four. One possession later, Jrue Holiday knocked down a three to cut the deficit to one. Finally, the city’s favorite scorer stepped up when the moment was the biggest. Lou Williams, going on 1-on-1 against Dwyane Wade, dribbled into a deep trey with under 10 seconds left and ripped the nylon. The Wells Fargo Center erupted. The Sixers led 84-82 with eight seconds left. They buckled down for one more stop on defense and connected on a pair of free throws to put the game away 86-82. David beat Goliath.
As expected, the season came to an end in Miami in Game 5. Iguodala led the Sixers with 22 points and they held a lead with under five minutes to play. But, once again, the Heat flipped their switch and the star power overcame all. While I was sad to see a fun season come to an end, I was proud of the team. They won a playoff game against the Miami Heat. What more could I ask for? Oh, the good ole’ days of not having any expectations!