Finally Victory

Finally Victory

by Theo Williams

Am I the only one who feels in some kind of way that Kobe Bryant’s retirement tour took ALL of the juice out of Moses Malone night at the Well? Not that I’m mad or anything, but Kobe Debo’ed (a reference from the movie Friday, with Tiny Lister playing the role of Debo the neighborhood bully, for those who haven’t seen it.) the entire celebration. Can Moses get his own night, or are we just supposed to live with the two for one that we got last night? Also, can anyone tell me why, with a minute and ten seconds left in the game, with an 11 point lead, was I still nervous that the Sixers would find a way to cough up the game and break the all-time record for most losses to start a season at 0-19?

As you can tell by my opening paragraph, there were many story lines swarming around the Well Tuesday night. For starters, you had Kobe Bryant, quite possibly the one person who was deserving of the name “Baby Jordan” (attn: Harold Minor) returning to his home city of Philly (spare me your muppet talk of “the Main Line isn’t Philly”. It’s the immediate Philly suburbs so it counts) on the Kobe Bryant Farewell Tour. You have Jahlil Okafor returning to Philly for the first time since it’s been revealed that he has been auditioning to be the new character in Street Fighter V (Speaking of which, he’s just been suspended for a couple of games on the heels of a 2nd Boston video). You have the longest losing streak to begin an NBA season on the line, against an LA Lakers team that is literally .38 of a win percentage better than the Sixers.  Oh yea, and it was Moses Malone night.  I think it’s safe to say that this was the biggest game of the young season, for the young Sixers.

The building was packed and the energy was live! Now, I don’t want to lie to any of my readers, but I was watching the game at home, but it looked live on TV! However, after the Sixers went down double digits, I turned the channel to my DVR in the second quarter to watch Monday Night Raw, and I would keep an eye out on the score on my phone. I’m sorry, but watching that game,( beyond when Kobe got amnesia and forgot that he was 37 years old dropping 3 out of 4 of his first three pointers within a minute and fifteen seconds of tip off), watching the Lakers and Sixers go at it felt like I was watching a couple of Division II schools play. However, after a Comcast fail on my DVR I tuned the game back on somewhere in the 3rd quarter to find the game tied. Screw it, I’ll watch. There were a couple of plays that perked my attention as the Sixers began to slowly pull away, one of which was the D’Angelo Russell sighting (Who else was a bit disappointed when the Lakers took him with the 2nd pick and Okafor dropped to us? Jokes on us… We just ended up with who everyone THOUGHT Boogie Cousins would be), when he dunked on Jerami Grant; and then when Jerami Grant spiked Kobe’s slow, pump-faked layup attempt towards the photographers; and then there was the scuffle between Jerami Grant and Roy Hibbert. Basically, Jerami Grant was the in-game entertainment for Bloomsburg vs. Kutztown, my bad, I meant Sixers vs Lakers… (sorry but not sorry).

(editor’s note: Editor is a Bloomsburg graduate and is insulted by your comparison. Go Huskies.)

Perhaps I’m just suffering from PTSD this season already, given the amount of leads that the Sixers have blown in the 4th quarter last month, but with a minute and ten seconds left in the game, with an 11 point lead, was I still nervous that the Sixers would find a way to cough up the game and break the all-time record for most losses to start a season at 0-19. (You like how I brought that back around, right?) However, by the time that it had finally sunk in that the Sixers would win the game, and as I began to realize that the Sixers would not surpass the ’09-’10 Nets for the longest losing streak in NBA history, something within me changed. Not to sound magnanimous, but I got up from off of my couch and I clapped. See here’s the thing, the Sixers franchise now owns 3 of the longest winless streaks to start the season in league history being this season 0-18; last season 0-17; and ’72-’73 at 0-15, and that team still has the record for worst start in NBA history with only 9 wins, but three years later, they were a playoff team, the next season the Conference champions. The only difference between the ’72-’73 Sixers, and our present Sixers is that there is an actual plan behind what we’re seeing.

I guess, in a roundabout way, what I’m trying to say is, Tuesday night was a good night, and despite the dark cloud hanging over Philly sports, and despite the fact that the Sixers and Eagles may end up with the same number of wins, it felt good to see the Well packed again. I’m never the optimist but it felt good to see the Sixers win again, and to run around singing “1-2-3-4-5-Sixers”, after a victory! Perhaps it’s the prelude to things to come. It felt good to celebrate the careers of a franchise great and a hometown hero (or villain depending on who you ask). Tuesday night just felt good…

Now if we can keep Jahlil Okafor out of jail and not suspended, we might win a few more…

Theo Williams is a contributor for wbcb1490.com. You can follow him on twitter at @trufwilliams.