At the beginning of the NBA season I figured the Lakers would continue their dominance of the league and easily waltz to yet another title. However, things have changed after the first half of the season. The Lakers haven’t adapted that well to letting Glen Rice go. Trust me, they miss his 16 points a game. Also, the Lakers didn’t do much to get any younger. After Shaq and Kobe, they look like an old folks home. They aren’t even the best team in their division right now, but they are still a legitimate contender.

However, the Philadelphia 76ers are definitely the team that deserves the title of the leagues best team. This is somewhat ironic because all you heard at the beginning of the year was how much more dominant the east is over the west. Don’t get me wrong, after Philly, the east isn’t much to shout about, but they have proven that they can handle any team in the West. As a matter of fact, last week, without the services of Theo Ratliff and Matt Geiger, they man handled the Lakers like you wouldn’t believe.

Philly only has one true superstar....Allen Iverson. After that they are just a bunch of hard working guys doing whatever they can to make sure the dirty work gets done and the team comes out with a win. Because of this attitude Iverson can concentrate on getting his 30 points without having to hear anyone complain, which is more than the Lakers can say. If Philly continues its current pace, they could shock the world by bringing the city of brotherly love it’s first title since the early 80’s.