The Philadelphia 76ers are doing a great job in the middle of a difficult seven game stretch. Philadelphia is 3-1 so far during the run that sees them face teams with winning records. They defeated the Atlanta Hawks on the road to earn their latest win and move to 17-7 on the season. That is a good thing because it is starting to look like the Atlantic Division race won't be so easy. Just a week ago the rest of the division was below .500. But the Boston Celtics have come alive and made it clear that they won't go away. Fortunately the 76ers aren't giving anything back.
Boston defeated the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, February 5 and has now won four straight games. In fact, Boston has won eight of nine games. The only loss was an inexplicable one in which the allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers to score the final 12 points of a game to lose by one point. Boston is clearly looking good and they are likely to stay that way. After an awful start to the season there were a lot of questions about the age of this team and how they might play through a condensed schedule. But even with a terrible record it wouldn't have been wise to dismiss Boston. There is too much experience on that team. Now at 13-10 it seems clear that Boston will continue to push forward.
Fortunately, the 76ers are doing their part. The 76ers have won seven of their last 10 games. That means that despite their strong play the Celtics haven't really been able to pick up a lot of ground in the division. Even with the schedule getting tougher the 76ers are still getting the job done. Right now they are the best team in the division. But I'm happy to see Boston make a little run. First, it's a great rivalry between the two teams. Second, it makes the division race more interesting. Strangely the two teams have not met yet this season. That won't happen until March 7 when the Celtics visit the Wells Fargo Center. That game should have as much excitement around it as any game between the two teams in years.
* - Mark Paul is a Philadelphia 76ers fan. Follow him on Twitter here.
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