The rest of the sporting world is starting to recognize something Sixers fans have been realizing for weeks now.
This 76ers team is different.
Dwyane Wade, a future Hall of Famer, called them "special" after their hard-fought win in Game 4 in Miami on Saturday (see story).
“They’re good,” Wade said. “They’re special. They’re a good group. They put the right team together.”
Now, the stat-heads over at FiveThirtyEight are showing the love today in their updated prediction models.
The team with the highest percentage chance of winning the NBA title this season, according to their unique mix of team Elo ratings and player projections, is the Houston Rockets at a whopping 41percent. But you know who has the second-highest percentage chance of winning it all as of Monday morning? Not the Golden State Warriors. Not the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not the Toronto Raptors.
Your Philadelpha 76ers currently have a 14 percent chance of winning the NBA title this season, again, according to 538's unique projections. That is higher than all other NBA teams. The Warriors (10 percent) and Raptors (11) are the only other teams in double digits.
NBA
They also put a 40 percent chance the Sixers represent the East in the Finals. The Raptors (32), Cavaliers (12), Celtics (8), and Pacers (5) all follow.
The Sixers can end their opening-round series with the Heat with a win on Tuesday night and would await the winner of the Celtics-Bucks series which is currently tied at two wins apiece. The Sixers would have home-court advantage over the Bucks but not the Celtics in the next round.