Call it "old school," call it humble, call it simple, but it works. You don't win all the time by being right, by being a know-it-all, by being a hardass, by yelling. You can win by being straightforward, fair and encouraging, especially with a young team.
Doug Collins has the 76ers believing, and while it's hard to imagine their getting past the first round of the playoffs, if they play the Heat, by the time the series is over, the Heat will have been in a hard-fought series.
At the season's outset, the 76ers were dreadful, and no less an authority than Stephen A. Smith offered that the 76ers were lucky to get Collins given who they had on their roster (he wondered why Collins would have been interested in the job). Well, now they're not dreadful, and the image of a relaxed, enthusiastic Collins is as inspiring as the development of a group of players that to a person seems like a group of very good guys. Yup, it's that "chemistry" word again, and Doug Collins might be part alchemist, part chemist. Whatever you call it, he's done a great job on South Broad Street.
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