15. Philadelphia 76ers
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	Iguodala, the new AI, has emerged as the 76ers' top player. Bob Rosato/SI
	Fast Fact Kyle Korver took 46.5% of the Sixers' 284 three-point shots last season and led the team with a .430 percentage shooting from beyond the arc; no other player in the league had a larger share of his team's attempts. Telling Numbers Record: 35-47 (10th in East) Points scored: 94.9 (26th in NBA) Points allowed: 98.0 (11th) Coach: Maurice Cheeks (third season with 76ers)

An inexperienced team has a lot of growing to do before it can contend again

During a five-week stretch this off-season, the Atlantic Division resembled the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Wheeling and dealing at a frenetic pace, the Celtics (acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen), Knicks (Zach Randolph), Nets (Jamaal Magloire, re-signing Vince Carter) and Raptors (Jason Kapono) drove up the value of their rosters. There wasn't much bidding by the 76ers, however, whose big summer pickup was 6' 8" forward Reggie Evans -- last seen bolted to the Nuggets' bench in the first round of the playoffs.

Opening their first season since 1996-97 without Allen Iverson, the 76ers have one of the league's youngest rosters (average NBA experience: 3.3 years), a group that does not have an All-Star Game appearance among them. "We're going to have to teach, teach and teach some more," says coach Maurice Cheeks.

Yet time isn't on the coach's side; he's in the final year of his three-year contract. Making Cheeks's job even more complicated is center Samuel Dalembert's recovery from a stress fracture in his right foot. (He is expected to be in the starting lineup for the Oct. 31 opener but might not be at full strength.)

Any glimmer of hope in Philly is based on how well the team played after trading Iverson to Denver in December and jettisoning Chris Webber four weeks later. Those moves cleared the way for the emergence of another AI, fourth-year guard Andre Iguodala. Point guard Andre Miller, acquired from the Nuggets in the Iverson trade, is a stabilizing influence, and Evans is a rebounding machine (an NBA-best 19.7 rebounds per 48 minutes). "Our veterans can play," says Cheeks. "They are hardworking guys who are also very intelligent."

Still, it will take a superlative effort from them all for Philly to avoid spending the season at the bottom of the division. -- Chris Mannix

Issue date: October 29, 2007