The little guy is back. The Wach is sold out. The coach is supposedly going to start the correct lineup (good), but he's letting Iverson decide his own minutes (bad). Willie Green is the gift that keeps on giving and so, so much more. Your preview and game thread after the jump.
Let's get to the most important thing about tonight's game first: Willie Green has completely effed the most dramatic storyline of tonight's game against the Nuggets. Jrue Holiday will miss his second consecutive game, so we won't get to see him smother Ty Lawson. To all you Lawson devotees, I don't want to hear anything about him shredding Willie Green or Allen Iverson. That's like playing against the School for the Blind (my apologies to any SFTB players out there, that analogy really wasn't fair to you guys).
Seriously, though. We've been properly whipped into a frenzy over AI's triumphant return. The place is sold out, the excitement level is at a one-year high. Too bad this isn't a winnable game, huh?
The Nuggets are far too good, far too efficient on the offensive end, I don't care how much of an emotional bump the Sixers get from AI's return, the odds are super, super long on an upset.
That being said, let's look at the matchups:
Iverson vs. Billups - Advantage Billups. He's a PG who will (a) take smaller defenders down on the blocks (b) spot up for killer threes if teams are slow to rotate, (c) pick on favorable matchups. He's got AI on him to start, the Sixers are probably the worst team at rotating in the league and he's got Thad on Melo. Huge advantage Denver. If Iverson could use his speed to get Billups into foul trouble, I'd feel a lot better about this game.
Iguodala vs. Aflalo - Advantage Sixers, no matter what Eddie Jordan tells you.
Thad vs. Melo - The best we can hope for here is that Thad keeps the point differential between them close. Like 30 to 23 would be a good split here, in favor of Melo.
Brand vs. Kenyon Martin - Perceived bust vs. epic bust. I'm actually liking this matchup for Brand. K-Mart doesn't have the size to bother Brand much on the blocks and he's an over-aggressive help defender. AI and EB could run the pick-and-pop to perfection.
Sammy vs. Nene - Nene is like a bull in a china shop sometimes, if he brings that type of energy we're going to find out early if Sammy came to play. He needs to muscle up, keep Nene off the glass and handle him on the blocks without help. He's capable, if motivated.
Willie, Kapono, Smith, Carney, Ivey vs. A real bench - I think this is where the game is lost. Lawson, J.R. Smith and Chris Anderson all fill a certain role, and they do it very well. Even if our witless coach could handle the rotations in a smart way, the deficit here is just too great.
The starters should have a chance at keeping it close, but the bench minutes will probably do the Sixers in. I'll admit it, I'm excited to see Iverson step on the court, I'm also kind of sad that he's going to have to face a really good team in his first game back.
Key to The Game: Bench play.
If _______________ the Sixers will win: Iverson = lightning in a bottle.
This is your game thread, I'll be here throughout, join me if you aren't going to the game. (Notice I didn't mention horrible team defense once the entire post?)
I was actually loking forward to the four factors thing cause i wanted to see how 'efficient' the nuggs defense actually is this yar
I haven't been doing those this year. Here are their four factors numbers, though:
Offense
eFG: 51.8%
TOVR: 14.7%
OREB: 25.8%
FTF: 33%
Offensive efficiency: 114.4 (2nd in the league)
Defense
eFGA: 48.4%
TOVR: 15.6%
OREB: 27.8%
FTF: 24.8%
Defensive efficiency: 105.9 (tied for 13th)
Brian, EJ terrible coach, defense horrible, AI3 signing hurts long term development, couldn't agree more. The team is stuck neutral.
But since it's nearing Christmas time, I came up with some positives to hopefully cheer you up some:
*AI3 means we will go UP TEMPO more! Something we haven't been doing enough of this year, and something we should always do with our team.
*AI3 has drive and kick ability, should help Kapono get more open jumpers.
*With AI3, maybe we will see some Alley-oops to Andre and Sammy. Haven't seen many this year.
*The crowd tonight, and probably the rest of the home stand will help. We've had NO homefield advantage all year.
*AI3 will get pissed at Sammy when he takes those jump shots from the top of the key, so maybe he'll stop.
*AI3, as we all know, has NO PROBLEM ripping his coach. Maybe he will get some lazy writers to take a real look at EJ.
Keep up the good work.
(fellow) Rick, love the positive attitude dude !!
