With the NBA in an indefinite hiatus due to COVID-19, we continue our day-by-day look back at the history of the Philadelphia 76ers. We continue down our path into Sixers history every day as we look to fill the void left by the absence of basketball.
This one takes us back 12 years to the “Run with Us” squad that surprisingly held the home-court advantage against the heavily favored Detroit Pistons in Round 1. They shocked the Pistons on the road in Game 1 and the series was 1-1 shifting over to the Wachovia Center. With an opportunity to take control of the series in front of their rabid fan base, the Sixers did not disappoint. However, it was not the usual suspects of that team that led the way.
April 25, 2008
The Sixers were not supposed to be in this position. They were a young team that was relying on their athleticism to scratch and claw their way to victories while the Pistons were led by a core that had won a championship in 2004. Instead of guys like Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Rasheed Wallace making an impact, it was Samuel Dalembert of all people.
Dalembert was terrific all night long scoring 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting with 16 rebounds and two blocks in a 95-75 thrashing of the Pistons to take a 2-1 series lead. For comparison, Wallace only had two points on 1-for-6 shooting as Dalembert was much more active without the ball. Philadelphia held Detroit to 40.9% shooting on the night and 3-for-15 from deep while also forcing 23 turnovers.
Dalembert and the rest of the team received from praise from coach Maurice Cheeks as he told reporters postgame:
It didn’t look like we had any jitters at all…The reason we were able to get out and run was because everyone was so active on the defensive end.
The way the Sixers won did seem to wake up the sleeping giant that is the Pistons as they then went on to win three straight to eliminate Philadelphia. However, on this night, the fans in Philadelphia could enjoy the fact that they made the big, bad Pistons sweat. [lawrence-related id=29987,29988,29978]