Throughout their histories, the 76ers and Celtics have been tangled in a veritable chess match. When Boston moved, Philly countered. When Philadelphia zigged, Boston zagged.
And on and on it went.
The Celtics had Bill Russell so the Sixers got Wilt. Later it was Julius Erving and Larry Bird and Charles Barkley for Kevin McHale. When Andrew Toney became the “Boston Strangler,” the Celtics went out and traded for Dennis Johnson.
Even the secondary players had their rivalries within the rivalry. Who can forget the time when Danny Ainge got so far under the skin of the Sixers that the only reasonable move was for Sedale Threatt to smack him?
Or the time when the Sixers couldn’t find an answer for Bird who had torched them for 42 points by the third quarter so Doc started a fight and took shots at him while Moses Malone and Barkley held him down.
Ah yes, nothing like a classic rivalry.
Recently, there has been some minor rekindling of the old days like in 2002 when the Sixers and Celtics went the full five games in the first round of the playoffs. But for the most part the old-time rivals have been resigned to wallow in mediocrity together. The good part was that in the weakened Eastern Conference the Sixers and Celtics always had a shot.
Actually, it was kind of nice. They always had each other even though they weren’t exactly standing in the middle of a path to the finals. Success and misery love company. What other way is there to know how good (or bad) a team is?
These days, though, the rivalry is totally one-sided. In the Eastern Conference of the NBA it’s the Celtics’ world and the Sixers are lucky enough to be able to buy a ticket. On Tuesday night the Celtics won their 19th game in a row to set an all-time franchise record. That’s pretty impressive considering the Celtics have been to the NBA Finals 20 times. In setting the record it wasn’t as if the Sixers got to see the gulf between the two clubs – it was more of a grim reminder of what has to be done in order to recreate the good old days.
The Sixers aren’t there yet. Not even close.
“Basically, you have to play perfect basketball,” said Andre Iguodala about beating the streaking Celtics.
Certainly Sixers’ general manager Ed Stefanski is engaged in the process. After all, signing Elton Brand and firing coach Maurice Cheeks well before the new year bear out the fact that the Sixers want to revisit old fights. More telling is that the move to get Brand was a retort to the Celtics loading their roster with All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen for last year’s title run.
Looks like Stefanski needs to make a few more moves. Actually, it’s kind of like how the rivalry dipped in the mid-1970s where the Celtics won titles with Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White and wily veteran John Havlicek while the Sixers regrouped. First they got World B. Free and Darryl Dawkins straight from LoveTron to mix in with Caldwell Jones, Doug Collins and George McGinnis.
Then came the Doctor and everything fell into place.
Is there a Doctor in the house for Stefanski?
Looking back at 2008 – February
Not only did the groundhog see his shadow last February, but also the hated New York Giants pulled off a big upset over the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. It was a victory that should have sent a cold shudder through the offices at the Nova Care Complex, but instead The Gold Standard just kept on clicking along.
Otherwise it was a fairly quiet month filled with reports on the baseball team from Clearwater, Fla. and the mid-season formalities of the NHL and NBA seasons.
Other notable events of February 2008:
• Roger Clemens and his ex-trainer Brian McNamee testified in front of the Congressional House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. During the hearings we learned that Clemens did not know what a vegan was and the whole steroids culture in baseball was slimy and tacky. Good show, guys.
• Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) attempted to claim a Super Bowl victory for the Eagles by digging into the Patriots’ “Spy-gate” thing. In this one Specter’s single-bullet theory almost seemed sane in comparison.
• Ryan Howard got a record $10 million salary in arbitration. Some wondered if he effectively priced himself out of Philadelphia in the near future.
Or did he?
We'll revisit that one again next February.