Atlantic Division

Philadelphia 76ers Power Rankings - 2012-13

Power Ranking
WEEKRECORDRANKCOMMENT
Week 2433-4721I'll say it again. Even knowing what we know now, with Andrew Bynum playing a total of zero minutes this season and Doug Collins ultimately deciding that he's going to walk and all the uncertainty Philly faces as a result, your committee (of one) still would have rolled the dice on Bynum.
Week 2331-4520Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless. That's the frontcourt foursome Philly could have had if it never did the Andrew Bynum deal. But you know what? Even knowing what we know now about Vooch's breakout season, I'd have still rolled the dice on Drew.
Week 2230-4321Even we occasionally tire of those Leastern Conference jokes, so let's not overdo it in the wake of three straight Philly wins after a l-o-n-g barren run and the playoff life that the Sixers unfathomably still have. Better to pay homage to Allen Iverson showing up on AI Bobblehead Night.
Week 2127-4221It would take far more space than we have here to properly recap the litany of errors that led to Philly's collapse in Denver with a golden opportunity to halt the Nuggets' win streak at 13. Bouncing back with a win in Sac-Town, though, did allow the Sixers to halt that 15-game road losing skid.
Week 2025-4024It's not exactly the sort of identity they were hoping for when they landed Andrew Bynum, but the Sixers are getting better at the whole playoff spoiler thing. Their past three wins (Warriors, Nets and Pacers) all came against playoff teams. And don't forget the scare they just gave Miami.
Week 1923-3929Well played, Sixers: Julius Erving, Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain bobbleheads arrived in the mail this week to commemorate 50 seasons of Philadelphia basketball. And they temporarily did distract me from another loss to Orlando and Philly's ongoing 1-12 fade without Andrew Bynum.
Week 1823-3526The Bynum saga is only getting sadder with the news that more surgery looms, but you'd struggle to find a GM who wouldn't have made the same trade Philly did. Had to gamble on Drew after maxing out with the previous group and probably have to bring him back given how young he is.
Week 1722-3225The Bucks are trying to keep the suspense alive in the "race" for No. 8 in the East. But the Sixers, even with Thaddeus Young's return, simply don't have enough to mount a charge ... barring Andrew Bynum making the sort of monster comeback pretty much no one expects any more.
Week 1622-2922Even allowing for the increasingly unlikely event that Andrew Bynum returns this season and performs at a high level, Philly's playoff chances are remote. The Sixers play 19 of their final 31 games on the road ... and still have to see LeBron four times. (Tom Sunnergren, Hoop76)
Week 1522-2722Some things change for the Sixers: Milwaukee, not Boston, is suddenly the team they're chasing for the No. 8 spot now that the Rondo-less Celts have reinvented themselves. And some things don't: Philly will play its 50th game out of 50 minus Andrew Bynum when the Clips visit Monday night.
Week 1420-2620The Celtics lost Rajon Rondo more than a week ago and still haven't lost a game without their point guard. It's been that sort of season for the Andrew Bynum-less Sixers, who realistically rank as the only team outside of the East's top eight that can still crash it ... but it's getting late early in Philly.
Week 1318-2523The Sixers haven't won two in a row since a 3-0 finish to November, but their rout of the Knicks launched an eight-game homestand. Jrue Holiday's 35-point eruption in the rout halted Philly's NBA-high run of 436 straight games without a 35-point scorer since Willie Green back in April 2007.
Week 1217-2321Instinct tells me he's going to have a tough time actually snagging an All-Star spot, even in a down year for East guards, but Jrue Holiday is making the most convincing push he can, posting two of his four career 30-point games last week and averaging 21.7 ppg, 9.2 apg and 4.4 rpg in January.
Week 1116-2224Four straight L's by 18 or more -- something they haven't seen in Philly since the days of the 9-73 Sixers in 1972-73 -- took their nightly average margin down to a worrisome, very un-playoff-worthy minus-4.2. Potential pick-me-up for Philly fans: Jrue Holiday on TrueHoop TV!
Week 1015-2022Don't think a 2-6 finish to a brutally long trip did too much damage to Jrue Holiday's All-Star prospects, because the still-Andrew Bynum-less Sixers, in the Leastern Conference, are still playoff material and will play 13 of the next 15 at home. Holiday averaged 19.4 ppg, 9.3 apg and 5.3 on the trip.
Week 914-1722Jrue Holiday and Russell Westbrook are the only two players averaging at least 18.0 ppg, 8.0 apg and 4.0 rpg. Evan Turner is one of only four guys (joining LeBron, Durant and Marc Gasol) averaging at least 14, 6 and 4. That's as much comfort as we can offer with the four games left on Philly's trip.
Week 813-1523Six straight losses on the road. Seven straight games on the road, all in the Western Conference, starting the day after Christmas. And still no target date in sight for Andrew Bynum's return, which makes the fact that Jrue Holiday missed only four games (sprained foot) Philly's good news.
Week 712-1221The good news: Evan Turner, like Jrue Holiday, is playing the best ball of his career, joining LeBron, Durant and Marc Gasol in the exclusive club of players averaging at least 15, 7 and 4. The bad news (in addition to Bynum's ongoing knee woes): 10 of Philly's next 11 games are on the road.
Week 611-918The good news: Evan Turner just broke off the best 10-game stretch of his NBA career. The not-so-good news: Philly has had the league's third-easiest schedule according to one measure and is getting a measly 5 points and 4 rebounds nightly from its centers while Mr. Bynum heals up.
Week 510-716While true there's little chance of a Monday passing without seeing the Andrew Bynum saga mentioned in this cyberspace, we can't ignore that Philly has served up a couple of positive surprises. Jrue Holiday playing like an All-Star is one. Topping 100 points in five of six games is another.
Week 48-616Andrew Bynum is out indefinitely. While the Sixers have coped by relying on their D, athleticism and Jrue Holiday's living up to his contract extension as effectively as any 2009 first-rounder not named Griffin or Harden, there are no words I can put here to soften the blow of that first sentence.
Week 36-415On two separate Mondays already this season, Philly has released a fairly gloomy Andrew Bynum update not long after these rankings hit cyberspace. The latest bad-news Bynum bulletin spilled out over the weekend this time and thus drags the Sixers down with the subtlety of a gutter ball.
Week 24-29Who had Boston in the pool for the scene of the Sixers' offensive breakout? Right. Nobody! Before Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday tag-teamed the Celts, Philly had been held below 90 points in the season's first four games for the first time since 1953-54. Before the advent of the shot clock.
Week 11-118Mentioning Andrew Bynum is a conversation-killer in Philly. Nobody wants to talk about the ailing center or what's happened to the Sixers' ranking since Bynum was shelved indefinitely. The consolation: Newly extended Jrue Holiday is off to the best launch of his young career.
Preseason0-014The fact we've scarcely seen a dribble out of the ailing Bynum, after all the September hoopla about his arrival in this cyberspace, pretty much assures that the 11-year-old committee (of one) will be subjected to Power Rankings jinx taunts for the 11th straight season.
Training Camp35-317Find myself drawn to the Sixers as much as anyone in the East chasing Miami. Time will tell if I'm assuming too much about Bynum's impact, but Philly automatically skyrockets here for now in the wake of a trade that landed an undeniable franchise center and got Dwight out of the East.

Philadelphia 76ers