as u no burning questions is on sportscenter and tim legler,stephen a smith and 2 other guys i forgot their name do this little show. the question was will philly thrive under iverson playing pg, and all of them said they def will and legler said philly is the 4th best team in the east. doesn't this suprise you, almost every website ranks the sixers as the 15-18th best team in the league.
Yeah I always thought the 76ers could at least get that 4th best east team spot. They picked up significant players in the offseason. Andre, alot of analysists think he was the steal of the draft at 9th pick. They were expecting him to go at the 5-8 spot. Another good player we picked up is Corliss Williamson, a former 6th man of the year and what he has shown in the pre-season, a great inside player. And then comes Sammy D, Kenny Thomas. Who knows, maybe the Sixers will even move up that list :bigthumbu
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">doesn't this suprise you, almost every website ranks the sixers as the 15-18th best team in the league.</div> I agree. But I think the preseason is what opened up their eyes. Yes, even though it "doesn?t count", they can?t bare the fact that the team is WINNING regardless if it counts or not. However, personally I would rank the 76ers over the Miami Heat because it's most likely that he(Tim Legler) ranked the Pistons, Pacers and Heat over the 76ers. But the thing with the Heat is that they really have one player, no offense to Dwayne Wade because he is a star and could get the job done but as far as team success without Shaquille O'Neal they're not a very good team. Shaq already sustained an injury and is questionable for tomorrow season opener against the Nets, and let's just say if this continues... where would this put the Heat? So basically that's how I see the big picture. You can make a fair argument on why the Heat should be ranked over the 76ers because Shaq name is on the Heat roster, but if you look all the possible worst case scenarios like an injury to Shaq, the Heat will crumble. And I also taken consideration at looking at the 76ers misfortune and realized if Iverson does indeed get injured the 76ers aren?t that much of a good team either, but they would be in better condition than the Heat and most likely be able to contend for the 7th seed at best. But injuries aside, the Heat has yet to proven themselves. And like I said, it?s fine to rank the Heat over the 76ers on paper because Shaq is on the team, but you can?t over exaggerate it because the Heat had a major overhaul this offseason and it?s hard to predict on how well they will do this season. Heading into this season they lost three major players in which that helped them strive to .500+ record last season. Losing Lamar Odom shooting touch and versatility will hurt, Caron Bulter athleticism and explosiveness will also be missed and Brian Grant hustle and aggressiveness won?t me missed all that much because Shaq is on the team. However, looking at the other two factors, the Miami Heat will have a hard time adjusting without them because they were key players for this ball club. I honestly would like to the Heat do well this season because I?m a fan of Wade and Shaq, but I just can?t see them doing as well as many predicted. Here is how I would rank the East: 1. Pistons 2. Pacers 3. 76ers 4. Knicks 5. Heat 6. Cavaliers 7. Magic 8. Toronto/Boston or just maybe the Washington Wizards And on a side note, it seems as if Tim Legler is not the only one that believes the 76ers could fare well in the East. A couple SI writters predicted that the 76ers will be the season biggest suprise. Notice that we're the only team that was mentioned twice. Link
