The Philadelphia 76ers finished their 26-game road losing streak by a three-point margin. A loss at the hands of the defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons was already a big blow for the Philadelphia 76ers, but this loss to the Pistons took the thrill out of a wild day of NBA action. It certainly was not a good day for the rebuilding Nets, either. However, as injuries to key players mounted, it appeared as though the Flyers would not be able to come out on top in their first meeting with the Detroit Pistons, at home. The result was a much needed win for the Flyers, however, in order to take some momentum into their next game against the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins.
The Philadelphia Flyers have been known to have trouble finding a way to end their losing streaks: They were part of what is considered to be a “trap game” during the early 1990’s, when they would lose four straight before going on a three game winning streak. Even with the arrival of Bill Bradley as coach, the Flyers were unable to break free of the cycle. This went on to cause them many sleepless nights. This was partly due to the fact that the team was without its number one goal scorer, John Maclean, for the first month of the new season. Bradley was eventually added to the roster later in the season.
With so much on the line in a bad basketball market: the Philadelphia Flyers simply cannot afford to have any sort of major problem, especially considering their recent poor performance on the ice. Their last loss came to the cellar of the Western Conference, when the Colorado Rockies dropped a pair of games to the hated St. Louis Blues. Now, they are hoping to avoid the same situation as they did during their losing streak, which was brought on by the Blues’ acquisition of the infamous Chris Simon.
With the signing of Simon: the Flyers now hope to put an end to the losing streak even if it is just for one game. The acquisition of Simon, who is the son of former NHLer Brian Lawrick, will give the Flyers a boost on offense. In addition, the acquisition of Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds will provide some much needed veteran presence to the line-up, especially with regard to center ice. Simmonds has already been traded to Ottawa and Minnesota, so this may be his best chance to prove that he is still a top player in the NHL. The Flyers are in no position to make a big deal until the season is over, but they must do whatever they can to keep the team playing well enough to be in the playoffs.
Now that the NHL’s infamous franchise drought is over: there is one team that should expect to make a lot of noise in the league. That team is the Chicago Bulls, who currently has the worst losing streak of all time. For the past couple of months, the Bulls have been struggling mightily, which has fans wondering if they have hit their ceiling. If the Bulls can get hot at the right time, however, they have a very good chance to be a surprise playoff team once again.
One thing that’s important to remember about this NBA season: is that the most successful teams usually have an excellent coach in Michael Jordan. Perhaps he is feeling pressure after being traded to a smaller market in Toronto? Whatever the reason, the Bulls look like a team that could very well challenge for the Eastern Conference title.
If they can win a few key games early in the season, they stand a good chance to make a deep run through the NBA playoffs.