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In 1999 and 2000, the Philadelphia 76ers made it into the playoffs and lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals and in 2001, the team advanced all the way to the NBA Finals before falling in five games to the Lakers. The team finished last season 16 games under .500 to give them their worst finish since the 1998, the last year the team had missed the playoffs before last season. The team has a new coach in Jim O’Brien who coached the Boston Celtics before coming to Philadelphia.
Allen Iverson has been forced to work alone for the most part of the last six seasons, but his numbers would point towards a more successful team. Iverson finished last year averaging 26.4 ppg and 6.8 apg but he was only able to play in 48 of the team’s games. Last year, the team expected Glenn Robinson to provide help in scoring and rebounding but got a huge contribution from Kenny Thomas who averaged better than 13 and 10 a night. The team traded starting point guard Eric Snow to the Cavaliers for Kevin Ollie and Kedrick Brown but their biggest move might have come in the draft. The team needed help at defense and athleticism and they were thrilled when they chose Andre Iguodala, a shooting guard and small forward from Arizona, at number nine. Iguodala isn’t a great shooter but he’s incredibly athletic and should work well with Iverson.
The Philadelphia 76ers will play this season in the Atlantic division along with the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and Toronto Raptors. Iverson will lead the 76ers this season at point guard with Willie Green at shooting guard and Glenn Robinson at small forward. Kenny Thomas will hope to continue his stellar play this season and the Samuel Dalembert could be an all-star in the depleted East while Iguodala will likely be the first man off the bench.
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