All good points
BTW speaking of Xmas time, 3 yrs ago more or less around this date Billy King got fired... I hoped for better results after that (too late) gift, I must admit
2 yrs ago obviously, my bad
December 7th is a day that will live in infamy...
"Jrue Holiday will miss his second consecutive game, so we won't get to see him smother Ty Lawson. To all you Lawson devotees, I don't want to hear anything about him shredding Willie Green or Allen Iverson. That's like playing against the School for the Blind"
Thought we could only talk Lawson in the Lawson thread. Seriously though, I don't doubt that Holiday could give him a tough time, but the thing is, there are a ton of bad defenders in the league, not just AI. So when he shreds AI tonight, you can make your cute little blind people analogies, but the trouble with that argument is that half the league is analogous to blind kids, and games against those defenders count too.
That's ok - the trouble with the lawson versus holiday debate is that there's more than one year to it and people are already deeming it over...which is kind of as practical as hiring a blind person to be your chaffeur
I specifically said you could talk about Lawson when the Sixers played the Nuggets.
I love it when NBATV talking heads try to explain stats. Hilarious.
I better be getting Zum for the broadcast.
Well, I got the starting lineup I wanted.
Iverson just kissed the logo during intros, place is going crazy. Iguodala got introduced last, almost like an afterthought.
I swear Brezec could play in the WNBA and no one would question it.
Iguodala's introduction was almost like an afterthought.
Yup. Funny, how the organization shits on everyone else for this spectacle.
Ah, fuck it, I'll buy in. Let's get a W, huh?
Tracking Iguodala's shots tonight in the game thread, here we go.
iguodala's ankle looked good on that steal. crowd going nuts whenever AI gets the ball. (which is most of the possession)
I must admit that I haven't been this pscyhed since the first game of the season, probably longer. Since he's back, let's make the most of it.
iguodala checking Melo to start the game. Good start.
Steal, breakaway dunk for AI9.
1/1, 2 points.
Contested 18-footer from the wing for AI9. Hit.
2/2, 4 points.
Heh, missed two bunnies then hit that follow. Crowd goes wild for AI's first points.
2 crappy possessions on offense. i don't think they know how to handle the crowd being so into it.
Thad has made a couple of really pretty drives.
I have to say I'm pretty impressed with his handle. He's also looking to score every time he touches the ball, which is nice.
If he can incorporate that into his game on most nights he can be a heck of a scorer for us.
Contested three, top of key for AI9. Make.
3/3, 7 points.
Hmmm we're actually rebounding quite well. Hmmm. Maybe playing two bigs is not that bad an idea..
Thad and Iguodala benefiting from the attention AI draws
Big lineup was blocking shots left and right. Lot of open looks, though, which isn't shocking.
How long will Jordan go with it?
The fact that the nuggets are 'big' too might help
dalembert staying in with 2 fouls
Tie game now. Adrenalin is pretty much gone, now we'll start to see if this is going to work.
Thad is playing beautiful basketball
this team is ridiculously talented with this starting 5. If only EJ weren't the worst coach in the NBA.
They can cover for mistakes on the perimeter by Thad and AI, if they'd only let the bigs do it. Ugh, alright, need to stay positive tonight.
18-footer off screen. Miss.
3/4, 7 points.
turnovers. argh.
Can't hit a single shot.
Here's the zone. Wide-open corner three for Billups, missed.
AI9, baseline drive for a JAM.
4/5, 9 points.
God, Thad needs to be this aggressive all the time.
Good defensive quarter so far. Going small now, I predict 35 points for Denver in the second.
They're using that zone.
Three, somewhat contested. Make
5/6, 12 points.
Latest whistle ever on that three?
Fouled on a jumper. Steal and desperation shot at buzzer, missed.
5/7, 14 points.
Up 6 heading into the second. Excellent numbers in that first quarter, led by Iguodala and some nifty moves by Thad in the paint.
If somebody said that at the end of the 1st quarter, one AI would have 14 points & 3 steals while the other AI would have 2 points, 3 boards and 2 assists, which would you have said was which?
lol
Lawson rejected. Chump.
Iggy bad fallaway jumper from the baseline. Make!
6/8, 16 points.
Well, Iguodala is showing off for the national cable audience. Good for him.
Man, Iguodala's kickin' ass tonight. I'm listening to WIP online from Columbus, OH. Do we look as impressive as we sound?
Possibly the worst lineup I've seen yet this year. Carney at PF.
Jesus, Willie, Ivey, Kapono, Carney, Sammy. Just sad.
