The Philadelphia 76ers built most of their early success on the dregs of the NBA. Now that Sixers fans like myself know how they stack up against more elite teams – to a point – the team can get back to their old habits. While the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t as bad as they were last year, the Sixers still got back to basics by beating up on an inferior opponent, nonetheless.

Philadelphia needed a bounce back game after ending its “Death Row” stretch with two straight losses to the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers. But the Sixers wouldn’t extend their longest losing streak of the year on Feb. 11, as they handled the Cavaliers by 99-84 just like in the old days.

Before the last week, everything came easily for the Sixers as they faced bad opposition and blew them out by the second or third quarter. They even followed that formula to beat the elite for a while until the Spurs and Clippers tripped them up. But in facing its first inferior opponent in two weeks, Philadelphia just waited until the second quarter to blow Cleveland out.

The Sixers blew the game open by outscoring the Cavaliers by 37-22 right before halftime. They barely needed to do much after that, as they reestablished their old trends of playing mistake-free, balanced basketball. With only six turnovers, six Sixers scoring in double figures, 20 points from Jrue Holiday and 19 from Lou Williams, the night was a real blast from the past.

Since Philadelphia only went 4-3 against seven straight elite opponents and could and should have been 5-2 or better, there are still too many questions about this team. They won’t be answered by beating the likes of the Cavaliers, but now that the schedule is somewhat easier again, the Sixers can at least build up wins in the meantime.

Of course, with most of their upcoming games on the road and with this grueling post-lockout schedule bound to take its toll at some point, beating the worst of the NBA eventually might not be as easy. But given that the Boston Celtics and now even the New York Knicks are getting a little more threatening, the Sixers need to keep their cushion in the Atlantic Division.

Wins like the one over the Cavaliers serve to keep that cushion and soften the blow from recent losses. It was just like old times for Philadelphia, as it wasn’t rusty against poorer competition after all – and hopefully never will be.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident and 76ers fan.

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