The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers are off to a rough start this season.
Comparing Struggles with the Past:
Back in 1996-97, the Phoenix Suns began their season with an awful 0-13 record. Despite this, they managed to finish at 40-42 and snagged the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They even put up a fight against the Seattle Supersonics, who had won 57 games that season, before losing in five games.
Todayโs Bucks have stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard but still find themselves at 1-6, tied for last place. The Sixers aren’t faring much better with a record of 1-5, having played only one game with Paul George and none with Joel Embiid. The Suns’ experience shows how teams can struggle without their key players.
Lessons from Phoenix’s Turnaround:
Before that tough season started, Phoenix traded Charles Barkley to Houston. This left them relying on older players such as Hot Rod Williams and A.C. Green, similar to what the Bucks are doing now. Both teams also struggled defensively by allowing too many points.
Phoenix turned things around after being blown out by the Lakers on Christmas Day when they were sitting at an ugly 8-19 record. A trade for Jason Kidd on December 26 sparked new life into them as they went on to win 32 of their next 55 games! If only it were easy for today’s teams like Milwaukee or Philadelphia to just grab a young star point guard like Kidd was back then!
They also made another trade involving Robert Horry for Cedric Ceballosโa move that didn’t pan out well due to Ceballosโ love for water skiing (and perhaps jet skis). Teams today should take note: always check hobbies before making trades!
Fans think it’s important not to lose hope yet because anything can happen in basketball!
The Unpredictable Nature of NBA Seasons:
The NBA is full of surprises every year; remember how last yearโs Miami Heat reached finals as an eighth seed? Even if you start badly, once you’re in playoffs anything goes!
So while both Bucks and Sixers should be worried about their current standingsโthey shouldnโt panic unless someone like future Hall-of-Famer becomes available suddenlyโฆ
