For Phillies, repetitive advice from Sixers, Flyers

THIS WAS IN THE dining room of the 76ers' hotel headquarters, in the midst of the first round of the 1983-84 NBA playoffs. The Sixers, the defending champions, were in a difficult spot; they had lost the first two home games of the best-of-five series to the New Jersey Nets. They needed two straight road wins just to stay alive.

And there was Bobby Jones, the selfless sixth man who rarely showed any hint of emotion or made any attempt to bring attention to himself, sitting at dinner with a reporter, wearing his championship ring. He said he wanted his teammates to remember who they were.

Nice touch. But, even though the Sixers took their two games in the Meadowlands, they came home and inexplicably lost Game 5 in the Spectrum. Two-and-0 on the road; 0-and-3 at home. So much for repeating.

This, of course, had happened once before to the Sixers. Led by the legendary Wilt Chamberlain, they went 68-13 in 1966-67, then went 11-4 in the postseason, eventually winning the title in six games over San Francisco. A year later, they were 62-20, but just 7-6 in the playoffs, forever remembered for losing three straight to Boston after going up, 3-1, in the second round.

(Both '67-68 and '83-84 were followed by organizational shock waves: After '67-68, Chamberlain forced his way out of town, getting traded to the Los Angeles Lakers; after '83-84, the Sixers drafted Charles Barkley.)

The Phillies open postseason play today, faced with the challenge of becoming the first Philadelphia major pro sports team to repeat as champions since the Flyers won Stanley Cups in 1974 and '75. They are the first to even get that chance since the 1983-84 Sixers.

Billy Cunningham played on the '66-67 and '67-68 Sixers teams, and later coached in '82-83 and '83-84.

"We were right there going in to the playoffs in '67-68," Cunningham recalled. "But the roof blew off the Spectrum, we had to play at the Palestra and I broke my wrist, and that was it for me. We were up, 3-1, on the Celtics, but they were great champions; there was a reason Bill Russell won 11 times in 13 years.

"In '83-84, we didn't come back with the same fire. As much as we talked about [avoiding it], we fell into a rut. Looking back, we probably should have made more changes [with the roster]. The Phillies this year added Cliff Lee and Raul Ibanez, stayed with J.A. Happ. They were a young team, but they didn't stand pat; they realized they had to keep getting better."

The way Pat Williams - the general manager in '82-83 and '83-84 - remembers it, everything broke the Sixers' way in '82-83. They won 65 games during the season, then soared through the playoffs 12-1, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in four games in the Finals. One season later, with essentially the same team, they were gone in the first round.

Asked for a message to manager Charlie Manuel as the Phillies attempt to repeat, Williams said:

"No. 1, it's hard to repeat, but the Phillies have accomplished the most important task, grinding through 162 games, winning their division, fighting off complacency," Williams said.

Still, Williams, now a senior vice president with the Orlando Magic, has vivid memories of the differences in the Sixers' two seasons.

"The '83 season was perfect in terms of attitude, work, focus, first player to last player," he said. "We never lost our sense of direction. We were on top of things every minute, on a total mission. The players, the coaches never took a day off; there was never any jealousy, any resentment in the locker room. It was a situation where everyone was at their peak at the same time.

"We won, had a summer of relief, and when we came back, it was as if we weren't as hungry or driven; we were a little more comfortable. We had a good year, but not at the same level. When we lost all our home games in the first round; we were stunned. With that group - Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Bobby Jones, Andrew Toney - we never scaled that mountain again."

To Williams, that underscores the degree of difficulty in repeating.

"I'd just encourage Charlie to keep them loose," he said. "You don't want them pressing too hard. In this situation, everything has to click. Stay healthy, get some breaks, maybe a call here or there."

Cunningham laughed and said: "Charlie is as dumb as a fox. That's one thing you come to learn and appreciate. Using Brad Lidge for that last out, that tells you a lot about his feelings toward his players. He has done a masterful job, being so supportive and, at the same time, letting them know there's a line they can't cross."

Staying loose is also the advice former Flyer Bob "The Hound" Kelly would give the Phillies. Kelly was a member of the Flyers when they won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and '75.

"Just go out there and have fun," Kelly said. "Everyone gets bottled up with all of the pressure in these situations. They need to just relax, keep it fun and keep it simple."

The Flyers posted a 50-16-12 record in 1973-74 and then beat Boston in six games to become the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.

The following season, their record was nearly identical, at 51-18-11 as the schedule expanded to 80 games. The Flyers went seven tough games with the New York Islanders, winning, 4-1, in the decisive Game 7 to reach the Stanley Cup finals. They beat Buffalo in six games to repeat as champions.

"The first step to repeating is just getting there," Kelly said. "You need to maintain playing at a high level all season. No matter how bad the team you are playing [in the regular season], everyone wants to knock you off, because you are the champs. You need to be on top of your game for all 162 games."

Daily News sports writer Frank Seravalli contributed to this report.