Back in early July, the rawness of emotion was still so visceral. The Sixers had been eliminated from the playoffs in a fashion I still can’t quite fathom. With a pair of monster twenty-plus point leads in games four and five, they lost both. Then a winnable game seven at home. The best home team over the last few regular seasons lost three home games in one series. At the crib! It was the type of collective meltdown that left many seeing spots. The Sixers were better than the Atlanta Hawks. All they had to do was execute. Just maintain a massive lead.