Sixers-Celtics: tonight Game 0 ??

While Sixers’ have still a (slim) chance to re-gain that 6th place in the Eastern Conference standings, at Bulls’ expense, every fan with half a brain already knows we will end up finishing at #7, where we stand now.

After last night’s win over the Pistons, its fifth straight, here is Chicago’s status:

• 41-40 (6th seed)
• ONE game remaining, Wed 15th at home vs Raptors.

While Sixers are:

• 40-40 (7th seed)
• TWO games remaining, tonight vs Celtics and tomorrow at Cleveland, in the second night of a back-to-back, and with a team that is 137-1 at home, or something.

So yes, technically by winning both games we could get past the Bulls, if they lose to the Raptors. But it sounds like saying that there is a chance that Jerome James WILL NOT exercise his player option for the 6 millions he is owed in 2009/2010. 

Reality is, reguardless of the outcome of these three games, we will face the Celtics, that are already sure of their 2nd seed, in the first round of the 2009 playoffs.

So tonight’s regular season game, Sixers’ last at home, will look like an anticipation of the upcoming series vs the “World Champs” (btw I always hated this expression, really arrogant and very “american”, in the worst sense this time. Paired with the Celtics, it sounds even more disturbing, LOL).

It will be a sort of Game 0, say.

Boston will apparently be without Garnett, while Sixers will welcome back Thaddeus Young. That is good news, I just hope Thad didn’t rush his return.

I don’t have great expectations for tonight’s game. I just hope that we win, first because closing the season on a 0-7 losing streak would be annoying (you would perhaps guess that I’m not that optimistic about that final game at Cleveland…), second because it would mean not improving a lick over last year’s 40-42 (not exciting) record, third because getting swept by Boston always sucks, and now we are down 0-2 in the series.

And the memory of that last second loss in the last game vs Boston still hurts, so we should even have an extra-motivation.

I must say I don’t dislike playing with the Celtics in the postseason.

Of course Sixers would be the underdog, of course anything more than losing 4-2 would be considered a fantastic achievement, of course the last time we met Boston in playoffs, in 2002, it ended in embarassment.

But at least we would have a real playoffs atmosphere, and a chance for a memorable upset. After all, last year’s Hawks took the eventual “World champs” to Game 7, right?

So let’s go Sixers, let’s take Game 0. And then Game 1, Game 2….