How do you not stagger your rotation so that Thad, one of the AIs or Brand is on the floor with this group? Wow
Just read that comment, that lineup would actually need Jesus on the floor to be a respectable NBA five.
Kapono, Carney, Green, Sammy, and Ivey? Wow... that's an EJ lineup.
Heh, Lawson bricks a layup. Scrub.
Sam beasting it tonight.
horrible basketball being played by everyone but Sammy right now. I think he has 5 or 6 blocks.
Sam's letting Afflalo know the only way he's scoring is out on the perimeter.
Oh wait. Shit. That's exactly what Afflalo's doing.
Love your Lawson comments, Brian. ;)
STOP SHOOTING WILLIE!
He's back to his regular ways.
Good whip pass by Dala to Thad for the layup
AI3 & EB w/ a nice P&P for two.
No defense on the other end, open three for Aflalo. Damnit.
HOLY SHIT!
AI9 in the post, drop step, reverse slam!!!
7/9, 18 points.
Missed 3.
7/10, 19 points.
sick indeed!
The Nugs aren't coming close to scoring 35 this quarter. But neither are we.
Only because Sammy got big minutes in the second. No one could've seen that coming.
Iguodala hit about an 90-footer after the buzzer.
Sixers played pretty much the best half they possibly could have on the defensive end, up 44-41 at the half. Only up 3, with Melo shooting 3/12. Yikes.
The lack of offensive creators in that 2nd rotation grinded them to a halt. If one wants to be real positive, it could be said that once Lou & Speights return, that will not be a problem.
Iguodala 18 before half, Sammy 6 blocks before half, the return of A.I. the scrap of the Princton Priceless.
Sinking feeling the first half couldn't really have gone any better and only leading by 3. Denver is a good team, going to take a monster effort in the second half to pull this game out.
Iguodala looks like 09 Playoffs Dre right now.
So, so first half. That lull when the bench came in is going to catch up with us b/c the Nuggets didn't score either during that timeframe.
The start of the third before the first TV timeout will be crucial. Melo or Chauncey hasn't went off yet. If not for the wide open Afflalo threes we would be in a lot better shape.
Damn, Brent Barry just said a mouthful. Something to the nature of.....'this may show that the Sixers haven't been showing this type of effort thus far'. Tell me about it, Brent.
That, and they actually played Sammy and Brand. Of course, it's all the players' fault.
Iverson is the solution for our DEFENSIVE issues: Nuggets shooting 31% at HT
Having two bigs out there is what's making the difference.
Thad has 4 just sick moves to the hole so far. He's so slippery down there.
Brand and Sammy are dominating this game right now, 19 boards, 8 blocks.
20-footer from the wing, bad shot. Make.
8/11, 20 points for AI9.
Iguodala feeling it tonight.
20-footer, elbow extended. Bad shot. Make.
9/12, 22 points for AI9.
SICK two-man game w/ AI3 and EB.
I feel like we're getting to see what this team can do sans-EJ, since EJ's gameplan for the year seems to have been completely emasculated.
Thad D'ing up? Holy crap. I've seen it all tonight.
Sammy. Dominating.
Chauncey should be ashamed of himself for the game he's played so far.
You jinxed it Brian. He's getting hot, hope he doesn't kill us in the fourth.
Good timeout here.
Bad jumper at end of shot clock. Miss
9/12, 22 points for AI9.
iguodala, overdribbling at the top, loses the ball. good foul on the other end.
Good foul by AI9, terrible offense on the other end. Nice work by EJ in that timeout. "We want harmony, effort, and a lot of dribbling 25 feet from the hoop on this possession, guys." Licks braces.
didn't even think about that. that was a horrible play coming out of the time out. you would think EJ would come up with some plays to help out Iguodala when he gets doubled.
Someone needs to come when AI9 gets doubled. They're leaving him all alone against the double.
F me. 2 good defensive possessions on Melo and they get both long rebounds for a Billups three. ugh
AI9 shoots the tech.
9/12, 23 points.
Elton Brand being used as the guy helping out whenever Carmelo has the ball. Good gameplan, Sixers will take K-Mart shooting 20-footers. Martin needs to cut to the hole whenever his man (EB) doubles.
We have to hold this lead, if not pad it, when these starters rests take place here.
AI9 fouled in transition. 2/2 from the line.
9/12, 25 points.
Come on Dre. That is your second ill-advised three early in the shot clock. We don't need those shots from you.
Transition three, bad shot. Missed.
