Well, it was sort of a fun game to attend. The Sixers made about 20 different runs to get back into this game, and it seemed like each one was killed by a corner three by the Knicks. When they weren't hitting threes, Amare Stoudemire was hitting everything he threw toward the rim. In the end, it was a split home-and-home and a lost opportunity.
(Charts coming later, probably tomorrow night)
Just a few thoughts tonight. I haven't had a chance to read the game thread, or watch the replay on TV since I got home, so this is just firsthand stuff from the game.
- Jrue seems lost to me. On the offensive end, he seems skittish. On the defensive end, he'll play great for a couple of possessions, then have a lapse. Sometimes, the lapse comes in the same possession as the great defense. One play in particular sticks in my mind. Felton had the ball, and Amare came out to set a high screen for him. Jrue fought over the screen one way, then fought over it again the other way. Then Felton passed the ball to Amare about 22 feet from the hoop, and Jrue just completely fell asleep. He didn't double Amare hard, he just sort of stood there, Felton drifted about 10 feet away, Amare hit him with a pass for a perfect look at a three before Jrue could recover. Overall, I thought he was much more effective on the defensive end than he was on Friday, but that wasn't the only lapse.
- Turner and Thad, but especially Turner, were unbelievably lazy about closing on the three-point shooters. This team has had a philosophy all season long that they close hard and chase those guys off the three point line, then let the rest of the defense react if they get by off the dribble. Today, they closed slow, they kept their feet and they didn't really even challenge the threes. It killed them, and Collins wound up yanking Turner for it in the fourth quarter, probably two or three shots too late.
- Brand was unbelievable offensively, he's your player of the game for the second straight game, but they really could've used his help on the defensive glass. He was absent in that category.
- The MVP chants for Amare are really a bit much.
That's pretty much all I've got. It killed the Sixers when Iguodala went out with his second foul early in the first, then his third foul late in the second. I believe they were -15 in those two stretches.
The Sixers fell 2 wins shy of the .500 at 50 games goal, we're going to have to think of a new one.
Player of The Game: Elton Brand, 28 points (10/14 FG, 8/10 FT), 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks.
Team Record: 23-27
Up Next: @ Atlanta, Tuesday night.
how do you guys like my trade?
Ugh. I know Lopez has a decent name around the league because he scores, but he's just as soft as Hawes. No way am I trading Iguodala in a deal centered around him.
i see. Well what would u do to adjust the trade?
He would not trade Iguodala. He would really not trade him for Brook Lopez.
Hmmn. I would trade Iguodala in a deal that brought back a younger, impact piece on a cheaper contract. I don't see Lopez as an impact piece, though. He's essentially rebounding like Andrea Bargnani this season, and doing very little of his work around the hoop. I don't like Cs that play like SFs.
pretty alarming that he was abused on the boards by Spencer Hawes in that recent matchup. Doesn't get much more embarrassing than that
So annoying the team forgot about defense altogether. If they don't compete defensively as hard as they can they're the kind of team that goes 3-13.
Brian, good recall of that possession by Jrue; I was going to comment on the same thing. It was really a microcosm of his defense all season: he showed great quickness and strength in shutting off Felton's initial attempt at dribble penetration, then lost sight of Felton a few seconds later for the open 3. Jrue had some good moments on defense, but I didn't think his defense was "good" overall (as he termed it); it was simply better than it was on Friday, when it was awful.
No doubt, a good segment of Sixer fans will somehow blame Jrue's struggles on Iguodala, citing Jrue's numbers with and without Iguodala, to which I would respond with the statistician's maxim: correlation does NOT imply causation.
I don't think it's a fluke anymore, Fields is a very good NBA player. If Denver settles for Chandler in a Melo deal instead of demanding Fields then they're lost. They might as well just not make a deal because Chandler is about as average as they come. Although any organization that signs Al Harrington to a 5 year contract should probably re-evaluate its decision making process.
I agree. I was reading in SI how solid Denver's front office is now. I think they're doing an awful job. I can't really blame the Nets owner for his little tantrum.
Melo for 2 first rounders, Fields and Gallinari is a great deal, if that's what we're talking about. I don't think the Knicks will do that, and without Gallo, it's not enough. Who else can the Knicks send? Felton? The only 2 guys who tip the scales enough are Gallo and Amare. I guess you can say Favors, but that would mean a 3-way trade that's too complicated for me to think about right now.
How is Denver doing a bad job?
Carmelo said he'd only sign with New York, he never said otherwise (others desperate to capitalize on the extension like the agents who haven't made a single dime off of Carmelo yet maybe have).
So Denver is screwed, they can trade him to a team willing to rent him, hopeful for a 'franchise tag', or they can trade him to NY knowing NY won't give them fair value because, mainly, they don't have to, or they can let him walk.
Carmelo is getting off too easy in this whole thing...he's making it impossible for Denver to get a good deal done for him.
I think Denver should hold on to him, hope for a franchise tag, tag him and then make NY pay value for him (though I feel he's also over valued)