"No sleep, no sleep I am always on a mission."
This is a line from the Lil Wayne song, Can't Stop Partying...an appropriately titled piece for the 76ers this past weekend.
Lou Williams apparently pulled a Jonathan Moxon from Varsity Blues, and led a late night trip to the Lil Wayne concert the night before the 76ers day game against the lowly Sacramento Kings.
Not only that, he hosted an after-party at Philadelphia night-club Shampoo. And to make matters worse, he told the media about it.
Ok...Now that I have all the maliciousness out of this article, I can tell everyone to please relax. Lil Wayne-gate has been wildly overblown.
Yes these players are in season, but that doesn't mean they can't enjoy a healthy social life. So what? They went to a Lil Wayne concert and sat in a press box. That is not such a big ordeal. I've heard and seen much worse from professional athletes. And honestly, if they went to an Elton John concert would people be up in arms?
Elton Brand, the grizzled vet of the 76ers, defended his players this week.
"I talked to the guys about being responsible, but one of the things with our guys, they're good guys," Brand said. "They weren't out partying or doing anything that really affected them physically during a 12 o'clock game."
However, of the Sixers in attendance, only Lou Williams had an off night. Evan Turner, another concert attendee, played poorly, but I'm not sure whether it was a Lil Wayne induced off-night, or a run of the mill off-night.
All things considered if this is the biggest "problem" of the year, we are in good shape. In a day and age where most NBA teams are dealing with some kind of disciplinary issues, the Sixers are a breath of fresh air.
The Sacramento loss was the only poor showing in quite some time. The Sixers have a 3-2 record over the past two weeks. The other loss came at the hands of the Miami Heat who were carried by the "Big Three". Wins against the Eastern Conference best Chicago Bulls and higher seed Atlanta Hawks showed why this team will be a hard match-up during the playoffs.
Those wins however, were not the most impressive.
Wednesday night's win against the Rockets was remarkable for a number of reasons. First and foremost it brought the Sixers magic number down to one game. In October did anyone think that two weeks before the playoffs began, Philadelphia would be seated comfortably in a playoff position?
Last night was more impressive because it was a must-win game for the Rockets. Houston is currently fighting Memphis for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. They had everything to play for and the Sixers did not. Yet it was Philadelphia who played like their backs were against the wall.
The 76ers are becoming more and more reliable. Maybe it was the years of disappointment, but I find myself surprised when they win a big game. I remember having the same feeling about the Phillies a few years back, and now I expect summer wins.
Hopefully in a few years, I can have the same mindset with the 76ers.