By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

Lost in the shock of Cliff Lee’s return to Philly is this surprising tidbit: your Philadelphia 76ers are turning a corner toward respectability.

What was seen as a black hole void of any team cohesion or talent just weeks ago now seems to be home to a blossoming star in point guard Jrue Holiday and a playoff team.

Jrue Holiday is leading the Sixers back to respectability. The team is just a half game out of playoff seeding.

With their 105-91 win over the hapless Clippers on Wednesday, the Sixers now find themselves just a half game behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the 8th spot in the East, and 1.5 games behind the Pacers for seventh. Granted, all three squads have losing records. Still, a playoff birth would be an improvement.

Plus, the Sixers seem to be rolling and, at 10-15, getting to .500 isn’t as far fetched as it was two weeks ago. The Sixers have won five of six games this month. Their only loss was a heart breaker to the East’s top team — the Celtics.

At the same time, Holiday is continuing to mature into one of the game’s best young guards. He’s a future star. On Wednesday, Holiday dropped 24 points to go with six boards and five dimes. On the season he is averaging 14 points and 6.6 assists.

While the Sixers seem to be on a roll and have played the top teams tough, only to lose in the final minutes, they still don’t have that “signature” win that screams “Welcome to the Doug Collins era of Sixers basketball.”

The team gets a chance to do so on Friday when Kobe Bryant and the two-time defending champion Lakers come to town. Then, they face Dwight Howard and the Magic in Orlando on Saturday. Get a couple of wins, and the Sixers will then truly turn heads in NBA circles.