Philadelphia 76ers Make 2011 Eastern Conference Playoffs

The Philadelphia 76ers have clinched a spot in the 2011 Eastern Conference playoffs. In what amounts to a very remarkable turnaround for Philadelphia this season, the team is about to leave the 27-55 finish from the 2009-10 season far behind them. In fact, this could be the first year since the 2004-05 season that Philadelphia has even managed to finish above .500 for the season.

Doug Collins is the coach who gets all the credit for what the 76ers have been able to do this year because this is a team that had to play with the cards already dealt. There weren't any blockbuster trades or monster free agent signings that would save the 76ers this year, and Collins knew that when he stepped out of the broadcast booth to try and lead this franchise back to respectability. He has done more than that, as the 76ers are now sitting as the sixth seed in the East with six games left in the season.

On Friday night the 76ers played the New Jersey Nets, and luckily this game was in front of the Philadelphia fans. That made it even sweeter to clinch the playoff spot and let the fans enjoy something they haven't experienced in a while. Two more wins and it will guarantee a better than .500 finish, but now this 40-36 team has thoughts about pulling an upset in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

It was a real team effort on Friday, with Elton Brand scoring 21 in a starting role and then Thaddeus Young scoring 22 off the bench. Three other players scored in double figures to propel them to a nice 115-90 win. That is what makes this team so interesting, because they aren't relying on one player to lead the charge every night. That changes things up on both offense and defense, and allows Collins to try new things quite frequently.

It seems pretty certain that Philadelphia will remain in the sixth position until the playoffs begin, as they are 2 1/2 games ahead of the New York Knicks (seventh) and four games behind the Atlanta Hawks (fifth). That means they will play the third seed in the East during the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. For that spot, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are the most likely opponents, as they are battling it out for No. 2 and No. 3 in the East behind the Chicago Bulls right now.

It's hard to project which team that Philadelphia would match up better against, but the huge victory of getting back to the postseason is the best thing to focus on right now.

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