The Sixers will play host to the struggling Los Angeles Lakers tonight at the WFC. Kobe, Dwight and Co. currently sit at a deceptive 10-14 on the year, but their point differential (+2.3) tells a different story. They're dangerous, but disorganized with a PG to run the show. The Sixers, unfortunately, may also be without their starting PG. Jrue is listed as a game-time decision.
Well, Spencer, Lavoy, Kwame and Moultrie will have a chance to show their true worth tonight...six fouls each. Use them early and often whenever Dwight catches the ball in the paint.
Offensively, the Lakers have a ton of offensive weapons, without a PG to run the system to set them up. Pressure the ball, hope you can keep them from getting into their sets. When they do, they're probably going to score. I'm expecting Gasol to follow in Roy Hibbert's footsteps and wake from his slumber on that end of the floor against the Sixers front court. I assume Richardson will get the Kobe assignment, which probably isn't too much of a mismatch. Kobe's more of a heady player these days.
On the offensive end, if Jrue is back, he'll have a mismatch. If not, Turner will probably draw a crossmatch at the point, which isn't in his favor.
No matter who plays, the Sixers come into this game with a shaky defense, a poor offense and at best the fourth player on the floor. I'm not quite feeling optimistic.
The tip is at 6pm. This is your game thread. I'll be here throughout. Join me if you're out of your walking boot and looking to attack.
i dont think gasol is playing
2-3 weeks as of the third, according to b-r.com. You're probably right. Jordan Hill might be out too, which would mean the Sixers are only grossly outmanned up front, rather than disgustingly so.
Believe it or not i am optimistic. Unless good old Jodie decides to show up and remind Sixers fans of his streaky three point shot i think the Sixers, assuming Jrue plays, will win this game. The reason for this is twofold:
1. The Lakers are probably the worst team in the NBA in transition defense right now. The Sixers have both the personnel and mindset to exploit this IMO. Run at all costs, should be todays moto. Wayns has a rare chance to contribute something to the team tonight.
2. With Gasol and Nash sidelined the Lakers have 2.5 good players right now (Howard, Kobe and maybe Artest). Their bench is beyond shallow, and the Sixers will actually have a chance to build up a lead when the bench units are on the floor (contrary to what we have seen so far this season). When Jodie Meeks is the 4th best player on your team, you are going to be in trouble, regardless of how good your top 2 players are (and even they are not looking very good so far).
Just let Kobe shoot 40 jumpers and live with the results.
Kobe has been very good so far.
He started really well. But i think he hasn't been that good of late. He has 172 points on 175 possessions over the past 5 games, hardly great efficiency. And he completely chokes the offense and disregards Howard, who will be the one having a massive advantage tonight.
I say let him shoot :).
it would be such a treat to see jrue light up the lakers at home. I really hope he plays, otherwise this game could get ugly
SO Hollinger leaves ESPN to work for the Grizzlies huh...interesting
I like Hollinger and will miss his articles on ESPN. Had a nice sense of humor. That being said, as i understand he got a high ranking position within the organization and will even have some say in personnel decisions. It would be interesting to see their moves in the future.
The ESPN dogmatic dedication to PER as the best kind of analysis out there will not be missed. With Hollinger no longer working there, maybe they'll be more open minded.
The more I watch Evan Turners behavior on the court the more I think he is off mentally. His explosion on Friday night after getting called for the technical foul was very bizarre.
My read on it is that yeah, he is kinda off..as are many great basketball players and accomplished people in all fields. Collins' comments after tha game were astute, saying that the biggest thing he's working on with Evan is channelling that competitive zeal, not getting distracted by calls. This is key...as evidenced by Turner's back to back clutch shots directly following the T.
Also in his defense, he absolutely gets unfair treatment from the refs...he gets manhandled in the lane consistently with no whistle...but of course if he would shut up occasionally, maybe every ref in the league wouldn't be gunning for him like that.
I think if Collins really wants to boost ET's confidence he can start fighting his battles for him with the officals...tell Evan to just shut the f up and let him handle it...feel like that would be more effective
Calling Dr. Spock, Dr. Dolittle, Dr. Casey, Dr. Kildare, Dr. Welby, Dr. Don Rose, Dr. John, Dr. Erving, Dr. Brothers, Dr. Westheimer, Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Dr. Moe, Dr. Curly, Dr. Larry... .
p.s. my friend, the witchdoctor, he told me what to do
right...all too often our clinician's approach to human frailty causes more problems than it solves
" Man, woman, birth, death, infinity."
