Last night, I watched the Denver Nuggets narrowly defeat the Golden State Warriors in the Pepsi Center in order to extend their first round series to a sixth game.  Naturally, I found the Warriors play through the first four games of the series refreshing and thrilling.  But, in Game 6, the Nuggets morphed into the Pistons of the “Bad Boys”  era with a touch of  pop and pizazz and secured a win.  The player who pushed the Nuggets to the win last night was former Sixer Andre Iguodala.

The once heir apparent to Allen Iverson, Iguodala dropped a line of 25 points, 12 boards and 7 assists in 40 minutes of play on 10-17 shooting from the field.  On the series, Iguodala is averaging 16.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 53.4 percent from the floor in 40.2 minutes per (Those stats are much improved over his regular season numbers of 13, 5 & 5 and 45% shooting from the field).

With his playoff averages, Iguodala would have ranked second on the Sixers in points, tied-second in rebounds, second in assists, second in field goal percentage and first in minutes during the regular season. And, the dude is doing this in the playoffs no less against a stingy defensive team in the Dubs.

Regardless, I still say the Philadelphia 76ers are better off with Iguodala elsewhere.

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The 76ers are 5-4 in their last 9 games and if they hadn’t simply given away a game in Denver last Thursday that record would be even more impressive.  Collins & Co. have won 6 games overall in March – their highest monthly win total since December.  There are a couple of reasons for the improved play of the Sixers over the past month, but none have been a big factor than Damien Wilkins.

The 33-year old Wilkins has had a resurgence that is reminiscent of the Jason Richardson we saw in the first month of the year.  Damien’s play of late is both unexpected and more so untimely.  Whether it is a case of veteran savvy coupled with intense mental fortitude or variance, DW has been managed to produce at a level far above even he likely thought possible — 18 points; 5 boards and 4 dimes last night.

 
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Earlier today 76ers CEO and Twitter aficionado Adam Aron was a guest of the Mike Missanelli show on 97.5 The Fanatic.  Aron was actually brave enough to allow Missanelli to take calls from actual listeners who were then allowed to ask Aron questions on the Sixers   

I was lucky enough to get a call in to the show and have a couple questions answered by Aron and Missanelli on the radio.

My questions were aimed at Kwame Brown and the overall cap room of the team.  

After the jump, is a transcript of my questions and Aron’s responses as well as significant analysis of the CEO’s answers.

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Energy and Hustle. 

That might as well be Thaddeus’ name at this point in his career.  He is fighting the good fight every single night.  Not only is he undersized, but a vital weapon has been removed from his bag of tricks.  While my opinions are often met with incredulous opposition, these next two points are beyond refute.  A 3 point shot is more valuable than a 2 point shot and Thad was developing into a legit threat from downtown until the arrival of DC. 

For a team that has mentioned being like the Stan Van Gundy led Orlando Magic featuring Dwight Howard, you’d think that having a stretch 4 might be part of the equation.  Thad can be that guy, he just needs the chance.

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There aren’t too many things that Philadelphia and Memphis share in common.

One city is best known for its historical grandeur, fine restaurants and rabid sports fans, while the other can only boast Elvis and BBQ.  But, Philly and Memphis do share one very unique thing in common.  The City of Brotherly Love and the Barbecue Pork Capital of the World have both had its professional basketball teams’ bamboozled by Lakers’ general manager Mitch Kupchak in deals that allowed the Lakers to acquire two of the most dominant big men in the NBA – Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard.

Yes, long before Kupchak alienated not one, but two coaches in Lakerland (including arguably the best coach in professional basketball history), he suckered our beloved Sixers franchise which was starved to leave the world of the irrelevant (that was nestled in a direction of going nowhere fast) to take on Andrew Bynum and his bum knee, scratch that,  two bum knees.

The 76ers were supposed to receive a Bynum with plenty of superstar potential whose knee simply needed some rest.  Once the knee was stable and now that he was out from under the Kobe dominated Lakers; he would ultimately come into his own as a perennial all-star.

At least, that’s what Bynum was supposed to be.

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Businessinsider.com has a quick but funny post and pictures on the progression of Andrew Bynum’s hair which apparently is having an impact on the style trends of NBA players…

“…one of the most talked about players in the NBA this season because of his hair…The NBA world only has so much room for fashion and style…Last year, it was dominated by outrageous shirts, pants, and glasses at post-game press conference.  This year, it’s all Bynum. ”

We were hoping this year woyld be “all Bynum” as well — only on the court for the 76ers, not in the online fashion world. 

To bad that bumb knee won’t progress as nicely as his hair.

After the jump, read the rest of the businessinsider.com story and a look at some of the best hair-dos in 76ers history…

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While an “expert” opinion on basketball doesn’t exactly carry the same weight as an expert opinion on bone cancer or, I don’t know, a once-in-a-generation hurricane, they’re usually a lot more fun to read.

So without further ado, here’s a look at what some of our favorite NBA pundits from around the interwebs are expecting for and from the 2012-13 Philadelphia 76ers.

(Oh, and be sure to swing by tomorrow to read what Philadunkia’s own team of armchair point guards is predicting for (spoiler alert!) what we think is the best basketball team in Philadelphia.)

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The 2012-13 season is nearly upon us and nobody has been more critical of the moves made by the 7-6′s front office this summer than myself.  That being said, I believe that this team can certainly end up being a top 4 playoff seed at the end of the regular season.

In this post I will detail the 10 keys to maximizing the team’s success in 2012-13.  The closer these 10 things come to happening, the better chance this team has to be elite this season.  One overlooked part of the Bynum trade was how the potential minute distribution was so positively affected.  Many of the keys to the season have already been detailed on this site and some are new thoughts about a successful 2013 season.

After the jump, my 10 keys to a successful 2012-13 season for the new look 76ers…

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In case you missed it over the weekend, on Saturday ESPN.com posted an interesting interview with former 76er swingman Andre Iguodala.  

NBA scribe Jared Zwerling (of ESPNNewYork.com & other online outlets) got some time from Dre and was able to get AI9 to open up about his time here in Philly as well as provide some of his thoughts on what his role will be on George Karl’s Denver squad.

Already one of the most polarizing athletes in the history of the City of Brotherly Love, Dre had a few quotes in the interview that will not be received so well by those in Philadunkia nation.  Specifically his comments on his role under head coach Doug Collins, returning to “attack mode” on offense in Denver and the sports atmosphere here in Philly.

After the jump, pieces of Zwerling’s Q&A with ’Dre…and our thoughts on the AI9′s comments.

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The recent trade that added Andrew Bynum to the Sixers didn’t have to include Andre Iguodala to Denver.  Furthermore, two guys who project to be good NBA starters, Nik Vucevic (Why didn’t ORL want Moultrie?) and Maurice Harkless (who from a previous article, I am quite high on) along with a 1st round pick were sent out along as well.  Unless you’re LAL or Miami, draft picks are vital and necessary pipeline to franchise success.  This trade should of been a thankful farewell to Thaddeus Young, a swift kick in the rear to Evan Turner.

First, the most positive aspect of the trade was it saved Doug Collins and/or Rod Thorn from trading Dre for Rudy Gay or Monta Ellis.  Gay is massively overpaid and Ellis is overpaid and has been average since his moped accident.  Secondly, it essentially removed Nick Young and Kwame Brown from many competitive minutes.  Those two facts, will be but shouldn’t be overlooked this season.  The truth is, keeping Young-Brown out of the lineup and not trading for Gay/Ellis makes this a good trade, unfortunately the 7-6 facilitated a trade where they came out a distant 3rd out of 4 teams.