Depressed Fan

Granted, not too many people thought the Sixers would be able to beat the Lakers, even though they'd beaten them 7 straight times at the Wach. But last night's 106-101 loss was an obvious missed opportunity. Kobe Bryant was noticeably hampered by a groin injury, and pretty much incapable of doing anything on offense beyond jacking up jumpers. Unfortunately, Derek Fisher and Andrew Bynum more than picked up the slack.

On the Sixers side of the ball, yet again they couldn't turn a series of stops in the fourth quarter into anything on the offensive side of the ball. Lou Williams missed the game, he's still suffering the after-effects of the dirty David Lee flagrant foul in New York.

Reggie Evans picked up 2 fouls in the first 90 seconds of the game, so we got a look at Thad Young very early on. Unfortunately, his first impact on the game was getting his pocket picked by Kobe. In the fourth, Thad looked like a man possessed on three straight defensive possessions. The Sixers were trying desperately to come back, needed stops, and Thad locked down the defensive boards, grabbing three in a row and using his frame to keep Lamar Odom off the offensive glass. Seeing Thad definitely reminds me of Odom, and that may be a fair projection for him at this point.

The Lakers led by double digits early, the Sixers came all the way back to take the lead a couple of times, and played even with the Lakers through the second and the third. The Lakers put Philly away half-way through the fourth. A late surge was stalled by a key missed three by Korver.

Rodney Carney saw extended minutes (16) and didn't look pitiful out there. Which came as a mild shock to me. Kevin Ollie and Calvin Booth also found their way off the bench.

Sammy Dalembert, whom I've been lavishing praise on over the past couple of weeks, showed why people become so frustrated with him from time to time. Stupid goal tending penalties, and one particular play on the offensive side of the ball when a perfect pass from Iguodala hit Sammy right in the chest. He had no idea it was coming.

The Sixers travel to Memphis tonight to take on the Grizzlies, let's get a bounce-back win, huh?

Player of The Game: Andre Miller, 21 points, 8 assists.
Team Record: 10-16