(Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
As I watched the first two nights of NBA basketball unfold, I couldn’t help but think one thing… The gap between the Sixers and the Celtics is still pretty big. There has been a lot of talk about the Sixers being the 2nd best team in the East behind Boston. I think that talk is a little premature considering I don’t think the Sixers are better than the Raptors. Obviously, there is still a lot of basketball to be played. Every team except the Lakers, Blazers, Heat and Wizards still have 81 games to go. However, I would be lying if I said I was encouraged by the Sixers performance on Tuesday night.
The Sixers showed us that the gap between them and the Celtics exists, and it exists by a pretty wide margin. The Celtics dominated and controlled the majority of the game. They did so with Hayward and Kyrie shooting 4-23 from the floor. Had those two been on their games, the Sixers would have been laughed off the court. These losses to the Celtics are gut wrenching for the fan base. I can only imagine how the players feel losing to Boston every time that they play.
I don’t think it’s a question that the Celtics are a more talented bunch. You put the rosters right next to each other, and it’s clearly the Celtics. However, I don’t believe it’s the Celtics by that much. It is certainly not enough that the Sixers should be losing to the Celtics by double-digits every time they play. Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala should help when they return from injury. Their return will give the Sixers bench more depth and length to throw at Boston. Adding those guys will help close the gap, but I don’t think it’s enough to take down Boston. Good thing that the Sixers still have 81 more games to figure this out before the playoffs.
We saw how much the Sixers progressed as the season went on last year. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt that we will see that this season as well.
