9 Under, Almost In, And Completely Invisible

After tonight's 21-point shellacking of the return to historical form Los Angeles Clippers, your Philadelphia 76ers have climbed to within 9 games of the .500 mark... and more amazingly, a half game out of the final playoff spot in the East.

For the 14 people left in the Philadelphia area that kind of care about the franchise, the encouraging thing is that they seem, in the games when Sam Dalembert is earning his paycheck, to be a good defensive team. Combine that the double Andre backcourt of Miller and Iguodala, the instant offense of Louis Williams, the more than occasional bursts from Willie Green and the promise of rookie and new starter Thaddeus Young... well, it's a team that really would probably be in the top 8 if they had kept Kyle Korver, rather than send him to Utah for cap relief. (Or if I hadn't written about them the last time they seemed like they were on the edge of relevance.)

And while no one is really expecting them to beat Dallas at home on Monday, the next few games on the schedule does include Memphis, New York and Minnesota, otherwise known as No Longer Trying, The World's Saddest Circus and Home Court Advantage, and A Team That Starts Sebastian Telfair and Marko Jaric, While Stressing Defense.

Right now, it looks like there are five teams -- Atlanta, New Jersey, Indy, Philly and Chicago -- for the last two spots in the East, and the privilege of getting rolled like a wino by the Celtics and Pistons. (Though the idea of an 8 seed Sixers team upsetting the top-seeded Celts as New England Fan cries himself to death does keep a man warm in the winter. Very, very warm.)

Of those five teams, I suspect it's Atlanta and Chicago on actual talent, but it's not like we're talking about worldbeaters here... and the job gets easier if and when the Nets trade Jason Kidd for squat.

The team that I really don't get in the East is Charlotte. You throw out Jason Richardson, Emeka Okafor, Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace out there, they all stay more or less healthy, and you've got... a below .500 record at home and the third-worst record in the conference, ahead of only the colossal stink jobs in Miami and New York? Someone needs to let these guys know that, at some point, expansion teams are allowed to win some freaking games. Especially when they've got some, you know, actual talent. (Then again, they have given starting minutes to Nazr Mohammend and Jeff McInnis. Ye gads. Was, um, anyone else not available?)

But getting back to the Hometown Heroes... it's thoroughly possible for the franchise to be above .500 in February. And isn't that what slow progress towards glorious semi-relevance is all about? March, when they get Phoenix twice, the Vengeance of Iverson at home for the only game this year that will get media coverage, the Spurs and Pistons, and two games with the Celtics? Not so pretty. But if they are alive in April, there will be back-to-back games with the Hawks that could actually be relevant. Be still, my barely-beating heart!