Bob Cook

None of the mostly mediocre Eastern Conference, er, “playoff” teams probably has any burning desire to face Boston or Detroit in the NBA postseason. On the other hand, the Celtics and Pistons aren’t looking forward to facing the best of the Eastern others — the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Sixers, at 22-11, including wins over Boston, Detroit, Phoenix, San Antonio and Denver, have the third-best record (behind Boston and Detroit) in the East since Jan. 26. That was the date the franchise bottomed out at 18-30, with at least one out of every three seats in its arena vacant during home games. It got so bad, the Sixers were listening to offers for point guard Andre Miller, the only player in the regular rotation whose age is greater than the number of teams for which backup guard Kevin Ollie has played.

Even with their three-game losing streak, it appears the biggest question mark for the Sixers entering the playoffs is what happens first: Philadelphia gets knocked out, or the arena has to change its bank-sponsored name for the fourth time in 12 years, given how Wachovia is starting to get sucked down the subprime-mortgage crisis money drain.

Wachovia, the arena, is doing much better, with frequent sellouts following the team’s turnaround.

This is a heck of a young, strong team, with a good guiding hand in coach Maurice Cheeks, that president and general manager Billy King built. Too bad for him that, like a stage dad gone bad, he has to buy a ticket to see his kids perform. After 10 years on the job, King was fired in December after Philadelphia lurched to a 5-12 start, erasing the good feeling at the end of last season that the Sixers might be capable of turning themselves around after King met former franchise face Allen Iverson’s trade demand.

King’s replacement, former New Jersey GM Ed Stefanski, made the magic move to kickstart the 76ers — trading 3-point shooter Kyle Korver just before New Year’s Day for a bucket of expiring contract beans. And then he also … well, that was about it. It wasn‘t obvious at the time, but Korver was just KILLING this team.

Actually, that move paid bigger dividends than clearing an extra $4 million in cap space. It opened up more playing time for Philadelphia’s youth group, particularly 19-year-old first-round pick Thaddeus Young, who has, in most games, replaced the poor man’s Ben Wallace, Reggie Evans, at power forward. Though Young is miscast at power forward at 6-foot-8, 220 pounds, he fits in better with Philly’s drive-the-basket aesthetic on offense.

The move, more importantly, solidified leadership roles for two players.

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First is the nominal on-the-floor leader, Miller, 32, now free of the shadow of being the guy that got traded for Iverson. Miller fits in perfectly as a point guard for a team that is last in the NBA in 3-point shooting attempts and percentage. He prefers operating on the block and pushing the ball inside, rather than hanging around the perimeter, where he is no threat (only 3-for-34 from 3-point range) to score.

Second is the new face of the franchise, Andre Iguodala, 24. If you miss watching Dwyane Wade in his injured absence, check out Iguodala, another charge-the-basket, aggressive swingman from Illinois (Springfield, to be exact, which might land him a Simpsons guest spot someday) who is good for 20, 5 and 5 a night.

Actually, Iguodala could end up, dare I say, being better than Wade.

Iguodala, at 6-foot-6, is two inches taller. And unlike Wade, Iguodala is a semi-legitimate threat from 3-point range — he’s made about one-third of his nearly 300 shots, more than double the number he’s ever taken previously in his four-year career. That opens up the floor more for Iguodala’s drives and rim-rattling dunks, a necessary development given the Sixers’ otherwise anemic shooting from beyond the arc.

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