Philadelphia 76ers RIDICULOUS Start to the Year!

The biggest surprise of the year so far is no doubt the Philadelphia 76ers. They have started 3-0 against the Heat, Wizards and now the Bulls. Vegas had them projected to only win 16 games for the entire season and had them at 9,999 to 1 odds at winning the championship! Most expected them to tank for Wiggins, so far they are not doing a good job at that!

Carter-Williams impressive debut! Artwork:Beyond The Buzzer

VS the Heat

They played their season opener at home against Miami the reigning champions. Before the game Allen Iverson had his retirement speech and the 76ers were noticeably fired up and raced out to a 19-0 lead and ultimately won 114-110. The rookie Michael Carter-Williams almost had a quadruple double in his first game with 22 points 12 assists 7 rebounds and 9 steals (the most steals in a debut game), Evan Turner had 26 points including a dunk on Lebron, Spencer Hawes had 24 as the Sixers outscored the Head 29-16 in the final quarter!

VS the Wizards

They faced a 12 point deficit in the 3^rd quarter. John Wall tore apart the first half with 23 points but the Sixers managed to comeback. Carter-Williams hit a three with 6.28 remaining to give the Sixers their first lead and they didn’t look back. He only finished with 14 but Thaddeus Young scored 29, Evan Turner 23 and Spencer Hawes added 16 points with 14 rebounds!

VS the Bulls

Today the Sixers managed what may have been their biggest upset yet. Down 20 points at one stage they again found a way to snatch a victory. Led again by their rookie Carter-Williams with 26 points, 10 assists and 3 steals who was key down the clutch and had 13 in the 3^rd quarter comeback. Spencer Hawes was again impressive with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Incredible win against the Bulls Artwork: Beyond the Buzzer

Overall
Key performers:

Michael Carter-Williams 20.7 PPG, 9.0 APG, 4.3 SPG, 4.7 RPG in 35 MPG

Evan Turner: 23 PPG 4.0 APG 4.3 RPG in 37 MPG

Spencer Hawes:  19.3 PPG 11.3 RPG in 31 MPG

Thaddeus Young: 17.3 PPG 7 RPG in 32 MPG

Tony Wroten off the bench: 11.7 PPG 4.7 RPG in 21 MPG

New Head Coach: Brett Brown formerly Head Coach of the Australian Boomers at the 2012 London Olympics

Coached NBL teams North Melbourne Giants and won Coach of the Year and the Championship in 1994.

He was an assistant coach for the Spurs in 2007

Remember they are doing this with their starting center Nerlens Noel the 6^th pick in this years draft who may miss the entire season due to his ACL injury.

Can the 76ers continue to shock and make the playoffs, or will they eventually come back to Earth?

Lebron: Will He Leave for LakerLand or Return Home Back to Ohio?

"I got a goal, and it's a huge goal, and that's to bring an NBA championship here to Cleveland, and I won't stop until I get it."

Lebron James said these famous words but the question remains will he live up to it? I think he will, he has an Early Termination Option for his contract with the Heat and he will use it to return to Cleveland in the 2014 summer and team up with Kyrie Irving and Andrew Bynum. He has shifted teams once before showing that he is a ring chaser and that was to team up with Wade and Bosh and not much else. It makes sense for him to go to Cleveland he would be with a Kyrie Irving who would be entering his prime and probably a top 5 player in the NBA in a few years, an Andrew Bynum who when healthy is the best offensive center in the game and not to mention Anthony Bennett, Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller, Tristan Thompson who are all about to enter their prime! Not to mention it would partner him up with his good pal Anderson Varejao and former coach Mike Brown. In Cleveland who knows how many rings he could end up with, my guess is more than 6. He would be turning 30 next year and about to enter the later part of his career why not do that with people who are about to enter their prime? It makes no sense for him to stay with an ageing Dwayne Wade or Ray Allen, a disappointing Chris Bosh and other veterans that are just there to make up the cap space. Yes he would be hated in Miami and around the league but the Cavaliers fans will love him again, how quickly one forgets after their home hero brings a few championship rings to the franchise. 

 

The Return?

The other option is to team up with Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony in Lakerland. If the three wanted this to happen they would take a pay cut and Steve Nash is still signed giving them four superstars. However Nash is nearing retirement, Kobe is coming of an achilles tear, although I wouldn’t count him out to contribute up until 40, and Carmelo is about the same age as Lebron. The age factor plus the chemistry issues that would entail make this hard to see working. Even if they could all get on the same page they could possibly win 2-3 rings together providing they all stay healthy and aren’t affected by age too much. Then again how would they fill out the rest of the roster?

Could this happen?

Would Nick Young, Wes Johnson, Chris Kaman and Jordan Farmar take a pay cut to stay with the Lakers as they have done this year? They have stated in their press conferences that they are just happy to be a Laker and if this is true and they do stay in LA to play with these three then you have an unstoppable team.

Either way I believe Lebron will not be in Miami next season because there is nothing left in Miami. Wade is injury prone and at the tail end of his career, Ray Allen too. Chris Bosh has shown that he cant always be counted on ala game seven with a grand total of zero points and the role players Chris Anderson, Haslem, Battier are all old and not really ideal counterparts. The Lakers Fans and media would put too much pressure on Lebron and he wouldn’t want it not to mention the chemistry issues with Nash, Kobe and Carmelo all looking to have the ball. Cavaliers have a bright future and he would be the hometown hero bringing the first ever ring to the franchise and putting his legacy on the team whereas Miami has always been Wade’s home and the Lakers Kobe’s. It would give Lebron a chance to have something of his own and make his own history if he went back to Cleveland.

Who WIll Lebron be Playing for in the 2014-15 Season?

Miami Heat

Cleveland Cavaliers

Los Angeles Lakers

www.poll-maker.com