After a harsh second round exit in the playoffs last season , the 76ers seemed dull. Their two super-stars, Joel Embiid and James Harden, didn’t seem themselves in their last game of the 2022-2023 seasons. This lead to Harden requesting a trade and that request was granted recently with his trade to the Clippers. Keeping in mind the Eastern Conference performance last season the two teams to watch in the 2023-2024 season were obviously the Bucks and Celtics. Both teams played amazingly in the regular season and went far in the playoffs. While 76ers drifted off to the side, the Bucks and Celtics prospered.

As the 2023-2024 NBA season starts up we see a few surprising teams fall in the ranks and some unlikely leaders. In the Western Conference the Rockets are doing surprisingly well while the usually promising Grizzlies are at the bottom of the pack. In the Eastern Conference the 76ers are leading the pack at 8-1 followed closely by the Celtics at 8-2. Surprisingly the Bucks are tied with the Pacers at 6-4. The Pacers are usually unsuccessful at even making playoffs let alone being neck and neck with the Bucks.

With the 76ers taking a surprising lead we are left to wonder, what’s changed? There is one major change from last season to this season that could explain the difference. The replacement of Doc Rivers with new head coach Nick nurse. It’s no secret the Doc Rivers struggled coaching the 76ers. With multiple second round exits in the playoffs and barley being able to keep up with the other conference leaders, the 76ers as coached by Rivers were doomed to fail. However, with Nick Nurse as their coach, the 76ers seem to playing with a new confidence. Last season the 76ers plays appeared sloppy and uncalculated, making little mistakes that cost them winnable games and loosing their momentum mid game. This year they seem to only get better as the game progresses: making adjustments, setting their own pace, and making smarter passes. It seems as if their strategy is to conserve energy for the second half or it could be second half adjustments made by Nick Nurse.

Their game seems to be more cohesive and team oriented this season. Shining lights on other players besides Embiid. Tobias Harris, who previously seemed in a slump, has become a consistent shooter. The addition of Kelly Oubre also seemed to put more points on the board prior to his recent injury.

However the main star that seems to be growing as a player at an alarming rate has to be Tyrese Maxey.  With his outstanding defense and recent 50 point game against the Pacers, he looks to be a star in the making. Tyrese showed the NBA who he really is: he is him, he is a dog, and he is resilient. Maxey seemed to show the NBA that he is the player to look out for.

The 76ers are looking good in the beginning of the season and hopefully their skills and newly found confidence will persist.

Basketball is knowingly a very physical sport. Weather your being guarded or a pick was set. Your bound to get tangled up at some point during the game. In order to even be in the NBA you would have to play aggressively and that would mean putting you all on the court. Even if it means coming face to face with fight. If someone throws a punch would you not punch back?

During a highly anticipated game between the Lakers and the Rockets a brawl occurred between to All-Stars. After Shaq missed a free throw Charles Barkley decided to toss the ball directly at Shaq’s head. Possibly not his greatest decision. Shaq retaliated by throwing a punch at Barley but it didn’t connect. What followed was an all out fight between the two big men. Shaq was consequently ejected from the game. Unsurprisingly this was actually Shaq’s second ejection that week.

In a game where the New York Knicks were predicted to beat the San Antonio Spurs a fight broke out. Normally fights are between the players but this time a coach was involved. The Spur’s Danny Ferry and Knick’s Marcus Camby were tussling under the basket for a rebound. Ferry hit Camby in the eye however when the whistle was blown Camby stormed up the court toward Ferry. This led to the referee having to hold back Cambry as he tried to get at Ferry. Even though the ref seemed to have the situation handled as Cambry calmed down, Cambry’s anger resurfaced. Cambry got another glance at Ferry and decided to walk up to him and take a swing. The knick’s coach immediately got between the two before Cambry could fully punch Ferry. It led to the coach taking the force of the swing and he ended up in the hospital with over a dozen stitches near his left eye.  Cambry was facing suspension from five straight games and fined 25,000 dollars. However, if you were a millionaire would you care about a small fine?

In another fight involving the Knicks head coach, this was a playoff game between the Miami heat and New York Knicks. Despite Miami being favored to win the match it ended up being a very close game. This game took place when a team only needed to win best of five games to advance. With Miami up two games to one the Knicks needed to go all out. With tensions high and the knicks in the lead when Alonzo Morning and Larry Johnson simultaneously throwing punches at each other. Despite being friends in previous seasons the two just couldn’t get along during this game. The fight continued leading to the Knicks head coach attempting to get between the two. However, the coach being just five foot nine compared to seven foot players, fell to the ground but continued to hold onto Johnson’s leg. The whole team them tried to break the fight and it eventually fizzled out.