Heard in the Cheap Seats

In my opinion, last night was the best win of the year for the Sixers.  Not only did they extend their season long winning streak to 5 games, but they did so by crushing the Portland Trailblazers.  Portland came into the game with a 23-14 record, including a 12-2 mark against the Eastern Conference.  Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 29 points, continuing his stellar play of late.  Portland definitely did not play their best basketball, but a lot of that had to do with the Sixers.  The Sixers played solid defense and forced the Blazers into 19 turnovers.  The more impressive thing to me as I watched the game was that the Sixers showed a desire on the defensive end, along with excellent help defense.  They have a ton of athleticism, so if they can continue to play the passing lanes and harass the ball handlers, while relying on Dalembert, Speights, Brand, and Ratliff to defend the paint, they should be a pretty decent defensive team.  The other impressive stat from last night was obviously 3 point shooting.  The Sixers shot 11 for 23 from beyond the arc, not bad for a team that has been terrible behind the line all year.  As I have mentioned before, I like how DiLeo has structured the offense, and has instilled confidence in the team to shoot it when they have an open look.  When he was asked following the game what the difference has been, Dileo simply stated that the players have the green light, a possible reference to the opposite being true under Mo Cheeks.  Whatever the case may be, the Sixers are playing with confidence.  Now, the key is keeping the rhythm they have found when they welcome Elton Brand back to the lineup.