Learned more from Ben Casey then many of my lectures. Always a big fan of melodrama and over-acting.
That about sums it up, Dr. tk76.
Good instincts. God and you know the day-the-day would bore the viewing audience to tears.
@preston76
Coach Collins says Jrue Holiday is out tonight vs. Lakers.
no jordan hill for the lakers also
Yep, out tonight and a few more days. Ugh.
Damn...still a winnable game though, need ET to be ready to seize the opportunity in one of the marquee home games of the year
Any prayer of getting Zu and Malik on league pass?
Dwight & Bynum... silly boys. Wilt & Russell would kick dey ass on a bad day. Thurmond & Bellamy too. Not to mention Al Cinder & "Doobie" Walton. Can't forget Lanier & Reed & Unseld & Cowens. Olajuwon & Malone too. Ya gotta mean it to be in it. Get serious.
Krebs, Selvy, Hundley, Hawkins and Ellis would help present Lakers. So far, to put it in contemporary parlace, they suck.
Will Jodie stick it in Collins' face, nail 3 3s? Only your hairdresser knows sure.
One of 3 or 4 sixer hi def games I'll get to see this year from the beginning
Yeah, one of the few I'll get to see live. Not exactly psyched about it, honestly.
I wasn't psyched to watch the Eagles lose to the Bengals but there i was watching it in HiDef - at least I get to see some games after it turns out I won't be able to have as much fun with my ESPN shot charts cause before 10/11 you can't easily identify free throws- those bastages
Meeks > Turner. Still.
Are you ducking for cover?
The pregame Laker praise for Meeks was interesting to hear
i'm not going to indulge thisludicrous provocation...if you were not our gracious host, this would be rank trolling
eddie jordan back!!!
Aaaand we're off...Kwame loses the tip.
Just saw D Wright for Barea. Do it.
seriously? where? Man, I'd love that.
I've got Lakers on DirecTV. Always get road team.
so their announcers mentioned it as just a possibility?
got my threads mixed up. See the comment below.
@tmoorepburbs
#Sixers DiLeo also denies team has talked about trading D Wright to Wolves for JJ Barea. NBA source claimed there had been discussion
hurrah!zu and malik on leaguepass feed!
those kobe shots still amaze me
Artest at the four, huh? That helps.
great d by Thad on metta to start, Kobe bails out Lakers
ET with the stepback j over Kobe
bad shot there by ET
hideous thad drive
JRich transition three
Was that foul on Turner? If he gets in foul trouble, there is literally zero hope this game will be within 30 points.
yeah it was...tickytack
Does Nick Young ever pass?
NYoung selfish J. Turner has to come and get the ball there.
Nick wasn't passing that to anyone - he doesn't like passing - and it seems Collins don't care - or he'd be sitting more
Kwame!
Dwight - hang your head in shame
way to murder that posession nick
JRich ...brick!
NYoung gunning again.
Yeah, this is not fun to watch.
JRich turnover. Bad pass there.
Anyone who passes it to Kwame should benched
In the starting five, they've got one guy who won't pass to anyone, and one guy no one should ever pass it to.
Nice drive, Thad.
On the bright side, if everyone were healthy neither of them would be starting?
True. Doesn't help brighten this game I've been looking forward to, though.
thad
THad takes MWP
Seriously - do teams just get healthy from the 3 when they play the sixers?
they're not even good looks really. two of those were like 3 feet behind the line.
Turner weak in the lane
Thad take again, lefty floater runner.
Dwight looks awful
Evan does seem to have some 'moves' but they take so damn long to develop
if they put duhon on evan, give it to ET and let him do what he does best.
Thad!
turner penetrates, drains the pullup
so much for ev getting others involved early, ha
You're fucking kidding me??? Thad just shook MWP by going right and finished to his right? heh
Kwame with the worst bounce pass ever
THad!!
evan jumper
ET turnaround bailout J.
yes!my man is feeling that midrange tonight. not feeling the pass as much thus far
Meeks strips Turner, Brian grins uncontrollably
Jesus these threes are ridiculous
what the hell MWP?
Wish Evan would move the ball.
wilkins?!
Hey Evan - that's what happens when they know you're not passing it
Meeks picks Turner's pocket.
I prefer Turner to dribble for 20 seconds and shoot, to dribble for 20 seconds and cough it up.
