I should wait until they play at Milwaukee Sunday afternoon, but I just can't. In my eyes, this Sixers team is no longer a team with limited talent who plays hard every night, they are no longer a team bereft of talent who can sneak up on wounded teams in a weak conference, they are no longer a pleasant surprise playing out the string in a weak Eastern conference. The Sixers are a good team.
Tonight's
117-83 win over the Sonics illustrates my point perfectly. If the Sixers were truly a bad team playing over their heads, they'd still be winning these games, but they wouldn't be winning them in this manner. They are absolutely out-classing the lesser teams in this league, blowing them off the floor. That's what good teams do. They've also played every playoff team they've faced tight, knocking off the Mavericks, Suns, Magic and Wizards in the past month. This team is for real.
Tonight, it was a huge game from Samuel Dalembert (22 points, 13 boards, 1 assist and 1 block) along with Thad Young (18 points, 9 boards, 3 assists and 1 steal) that lead the way. Andre Iguodala had an active first half, and wasn't needed at all in the fourth.
A couple of quick notes:
- Reggie Evans got the start and put 9 quick points on the board.
- P.J. Carlesimo went to Kevin Durant early and often to start the game, taking advantage of a huge size mismatch he had over Willie Green. Durant scored 10 points in the first quarter. After the first, Thad Young had the assignment for the majority of the game. How did Durant do against Thad? 4 points in his final 20 minutes of game action, with 6 turnovers. There's no question in my mind that Thad Young is a better NBA player right now than Kevin Durant. That may change as Durant matures, but there is no contest right now. Durant is a scorer, and not a very efficient one at that. He plays no defense, doesn't rebound and doesn't make the players around him better. Thad does all the things Durant cannot.
- Speaking of Thad, the Sixers obviously spent a good portion of their practice time this week working on his offensive game. Thad was a bigger part of the offense, and he was more assertive with the ball. Before garbage time started, Thad had a three from the corner, and a couple of nice dribble drives from the top of the key. Neither of those things was happening before the team got some extra practice time. Great work by Mo.
- Another hat tip to Mo. After Durant torched Green early on he recognized the mismatch and used his secret weapon (Thad) coupled with a zone defense to completely stifle Durant for the duration. He out-coached Carlesimo tonight.
- It sure was nice seeing a big smile on Iguodala's face for most of the game.
Saturday is a day of rest, then it's a day game at Milwaukee to finish up this mini-stretch of games. Back on Feb. 26th, the Sixers were looking at a 6-game run, 4 on the road, against Orlando, Golden State, Phoenix, LA Clippers, Seattle and Milwaukee. 3-3 was a fair expectation. With only the Bucks left, the Sixers are 4-1 over that stretch.
Player of The Game: Sam Dalembert
Team Record: 29-33
Playoff Race: The Wizards won, the Nets, Hawks and Bulls lost. The Sixers remain all alone in 7th, 1.5 games behind the Wizards and stretch their lead to 3 over the Nets, 4 over the Bulls and Hawks.
I'd say we're an average team, though we actually are scoring exactly as much as our opponents. According to Hollinger we have the ninth best defense in the league. I'm resigned to the fact that we'll make the playoffs. We may even pass Washington for the sixth seed. Arenas doesn't want to come back and re-injure herself and harm his free agency, even said so in his blog (which tells you all you need to know about Arenas), and Butler's still hurt. If we played Orlando, I'm sure we'd lose, but we'd win a game or two. It'd be good experience for Thad.
Are you OK, man? That's the most optimistic comment you've ever written.
Did you see the game tonight? Thad was forcing the issue on offense, and he still shot 7/8 from the floor and drained a three. The kid's the real deal.
Sixers are forcing people to take notice. About 15,000 showed up last night for Sixers-Sonics game! It could be Kevin Durant but I believe Philly is starting to get behind this team for the playoff push.
We all know Lou is a better combo guard but his play has been erratic as of late. On the west coast he was getting better, but he got back to his bad habits again last night. He looks to drive every time down court and forces the issue a little too much.
I've been thinking about Lou for a while now, and I think his problems might come directly from Mo. When he's out there with Iguodala or Miller, he plays the role of the team player. He gets into the offense, etc. When he's out there w/out another scorer, he tries to do it all himself, and it just doesn't work. I have a feeling that Mo tells him he's the scorer when he's on the floor w/out either Andre, and he tries to do too much.
I would rather have Thad than Durant. I don't care what anyone says. 10 points at 60% shooting is better than 18 at 39% shooting.
Thad is also a far better athlete and defender.
I agree with you. Here's the thing that I don't get about everyone's blind praise of Durant. What's he exceptional at? Seriously. He can score, but only because he takes so many shots. He isn't strong, he isn't great off the dribble, he doesn't have a great jumper, he can't play on the blocks. Why exactly does everyone think he's going to be a superstar? It certainly isn't his contributions when he isn't shooting the ball. No D. No rebounding. No distribution.
I don't even know who you'd compare him to in the league. He's like Dirk without the great jumper? Antawn Jameson without the rebounding? I just don't see it.
I agree. I think Tracy McGrady without the ability to see the floor is a valid comparison to make.
Who do you compare Thad to? I have yet to come up with anyone. Shawn Marion?
It's tough. Maybe Lamar Odom, but I think Thad has the potential to be a much better scorer than Odom.