But it goes deeper than that. The Sixers have been pretty hot of late in spite of the Elton Brand-shaped hole in their lineup and payroll. They held off the Atlanta Hawks - possibly their first-round playoff opponents - last night to move a half-game behind Miami for the fifth playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
That's significant. The difference between sixth and fifth is the difference between crushed-by-Boston-or-Orlando and actual-chance-to-win-a-series.
"It's good to put into their heads that it will be a battle," guard Willie Green said.
It must be said that the Hawks did not appear interested in whatever message the Sixers were sending or, for most of the evening, in the contest itself. Still, the Sixers won a game they needed to win without Thaddeus Young, whose ankle went all kinds of sideways in the first half.
History repeating
These Sixers are, in short, doing pretty much what last year's Sixers did. They are overcoming a rough first half and making a run toward the middle of the playoff pack. Last year, that was exhilarating. This year, well, not so much. All of this maneuvering among the other mediocre teams feels more like whistling past the graveyard where the Sixers' chances of contending remain interred.
Instead of the fresh promise of good things to come, this has the stale feel of same old, same old.
Maybe that's because of the Brand hangover. Maybe it's because the Eagles hogged the spotlight with a playoff run and then an exodus of star players. Maybe off-season interest in the Phillies is higher than usual, as it should be. Certainly Villanova has drawn the spotlight away for the last couple of weeks.
