If ever there was a matchup of two teams that mirrored each other's seasons, it was tonight's game between the resurgent Seattle SuperSonics and the even more resurgent Philadephia 76ers.

Both teams got off to incredible starts: The Sonics 8-2, the Sixers 15-4. The coaches of both teams at the time warily claimed that the quick starts were, in the words of Sixers coach/head case Larry Brown, "fool's gold." And both teams went out and proved the cynics correct by having swoons that made many wonder whether they could even make the playoffs.

	Just like he did two years ago, Allen Iverson is taking the ball to the hole.

Well, the Sonics, even with the subtraction of the overbearing Gary Payton and the addition of Ray Allen, who has blown into town like a storm that carries away with it a dark cloud, probably are not going to be postseason bound in the uber-competitive Western Conference.

But the Sixers, who went from 15-4, then lost 20 of their next 30 games to hover around .500, now have won 11 of their past 12 to not only jet to 36-25. Philly can begin talking about not only winning a division, but winning the entire conference. After all, they are only 2½ games out of first place in the East as the Nets, Pistons and Pacers lose, lose and lose some more.

Seattle's downfall had depth that few can touch on or care to discuss because of the implications involving Payton. But Philadelphia's dive, while always having something to do with the inner workings of Allen Iverson, also involved the ongoing medical updates of Todd MacCulloch, Aaron McKie, Monty Williams, Derrick Coleman, et al.

After a while, the mercurial Brown even went through a bout of "Should I stay or should I go?" Those who follow the team closely never took Brown's idle musings of retirement seriously, because Brown is one of the most knee-jerk reactionists around. The thing that everybody says about Brown is that after every game, win or lose, he comes into the coach's office and wants to trade whichever player performed poorly that evening.

AI shoots 20 percent? See ya.

Eric Snow misses a key jump shot? Gone.

Keith Van Horn played soft defense and gave up 25 points? Go get a NBDL player who has more guts.

The next day, of course, Brown settles down and goes back to work with the same players he just wanted to deal, and that is one of the reasons the Sixers are streaking right now, including a 108-99 victory over Seattle on Friday night.

Just before the trade deadline, the Sixers were shopping Coleman to just about everybody in the league. They explored swapping him for Payton; they explored a deal with Indiana that involved Austin Croshere. Ultimately, though, Coleman remained with the team, quite possibly because the Sixers want to keep his $10 million contract that is coming off the books this summer. Or, maybe it was because Brown inserted Coleman, as well as Kenny Thomas, into the starting lineup and that has coincided with the team's win streak. And in Brown-speak, "We're winning; I love him."

Ever since Coleman went into the lineup for MacCulloch, whose career could be over because of a rare neurological disorder, and Thomas went into the lineup for McKie, the Sixers have been playing the kind of defense that takes teams to the NBA Finals, which they learned two seasons ago.

	Tyrone Hill, right, helped the Sixers get to the Finals in 2001.

Granted, the Sixers are undersized with Coleman at center, but in reality what centers are there in the East that Coleman has to worry about? And with Thomas, Coleman and Van Horn along the front line, the Sixers have a big front court that, while it may not be imposing, at least forbids teams from penetrating like it was able to with the smaller McKie in the lineup.

Now, Thomas is out indefinitely with sprained ligaments in his right ankle. But it is for this reason that the Sixers signed Tyrone Hill, recently waived by the "tanking" Cavaliers. Hill, you'll remember, played alongside Dikembe Mutombo on the team that went to the Finals, and he should be able to step in and re-learn the system rather quickly.

While those four players are anchoring the defense, the other part of the turnaround has to do with, you guessed it, Iverson, and more specifically, his offense. At one point shooting like field goal percentages were recorded in Celsius, Iverson has found a rhythm that reminds one of the Sixers' run to the Finals against the Lakers.

In the past 10 games, Iverson has averaged 30.8 points a game. Whereas before he was jacking shots at will from the outside, now Iverson is driving the ball to the basket. In the past 11 games, he is averaging more than 10 free throws a game.

As with every team that goes on a winning streak, the schedule has something to do with it -- and the Sixers are no exception. Among their last 11 wins, they have defeated Chicago twice, Cleveland twice, Memphis and Denver. But they also have victories over the Nets and Thursday's win over the Blazers, the only loss coming against Sacramento in a game the Sixers easily could have won.

Some will question whether beating the Sonics Friday was a legitimate win, given Seattle's 28-33 record. At this point, though, with both teams' fortunes doing what Karl Malone might call a "360," a win for either side is a bona fide success.

Frank Hughes, who covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.