The Sixers Advance. Meek is Home. The Eagles are Super Bowl Champions. All is Right in the World

Last night was one of those games you wanted to write about immediately, but so much happened, it took awhile to fully comprehend. I mean, it’s not every day that a rapper who made both free mixtape releases and criminal justice reform in the United States popular topics of discussion gets released from prison and flown via chopper straight to the Sixers first playoff series clincher since 2012. Getting released from jail then getting flown via helicopter by the Sixers owner to the Wells Fargo Center to sit courtside at a Sixers Playoff game has got to be a more iconic Philly story than Rocky, right?



If you’re a fan of the Netflix original series, Black Mirror, you know “Hang the DJ” was one hell of an episode in the latest season. Basically, the premise of the episode is that we are living in a simulation, and a couple looking to date is going through simulations and they are compatible based on how many times they link in the simulations. Maybe we are living in a simulation. In 99 out of 100 simulations, we are miserable Philly sports fans and our teams let us down. This year has been the 100th simulation. After seeing a crew of Jake Paul (or Logan Paul, who really gives a fuck), Kevin Hart, Meek Mill, Meek’s son, Jeff Lurie and the Governor of Pennsylvania dancing courtside at a Sixers Playoff game, the simulation theory is my only explanation.




https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh_v26SAOEc/

Now, to the game in what was the final installment in the “Wow, Miami’s roster is full of scumbags” series. The Sixers surprisingly started off slow, I thought the energy from Meek coming home would fuel an early run. Instead, the arc of the game made me more proud of this team than a 20-0 run ever could. They didn’t play their best basketball, they missed a lot of attempts early on, they took cheap shots from the Heat… and by the 3rd quarter they were still in complete control. Playing the 76ers during this hot streak is like being thrown over board in the middle of the ocean; just endless waves coming at you as you try to stay afloat. Marco Bellinelli goes 4-12 in Game 5 but it doesn’t matter because JJ Redick pours in 27 points. Joel Embiid struggles early at Miami in Game 4 but it doesn’t matter because Amir Johnson gives you a quick 8 points off the bench. Take a look around, it’s not biased to say this is the most complete team in the Eastern Conference.




In a way, I’m going to miss wanting to rip James Johnson’s tattoos off his neck. In a way, I am wholeheartedly glad that we played the Heat to start this playoff run. After a three week stretch in which it seemed liked we played the Hornets or the Nets every other night, it was good to get a team right off the bat who played dirty and physical to get the juices flowing. As talented a core as this Philly is, this series could have gone either way after Game 2. We could’ve continued to let them out “physical” us and get us out of rhythm. Instead, our team grew up. And not just the young guys, our entire team grew and took an enormous stride in becoming a true contender. Brett Brown related that message to them last night in the most perfect locker room video:



So that’s a wrap on the first post-Process playoff series. It was a success. The Process as a whole was a success. Meek is home. The Eagles are still Super Bowl champions. We were right.



By Aidan Powers | April 25, 2018