9/14, 25 points for AI9.
He is getting frustrated with the doubles. He liked having that space in 1st half. Its been awhile for him
Defense needs to figure out a way to stay tough despite the stupid lineup here for the final 2:30 of the quarter.
Alright, Melo's out, extend this lead please.
every time you say that, they lose it. Stop please. lol
Three against the buzzer, miss.
9/15, 25 points.
Lawson with a three on the other end, then Thad answers on the other end. Needed that hoop.
Not a strong finish here, and I have a sinking feeling EJ will come out with this same pitiful lineup to start the fourth.
He's barely played the bench. All the starters are very near 30 min each. There's no one else to play but Primoz or Rodney, who really seems to be struggling. He tried to mix and match at the end of 1st/start of 2nd by bringing Sam right back in after taking him out with 2 fouls toward the end of the 1st.
DEN averaging 110 pts a game. They are on pace for just over 80.
Good defense? Good coaching? Better effort?
Good rotations, bad shooting, better effort.
But 47 points in a quarter isn't out of the question for this team, so let's not pat ourselves on the back yet.
EJ's playing the bigger lineup most of the game, which automatically improves the rebounding. They look to be playing either a straight man defense or a matchup zone with the bigs staying around the rim and crashing. They are extending the defense more toward the perimeter, which the bigs also allow by being a double-safety net(8 blks combined)
Alright, Kapono can't hit the broad side of a barn tonight. Absolutely no reason for him to be in the game. Jason Smith looks more and more like Primoz to me, which is scary. Grab a fucking rebound.
Totally agree on Kapono. J Smith just seems to have butter fingers lately.
I presume EJ rested Brand and Sammy to bring them back in the 4th. We have no chance of winning without them coming back, obviously.
Tie ball game. 3 useless players on the floor to start the fourth.
WTF is royal ivey doing
You post up Royal Ivey. I don't care if Gary Coleman is on him, there is never a good reason to do that ever!
at least EJ knows the Sixers NEED this game.
17-footer, contested, bad shot. Miss.
9/16, 25 points for AI9.
This game for AI9 is oddly reminiscent of Willie's game against CHA, bad shots fall early, leading to taking bad shots that don't fall late. At least he's been there on defense.
This game feels like it's slipping away, I'd put Iverson back in pronto, send Green home.
He looks like he's settling because of the doubles and the lack of calls. Bad combo
They tried to go to a mismatch with Billups on Thad which caused the offense to go stagnant. Ended up in a rushed three by Willie at the shot clock buzzer. Results in a Lawson layup on the other end. ugh
These are the best rotations the Eddie Jordan has had as a coach. I truely think that it is Ed Stefanski finally stepping in becaue we know that Eddie Jordan really wants Kapono at center
Dre please drive the ball. It pains me to see you keep pulling up from outside.
18-footer, bad shot.
9/17, 25 points for AI9.
Check out my quotes from an interview w/ the Inquirer.
Brand with 5 fouls. NOW they take Willie out.
without Jrue Holiday the Sixers have nobody who can guard the quicker guards in the league.
I guess we, the readers at DepressedFan, are the only poeple in the world who recognize that.
Well that ended quickly. Any hopes of a comeback here?
Nada. I guess they were just toying with us.
Three, brick. Bailed out by EB o-board and dime.
9/18, 25 points.
Young attacking the rim tonight.
19 points in the first half of the 4th Q for Denver.
Someone tell me why Iggy has attempted SEVEN 3-pointers tonight. SEVEN. I get it if it's Kapono but Iggy?
I'd rather have Iggy shooting them tonight, and that's not to say I want Iggy shooting them at all, but Kapono has been garbage in this game.
EJ's never ending zone defense scheme leads to two straight J.R Smith 3's. "if they make 10 out of 10 open threes i can live with that"-Eddie Jordan post game.
Seemed to go south when Dre started jacking up those bad shots that were falling earlier for him like you said. 19-2 run by DEN in the first five minutes of the fourth. They only scored a lil over that for the first three quarter TOTALS.
I really enjoy watching Sammy play when he's motivated like this. There, I said it.
Don't get used to it i'm sure
We're back to 'Cannot make a stop' mode.
31 points for Chauncey.
Brand gets mugged, no whistle.
nuggets are hitting 30-foot threes though... not exactly something you plan for.
Long deuce, catch and shoot, bad shot. Make
10/19, 27 points for AI9.
Well 3 good quarters are better than none?