WEll sure
*than to dribble for 20 seconds and cough it up.
put my comment in the wrong place-'Meeks strips Turner, Brian grins uncontrollably'
WHAT WILKINS SPIN MOVE DUNK
Ivey at the backup PG and I'm happy about it. Man, this roster is so weak.
How the HELL did he do that?
i think that was a quadruple clutch
I just wanna know how he stayed in the damn air so long
sissy jumper
annnnnnd sissy travel.
Metta World Peace has decided to have his best game of the season tonight?
Box out Thad please
That was a stupendous final minute - hey spencer - you suck
Shitty defense there on that Kobe dish.
PHI 24, LAL 28 after one.
Wright protecting his 3pt% instead of heaving it at the buzzer. I love team-first guys.
This is currently NOT the worst sporting option on my tv though - cause I got chiefs raiders
Sixers 3 assists on 11 field goals. Team ball.
How excatly did the Lakers not dominate with Dwight in the first is what I wonder - I mean it's kwame and spencer -
HD Online Stream
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/zonasports5
Password is rojadirecta.
Working really well for me.
Entertaining game so far. Turner continues to impress me, Wilkins is quality as well.
Small Sample Size on WIlkins - he missed the layup that should have gone in to try a 3 point play and missed one of the free throws
Turner continues to impress with his willie green imitation
Nice shot, Hawes.
HAHAHAHA HAWES
Hawes can't get a shot over Jamison, heh
Dorell turnover. great
ET lazy as shit on d. give up a 3
See what passing can do Evan?
Turner helping down on Antawn on the dribble drive, wide open corner three.
Nick Young answers.
Two drive and kicks in a row. I'll take it.
nice look from Turner to Yooung for the corner three
HOW ABOUT GUARDING THEM ON THE PERIMETER YOU IDIOTS
Hawes double clutches. He's a sexy mutha.....
Another Pass - another basket
See the pattern Evan - i mean sure you went to OSU but still
Jesus, Christ. Touch foul on Dwight. Awesome. You suck, Hawes.
If you're going to foul dwight MAKE SURE you foul Dwight - never give him the basket
Um, Spencer, foul Dwight, OK? Don't be sofffftttttt you wuss.
Turner with the beautiful bouncepass to a cutting Wright for the dunk...doing a much better job setting the table in his second run
I want Kwame back on the court. That's how bad the rest of the Sixers big men are.
I didn't know Bynum's hair could get worse
Dribble, dribble, dribble. Bad jumper.
Turner's got to go and get the ball faster if he doesn't bring it across halfcourt. Got into the set w/ 9 on the shot clock. Hero jumper that missed.
Dorell guns one and misses.
Dribble, dribble, dribble. Bad jumper.
compared to what the rest of the sixers are doing, I might even prefer just giving Evan the ball and letting him dribble.
Watching Hawes try to make basketball moves is funny
HAHAHAHAHA HAWES
DONT PASS TO KWAME
Hawes in the post, heh. Hawes pass between Kwame's legs. Down 10.
Kwame's terrible.
It's a requirement to be a sixers big man - terrible or chronically injured
Meeks for three, down 11. Timeout.
Dorell needs to get up on Jodie and force him to drive.
Did anyone else hear Philly.com is going paid subscription in 2013? Who the hell is going to pay for that mess?
I don't even read it anymore this year, for an unknown reason. It's just not quality anymore, I'd rather just read Tom's links here.
REminds me - Bleacher Report has a new partner - a national one - I forget who but I think it's CNN or headline news or something...our local paper has been doing paid subscriptions for a few years now - I don't know if anyone does it
nick young bailout 3
Like, what the fuck is the purpose of our initiators just dribbling the shot clock down to around 9 or 10 secs before the first pass is executed?
NYoung 3.
What initiators?
Well, I purposely didn't want to call them point guards.
Jo-3!!
Darius Morris for gods sake - DARIUS MORRIS
Jrue would be killing LA off dribble penetration
nick young hot from outside
NYoung 3.
Drive and kick, ET to Nick for a three. That's kind of there every time down the floor.
yup Evan finally figured that out hopefully
Their ineptitude on the offensive end is only magnified without Jrue.
Is Darius Morris trying to become Evan Turner's new Alonzo Gee?
Hack Dwight.
In the second half when Dwight gets taken off the floor bring in Moultrie please.
ET to the pine, Dorell running point. heh
annnnddd he of course guns one.
THat's how you get minutes with doug collins
Are they trying to burn clock? I don't get this offense.
nick young jumper
Why didn't they go for a damn two for one there? Dorell just casually dribbling up top. shit
PHI 50, LAL 60 at the half.
