Philadelphia, PA – Back when I was covering the NFL, Bill Parcells was a constant source of wisdom for me.
One of my favorite Parcells' quotes is his famous "You are what your record says you are" rant.
If that's true the 2011-12 Philadelphia 76ers are pretty darn good.
Open up the newspaper on Sunday and you will find Doug Collins' club with a 14-6 mark. That's good enough to lead the Atlantic Division and for third in the Eastern Conference behind powerhouses Chicago and Miami.
For the most part I buy Parcells' thinking but only when everyone has crossed the finish line. A sample size of 20 contests during a truncated 66-game schedule is certainly statistically significant but there can be anomalies.
For instance entering Saturday's game against Detroit, the Sixers had played the easiest schedule in all of the NBA, facing opponents with a winning percentage of just .436. That type of thing, however, tends to even out over the balance of a full season and sure enough Philadelphia's upcoming schedule is a bear. The Sixers will face teams with a combined winning percentage just south of .700 over their next seven games.
Of course, it's not the Sixers fault that the NBA's schedule maker lined up a bunch of patsies during the first 20 games of the season. You can only play who is put in front of you and Doug Collins has done a wonderful job getting his team ready.
Philadelphia has rarely played down to its competition. In fact the 76ers haven't just beaten the NBA's also-rans, it has destroyed them.
The Sixers are outscoring opponents by a league-high 11.7 points this season and all of their 10 home wins have come by 10 points or more. The team has won eight games by 20-plus points this season after having just seven in all of last season and the 76ers lead the NBA in fewest turnovers (11.6) and assist- turnover ratio (1.92-1).
"[You can only] play the teams in front of you," Collins said of watching his team dismantle the 4-17 Pistons 95-74. "We've got 10 home wins. Win at home and that's what we've got to try to keep doing. We know we've got some great teams coming in. We've just got to be ready to play."
The Sixers tough stretch begins with home games against the Magic, Bulls and Heat next week. Then comes a road game in Atlanta before Philadelphia returns home to play the Lakers, Spurs and Clippers after that. Those seven teams are almost guaranteed to play in the postseason and it's hard to imagine Philly blowing them out of the building.
So it's time to take the Sixers' temperature and see just how good this club really is.
Philadelphia constantly glosses over the one glaring weakness the team has, the lack of a true closer. Forget about Mariano Rivera, the Sixers don't even have a Brad Lidge and are 0-5 in games decided by seven points or less.
Collins' has piecemealed it at the end of tight affairs thus far. Sometimes it's Andre Iguodala and others it's Jrue Holiday or Lou Williams -- options that hardly strike fear in opponents.
Win one next week and everything is OK, win two and Philly fans should be ecstatic. Sweep Orlando, Chicago and Miami and we might be talking about a serious contender.
The following week features both LA teams and San Antonio, who all look imposing on paper but have been paper tigers on the road.
So at the end of this stretch you will be able to look at the Sixers' ledger and say for sure "They are what their record says they are."
