2009-2010 Finish: 45-37

What went well

The Sixers made yet another finals appearance. Four times in five years is a great feat and has never been accomplished by anyone else and probably won’t ever be accomplished again. Philadelphia brought in a proven winner in Paul Pierce hoping to win in the finals this year but he wasn’t able to bring the O’Brien trophy home.

After a great start the Sixers shook things up and brought in Chris Doulas-Roberts and Jose Barea. They were stacked at the point guard position which caused great confusion and they dropped games and dropped more games. In order to shake things up they got rid of Marcus Landry and brought in Jonas Jerbeko for pennies on the dollar. Once the change came the wins started coming back. Philly beat team when it mattered most and made the playoffs.

The Sixers looked like big underdogs going into the playoffs, but VT was able to show he was a superior GM and defeated all of his long time rivals. Philly opened the playoffs against Toronto and proved to have their number and walking all over them after the Raptors embarrassed them last year coming back from being down 3-0. After taking the series 4-1 they moved onto longtime friend and rival Tim and New York. Again Philly showed their bench was much better and the Knicks couldn’t keep up. Taking out the Knicks was fulfilling for VT. Going into the conference finals VT was worried that the Wizards would be too much for his Sixers. He was reassured by many it would be a tough close series. His Sixers prevailed again showing they had more heart than the money grubbing Washington team.

What went worse

And then came the finals and the luck of the Sixers ran out. They put up a great fight but Bosh was just too much for Marc Gasol and Josh Smith. Better luck next year.

Stars

- Marc Gasol C -

Gasol improved his numbers this year greatly and he proved to be a big factor for the Sixers. Once he was injured Philly fell apart. If he wouldn’t have come back for the playoffs the Sixers wouldn’t have made the finals and probably wouldn’t have made it past the Knicks. Gasol wasn’t averaging a ton of points at 13.8 but 8.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks a game is huge. He clogged the middle for the Sixers. He will be a priority signing next year for them.


- Gerald Wallace F -

Wallace was able to improve his numbers a little from last year but Wallace proved to be the spark for the Sixers during the playoffs. He was able to get much needed defensive stops on guys that most GMs in the league would say are better than him. Wallace provided versatility for Philadelphia in being able to play both forward positions.


Goats

- Paul Pierce, GF –

Pierce was acquired because he was a proven winner. Pierce looked like he was in more of a wheelchair all season than able to play. His numbers were cut in half from last season. 15.5 points per game from Pierce was just pitiful. Pierce looks to be getting the boot this offseason.




Looking to the future


The Sixers have lots of decisions to make this offseason. Pierce is rumored to be on his way out the door. GM Vt has made suggestions of Gerald Wallace also leaving but he is Philadelphia’s greatest defender. Wallace, Smith, and Gasol will all stay if we know anything about the Sixers. As of their now their bench looks to be the deepest in the league but Philly will probably be changing that up to get some more star power. Sixers will be in the playoffs again next year but offseason moves will determine if they can make the finals again.