Sixers need to find some new bodies for the second half.
It's the half time promotion
Thing that pisses me off most about this game so far .... we actually have a pretty packed house that is for once electric to come watch this garbage.
They came to watch the lakers
I'll never understand why NBA teams don't play at kid-friendly times on the weekends. God forbid you get some new fans when they're young.
I'm sure most of these tickets were sold when Bynum was acquired for the big matchup vs his old mates. I really dislike NBA games being on during football days.
You're going to have a problem when the NFL Expands to 18 games and is on almost every day of the week - I think Wednesday is really the only untenable day if they add a second bye and work things out.
The pending NFL saturation is going to be ridiculous
richardson missed two of the most wide open corner threes imaginable that half. he has been really bad lately
dogged it in ORL last year
Or he's older and slower
Great start, Thad.
I mentioned it at the start of Friday night's game, I just can't understand while depleted like this they aren't employing tons of off-ball movement and ball movement itself. They've straight went into even more hero-mode.
Because they lack the talent coaching and ability to do such things?
Turner just clueless in a crowd - head down bull rush
Shut up Kwame.
"Here's a free point. We don't need it." - Kwame.
He just gave em two more - token effort on Howard
You lazy muthafucka Kwame, Just watch him go right by you. Geez.
Evan airball.
HEy Doug
You Will lose nothing by putting Moultrie in the game - it's already over
Evan lazy on Duhon, Duhon J.
NYoung 3.
JRich money!
Young was fouled on that three. Richardson hits one off the o-board anyway.
Who was that turnover on?
Turner, I believe.
Nope, gave it to Richardson.
Dribble, dribble, dribble, brick. Better than a TO, though.
The bleeping Wizards gave the Lakers more of a fight than what the Sixers have done today.
Without Jrue the bleeping Wizards might be more talented than the sixers
Might?
A. Wasn't sure if Wall was playing yet
B. Didn't want people to call me a 'hater
Shooting 51% and losing by 15. heh
13 turns and they're shooting 51.9%.
Want to guard him, Turner?
All that dribbling is exhausting
hey jrue, you can come back now, k?
that shot of bynum with the village idiot haircut frightened my cat
That's just cause your cat's a pussy
Ugh - freaking cowboys
Dorell Wright with 7 assists. Evan Turner with 6. We've found our backup PG.
I keed, I keeed.
Nice defense Hawes - the lakers announces were amused at how lost you were
PHI 73, LAL 87 after three.
Not very enjoyable.
awful quarter by turner...can't believe we're shooting over fifty percent
Purty sure that was a goaltend.
It's never good when Nick Young is your leader for POTG after 3
Grabbing a rebound would be a decent idea.
Show a pulse before I fall asleep, please.
Turner's hurt.
left arm was flopping.
Hawes three, down to 9.
they should throw it to dwight in the post every time
aaaand, back to 13. Any reason Spence didn't foul Howard there?
They're gratis.
Turner doing absolutely nothing in the middle of the floor there, leaves Duhon wide open again.
Heh, Hawes is a 7 footer who rec'vs a pass 2 feet in front of the rim, instead of going up with authority, he dishes it off for a turnover. Pussy
Spence on the floor twice that possession. Once after a loose ball (good) once after being discarded by Artest (hilarious).
Lmaooo hawes is just terrible
Keep in mind folks - the lakers bench is bad
Collins said Jrue is still a couple days away. Wonder if that means he's out for the back-to-back on tues and weds. If so, they're 2 games under .500 definitely coming home to face Atlanta before the big road trip.
worst half of basketball fro Turner in weeks...brick after brick. 0 for 6 fro the field in the second half, one assist. least he's ade four freethrows
Looks like Nick Young has a tattoo of chest hair on his chest.
Fucking douchebag crowd giving Kobe a standing ovation.
Nice D, Hawes.
PHI 98, LAL 111 Final.
Nick Young gets POTG, by default. Pitiful, pitiful effort pretty much across the board. This team isn't worth watching w/out Jrue, not at all.
whats the worse thing that can happen if wright was the back-up pg?
nada
Well there's only 5 days left, so give it a shot
5 years from now we won't be talking about this game. We'll be talking about Kwame's block on Dwight
Every time Bynum opens his mouth I shake my head
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8753097/andrew-bynum-philadelphia-76ers-says-kobe-bryant-stunted-development-los-angeles-lakers