January 25, 2017
Usually when we do this weekly power rankings post, the Flyers tend to come before the Sixers. Alphabetical order is a critical part of the PhillyVoice stylebook, after all. Considering the way both teams have played as of late, though, I figured we’d make an exception.
Onto the power rankings!
There's clearly an element of good fortune that factors into Philly's 8-2 surge. You don't go 4-0 in games decided by three points or fewer, after winning just four of your previous 21 one-possession games dating to the start of the 2014-15 campaign, without a lucky bounce or two. But let's be clear here: Philly is doing plenty of interesting things. Ersan Ilyasova and Robert Covington have combined to drain 51 3s over the past 10 games. The Sixers, as a team, have moved into the league's top 10 in defensive efficiency. And Joel Embiid, of course, continues to make the most of his floor time.
Break up the Sixers! They just keep rattling off wins behind Joel Embiid, who might as well pick up Rookie of the Year at All-Star Weekend.
Having allowed just 98.2 points per 100 possessions (87.5 with Joel Embiid on the floor), the Sixers have the No. 1 defense in January. They're 8-1 with Embiid since Dec. 30, coming back from 10 or more points down in four of the eight wins (something they had done just once prior). They had big second halves in Milwaukee on Monday and against Portland on Friday last week, with Robert Covington capping off the latter rally with the game winning 3-pointer. Embiid sat out the second game of a back-to-back in Atlanta on Saturday and the Sixers have four more back-to-backs in the next 18 days, so hold off on ordering playoff tickets.
Things were going well, the defense was looking legitimately great, and then Joel Embiid got hurt again, which is to say…this could get real ugly again, and real quick. That, and color me skeptical on reports of Ben Simmons coming back anytime soon.
The 76ers, who entered the season with a 47-199 record since Brett Brown took over as head coach, have won 70% of their games in 2017, a mark that trails only the Warriors, Hawks, Clippers and Jazz. With the emergence of Joel Embiid and the debut of Ben Simmons inching closer, 76ers fans are as hopeful as they've been in years.
Rich’s Take: C’mon USA Today and Sports Illustrated, live a little bit! The Sixers still are 19th in net rating since December 1st, and they’re up to 9 wins in their last 12 (9 of 10 with Joel Embiid, with that loss coming in crunch time at Boston). Power rankings are generally pretty fluid throughout the season, so it can’t hurt to reward the Sixers a little bit like Steiny Mo at ESPN.
The Flyers got a crucial win coming out of their bye week over the Islanders as they try to arrest a crippling slide.
Things went sour for the Flyers shortly before Christmas, and there’s still precious little sign of recovery. After a five-day break this week, Philadelphia lost to New Jersey on Saturday and fell behind to the Islanders 2-0 before rallying on Sunday. That drops the team to 3-9-3 over its last 15 contests, a run that has virtually erased the gains made during the club’s 10-game winning streak. Claude Giroux has just a single goal over those 15 games, and his line has only scored on four of the 108 shots it has taken at five-on-five.
The Flyers desperately needed to regroup during their bye week. Since their return, they lost to New Jersey and beat an Islanders team that just fired its coach. At least they earned two points, but it's not very encouraging.
Just 2-6-2 in last 10 as Atlantic teams now have wild-card hopes.
Rich’s Take: What a play by Ivan Provorov to tie up the game in Brooklyn on Sunday night. Let’s not talk about the Flyers more than we have to right now, though.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
