Speaking of Wow, Luol Deng was born in a place literally named Wow. But on to the topic at hand. Doug Collins has Philly playing great basketball; they're 9-3. 9-2 since opening night. Their losses are to Portland, Utah, and the Knicks. We haven't played any of those teams yet. What stands out about the team is they have SEVEN players averaging in double figures with Louis Williams leading the way at just 16 PPG and coming off the bench. Their 8th man averages 8.8 PPG. Only Spencer Hawes has missed a game (just one game). As a team, their 48% FG shooting is 3rd in the league. Opponents shoot just 40% against them, best in the league. They're 3rd in the league in scoring, and 2nd in the league in points allowed. Their ORtg is 4th in the league, and their DRtg is 1st. Bring 'em on.
I just learned how to do this so bear with me. Eight of Philly's 9 wins have come against the Suns (4-8), Warriors (4-8), Hornets (3-9), Pistons (3-10), Raptors (4-9), Kings (4-9) and Wizards (2 wins against the 1-11 Wiz). Their only victory over a team with a winning record was the Pacers who were without their best player, Danny Granger. How did I do?
You did fine. They didn't have the best record in the league last year though. Did you expect them to be 9-3 at this point?
No, and I think Collins is as good as it gets when it comes to in-game coaching. Still, the inconsistency of your analysis, focusing on opponent weakness when it comes to your favorite team, but completely ignoring this when glorifying another team, struck me as odd.
It's about expectations. We all expect the Bulls to compete for best record in the NBA, and they've met that expectation. Philly's record is beating expectations by a mile. Both teams are dominating weak opponents. It's very different from the Bulls dominating the league - they're 3-1 against teams with winning records but could easily be 2-2. So bring on Philly and the Heat and other teams with .700 win percentages so we can see what we are really capable of.
Yeah, I'll add Philly to Indy and Atlanta on my teams I'd rather not face in the playoffs. Bring on the Knicks and the Celtics.
