Wait, Are The 76ers Good Now?

Welcome to the latest episode of Hot Takedown, FiveThirtyEight’s sports podcast. On this week’s show (Jan. 24, 2017), we chat about last weekend’s NFL blowouts and begin to think about the Super Bowl. Next, we interview Duke’s Lexie Brown, who recently made 56 straight free throws, the sixth-longest streak in NCAA history and the new ACC record. Finally, the Philadelphia 76ers are suddenly on a hot streak. We investigate how the Sixers’ season has recently taken a winning turn and look at whether it’s too late for Philadelphia to be a playoff contender.

Links to what we discussed:

• In case you missed it, ESPN recapped the Falcons’ 44-21 defeat of the Packers and the Patriots’ 36-17 AFC title win against the Steelers.
• FiveThirtyEight’s Neil Paine took a look at Matt Ryan’s incredible season and explained why it’s not a fluke.
• The Patriots won with less talent than usual, writes Ty Schalter.
• Duke’s Lexie Brown was named the ACC Player of the Week this Monday.
• espnW’s Mechelle Voepel reports on the NCAA committee’s early reveal of the top 16 women’s basketball teams.
• The Ringer’s Ben Detrick explores the Philadelphia 76ers’ surprising hot streak.
• Significant Digit: $4,045, the amount “The Fish Guy,” an aquatic services company, sought from Buffalo Bills linebacker Brandon Spikes in a lawsuit. The company moved Spikes’s tropical fish and aquarium to Buffalo from Rhode Island in 2014 after he joined the Bills.