NBA Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers Becoming A Likable Cast of Characters

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By @Greg_Sacidor

Getty Images

Getty Images

The tactics of the Philadelphia 76ers have not been well liked around the league, but their young roster is quickly becoming one likable cast.

This past week, the 76ers won three out of their four games, each of their three wins more exciting than the previous. Monday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, guard Tony Wroten hit the game’s go-ahead shot with just over nine seconds left. Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets, center Nerlens Noel gave the 76ers the lead with three seconds remaining by capitalizing off of a driving feed from guard Michael Carter-Williams. Saturday night, it was Carter-Williams’ turn as he hit the game winning layup over the outstretched arm of Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert.

During this most recent stretch, the 76ers have begun to shed the negative perception they once owned. Instead, they are now becoming something the city of Philadelphia is accustomed to – a lovable underdog.

Over the last year or so, the perception of the 76ers outside of the franchise has been relatively negative. Whether it is because of the tactics of GM Sam Hinkie, or the team’s extremely poor record, many around the league have not looked at the 76ers to fondly.

With the roster’s average age only being 24 years old, the 76ers have often been outmatched in both the experience and talent departments. But night in and night out, the “youngest team in history,” as head coach Brett Brown calls them, has taken to the court and competed with everything they have. However, most times, everything they have was no nowhere near enough. Over the course of the last season or so, the team’s competitiveness often hasn’t shown as they have continuously lost by double digits. But even even as the losses piled up and the criticism of their approach continued, Brown’s team simply tuned it all out. More importantly, they stuck to the plan and continued to play for themselves, for each other and for their city.

In their most recent win against the Pacers, an astounding 17,000-plus turned out to cheer on their hometown 76ers. To put that in perspective, that is more than some of the teams at the top of the NBA’s standings draw. After the final buzzer sounded and the team recorded its seventh victory of the season, Carter-Williams and Noel celebrated with the team’s dance team as confetti rained down from the rafters. Wroten got on the public address system and thanked all of the fans in attendance for their continued support. Numerous players even tossed their game-worn jerseys into the crowd before entering the locker room.

With each K.J. McDaniels highlight-reel dunk, with each Joel Embiid celebratory dance that eventually goes viral, and with each game-winning shot, the 76ers’ bandwagon is slowly but surely continuing to grow. Sure, most of the people getting behind the team are from Philadelphia, but as the team continues to put together exciting win after exciting win, their bandwagon will only continue to grow nationally. With each player on the roster simply playing for themselves, their teammates and their city, the cast of characters that Hinkie has assembled is slowly becoming one of the most likable groups in the entire league.

Greg Sacidor is a Philadelphia 76ers and NBA writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Greg_Sacidor or add him to your network on Google.

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