I suppose.
Three, bad shot. Make.
11/20, 30 points for AI9.
Make that 31
Was that shot a few seconds before a three? I thought so, Zum threw me off, that bastard.
No moral victories here. But I seriously can't wait until Lou and Speights get back. I'm repeating myself from Saturday night but it needs to be said again. When Lou and Speights get back......whew
Yep, when they get back the defense gets even worse and Jrue gets permanently buried. Can't wait.
Mere speculation. Just like the speculation that Willie would start and he would get tons of minutes like he has the last few games. Willie was getting those minutes b/c there were no other options besides Ivey. Remember, Willie didn't play hardly any at the beginning of the year. Negative speculation delivered as gospel, it's become the norm.
Nothing indicated Jordan would suddenly start making smart decisions tonight, in fact, I'd bet my life Stefanski told him not to fuck around with stupid shit in front of a huge crowd in Iverson's debut and that's why we saw the big lineup so much tonight.
Most likely. Though he compounded that by somehow creating a rotation that had Ivey, Green Kapono carney and Sam on the floor, which was almost matched by the Ivey, Green, Kapono, Thad, Smith brilliance.
That is one of the most maddening aspects of EJ. If he were, Lawrence Frank or somebody, who never played the game at a high level, I could somewhat understand his unorthodox approach to setting a rotation. But he played, he wasn't a star. He should know from personal experience just how important routine is for basketball players in order to get in the flow.
It is like Andy Reid being an former O-linemen yet failing to appreciate the power running game. Just plain weird.
So Stefanski's directives excuse Jordan tonight? But when I broached that same subject during Sat. night's game when Sam got around 17 min and Primoz was in, ES had no hand in it.
By this logic, ES has a hand in it when Jordan does something positive, but no hand in it when Jordan does something off kilter? I think not.
EJ played Sam a ton because Sam had a major impact from the jump. He played at an all-star level, with the type of "loud" stats that demand attention, so it pretty much forced EJ to keep him in.
When Sam doesn't play that "loud", when his impact is more subtle because he is getting more intimidations then actual blocks, he plays less, even when the game(like Sat Night) actually calls for his presence.
Playing Sam for just over a quarter in a game when you're getting outrebounded is asinine
Yes, I'm comfortable making that leap. Jordan has made stupid move after stupid move all season long, so when he keeps moving toward stupid, I don't see any reason to say, "Hey, he just made another stupid move, someone must've said something to him." But when a guy makes nothing but idiotic moves on a daily basis, then suddenly when they've got a packed house and really the nation watching, he suddenly makes smart moves, I have no problem surmising that he really didn't make the decision himself. There's no pattern of Jordan even knowing what the smart moves are.
I hope the new fans aren't discouraged by the loss. This game shows we are a good team, if EJ continues to use and improve on the rotations we seen tonight. Good Showing, A.I here eliminates double teams on Thad and Dre im proud of this team like always.
They aren't new fans of the sixers, they are iverson fans...there's a difference
It brings me no pleasure to say I was dead right in saying the bench would decide the game.
2 points! From EJ's beloved Willie! Wow... Just 2 points.
We still need a big man that can D.. as evidenced. Brand and Sammy are D-ing well but off the bench.. Speights/Jason/Brezec can't cut it.. Speights can score whereas Jason is a 7-footer who really is an SG. I shall not waste my breath on Brezec.
That's why if EJ were smart, Brand & Sam would always be on the floor. Moron
Yeah but the two of them can't play 48 minutes, and once one of them gets into foul trouble we're screwed.
They don't have to play 48 min. Phil Jackson used to stagger his rotations in such a way that either Jordan or Pippen were always on the floor unless it was a blowout.
Barring foul trouble, its not that hard to do.
For example, they both play the 1st 10 min, one comes out, the other stays in until the 8 min mark of the 2nd, then they switch, playing the last 2 mins of the half. In the 2nd half, you might pull on at the 3-4 min mark of the 3rd, reinsert at the 9-10 min mark, insert both for the last 3-4 min. Given the lack of Speights, they'd play about 35-36 mins each. Brand might play more than Sam, but I would not allow Thad/Brand to be my frontcourt. Any minutes Thad gets as PF would always be with Sam.
I can take this loss.. A loss to a much better team. It's good the starters got the bulk of the minutes and they played well.
Wow, here's a stat I'm using in the wrap:
The starters shot 47% (34/72)
The bench shot 7% (1/14)