But if the 85-79 loss showed us anything, the one thing that this team doesn't have - or at least hasn't seen emerge - is that one guy who can consistently get his shot when the Sixers absolutely have to have a basket. It remains one element of any successful playoff team, which many Sixers fans are starting to think is exactly what this team is.
Despite falling behind by 17 points with nine minutes remaining in Wednesday's loss, the Sixers trailed by a very manageable 78-71 with about six minutes left. The Knicks were struggling, as evidenced by their 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) shooting in the fourth. Their go-to guy, Carmelo Anthony, missed all six of his shots in the quarter.
This should have set up perfectly for the Sixers down the stretch. You could sense the nervous energy pulsating in the building as the New York crowd started to digest that this team from the other end of the New Jersey Turnpike might indeed be for real. But unfortunately for the Sixers, no one could make a shot after Thaddeus Young's running bank shot with 5 minutes, 51 seconds to play.
In fairness to the Sixers, they were without center Spencer Hawes, one of the better passing big men in the league and a guy who is integral to both their high-post ball movement and their passing out of the post.
However, forced into a half-court game - exactly the way playoff games are played - the Sixers missed their final seven shots. Equally as disconcerting was where those shots came from. After Jrue Holiday attempted a 6-foot jumper, every other shot the Sixers attempted was from 14 feet away or more.
