 Can They Salvage the Trip? I'm not sure if even a win will salvage the trip. Can you really be happy with a 2-4 finish? I guess under the circumstances, it would be night and day better than the alternative. Had things broken their way, the Sixers would be 2-3 on the trip right now. That game in Denver should've been a win. They've strung together at least a couple of quarters of solid basketball in all six games, but they only came away with the win they should've had. Looking at the schedule before the trip, it screamed 1-5, tonight is their last chance to defy expectations, but I just don't see it happening.  According to the numbers, this Spurs team hasn't been the dominant force they once were, but the numbers don't tell the whole story. San Antonio lost Parker and Ginobli to injury earlier in the year. Since getting everyone healthy, they've won 12 of their past 15. If you need something to hang your hat on, I can give you two rays of light.
One thing to keep an eye on tonight is how the Spurs space the floor when Duncan works in the post. In their first game last season, it was doubling off shooters that did the Sixers in. (Anyone remember Iggy leaving Ginobli three times in the fourth quarter?) The Spurs offense is a great example of where we need the Sixers to get to when Brand comes back, hopefully Coach DiLeo is paying attention tonight. The tip is at 8:30 p.m., I'll be here, live, so join the discussion in the comments. 
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Sixers will lose again...at some point in the 3rd quarter they may give you a false sense that they actually have some fight in them but the spurs will turn it on and beat them handily. This wont even be a close game...
The false hope has been killing me. Every game it looks like they're in it, then they fall apart down the stretch. All I ask for is a big fourth quarter tonight, just give me that, please.
NBA TV tonight.
Last-minute key to the game is Sammy's D on Duncan.
They don't look like they'll be giving anyone false hope tonight.
Nope. At least the Sixers are missing their free throws. Don't want to waste good FT shooting on a game like this.
40-19 after one. I guess they got the bad quarter out of the way early. 8 threes for San Antonio in the first (The Sixers have 7 threes total in their last 3 games.)
George Hill looks like he's 50 years old.
Heh. Spites is looking good on the glass.
False hope.
The Spurs are just making it look so easy.
I was thinking about it last night. Would you rather have Thad or Stuckey?
Thad. I'm not a fan of Stuckey, although his numbers are looking better.
Interesting. That seems to be the consensus.
Under 10. Come on.
Well, you score 50 on the Spurs in a half and the offense is doing its job. Let's not talk about defense.
What defense?
Hey, they made San Antonio miss 35% of their shots.
This game blows, but one thing we have to take note of is the basketball Iguodala is playing. He's been amazing.
Iguodala being Iguodala the last month or so.
Well spotted, he has been great the past 3 games. Can only hope he can keep it up when Brand gets back.
To think about it, even with how good he's playing, I still don't want him handling the ball to make the play when the game is on the line.
Dalembert in the post after finally climbing to within 8. I question that call. Turnover, jumper on the other end, down 10.
John just asked if you would rather have Stuckey or Thad...
What about Iguodala or Thad? Tough one if you ask me. You don't want to cling too much to what Thad COULD be and ignore what Iguodala already is.
Both. I like the way they're starting to gel with each other. Given the choice, right now, I'd probably stick w/ Iggy.
Please don't confuse me with John.
Odd. As soon as you said that the tone of the question was much less confrontational.
False hope... has arrived.
How are you still in a game when you've give up 11 threes in three quarters?
5 turnovers committed, owning the boards, super-aggressive (14/15 from the line).
Best sign? 5 turnovers.
absolutely.
MILLLLLLLEEERRRRRR!!!
Holy fucking shit. Tie ball game.
Miller's got the hot hand. Let's stick with him.
Long term, I'd take Thaddeus Young over Andre Iguodala. I like Iguodala but he's a complimentary player and I think Young has superstar potential if the sixers allow him to develop properly.
Roger Mason Jr and the lest second 3s...
Can't argue with that logic. If I was given a Sophie's Choice type of deal, I'd probably go with Thad. He's younger and has a chance to develop into a great shooter, but it's very, very close. In fact, I just flip-flopped in the past five minutes, that's how close it is.
Iguodalas game has gotten better in five years but certain things, finishing at the basket, and his outside shooting, just don't seem like they're going to get much better (I'm sure he's worked at it, it just doesn't translate on the court) - I think Thaddeus Young is just a more natural scorer and shooter...and he has the right 'mental makeup' to be a leader of a team, Iguodala has never been the leader of his team, at any level
There's nothing close about it. Though Iguodala's managed to string together three straight good games or so.
Personally, I think Thad will be a very good scorer and a plus defender at the position. I think his jumper will continue to improve, and his range will extend out to the three point line. IF all of those things happen, he'll be a better offensive player than Iguodala. If he flatlines, then he isn't anywhere near Iguodala. Not when you take his rebounding and ball handling into account.
Iguodala's jumper is ugly and ineffective. The rest of his game is above average, or better. You can't say the same about Thad now, and there's no guarantee that you'll ever be able to say that. So yes, it's a tough decision. One I'm glad I don't have to make.
I don't think Iguodala's ball handling is above average, certainly not for a guard anyway, and I think Thad's handle is improving. He's had some nice crossovers and changes of direction lately, and he doesn't cough up the ball much, and Iguodala does that quite a bit. As a finisher and post player, he's already quite good; what he lacks in explosiveness vis-a-vis Iguodala, he makes up for in craft.
Among shooting guards, only Wade, Stephen Jackson, Brandon Roy and Joe Johnson average more assists than Iguodala. Wade and Jackson average more turnovers per game, Johnson is about .5 less than Iggy and is at 2.0 (.9 less than Iggy).
Considering he's probably played less than half of his minutes at the 2 so far this season, those are pretty impressive numbers. Whether you equate those numbers to ball handling or not is semantics. The point is that he's a facilitator, and he does an excellent job of getting his teammates easy looks, especially around the basket. The turnovers I can live with are passes that, if completed, will result in dunks.
Actually, this is worth a post. I'll see if I can get to it later on today.
He's a fine passer for his position, but he really does turn the ball over a lot, and not just on overly ambitious passes. His handle gets picked, he runs over people and gets called for charges pretty frequently, he loses the ball out of bounds. Thad's just a more refined player and, though I'm not sure how high his ceiling is these days, he has a chance to be way more than a good shooter. He has that blossoming post game and when he's matched up against bigger fours he's a huge matchup problem.
Alright. Down three heading into the fourth. Won the third 31-18. Let's go here. 12 minutes of quality basketball, is that too much to ask?
I suppose you mean 12 more?
Yeah.
Wow, that was a sucker punch.
When Iggy and Miller play like that, we can be quite good. Not surprisingly our liabilities are our SG and our center. If only they can make Thad and Iggy work together at the 2/3.
Looooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu....
times 2.
defense? Talkin bout' defense?
Alright, Miller and Iggy need to get back in there before the Spurs can go on a run.
Or at least get Green out, 1 for 9 - why is he still in at all?
Miller + Iggy = 18/23 from the floor, 45 points.
In the worst case, Thad will become a James Posey type of player, a guy to bring 20-25 solid minutes of defense, hustle and efficient scoring.
With his great attitude though I could see him becoming more than that. Maybe not a superstar but at least a star in this league, shooting 48% from the field with 17 PPG, 5 RPG, 3 APG and 2 SPG. He's not the kind of player to fill out the box score, but the way he plays he helps his team win ball games.
I think he's more likely to lean towards the superstar side than the bench player type side.
The problem is that Iguodala has to be able to play starting SG in the NBA or the sixers are going to run into a numbers problem.
Good work during that rest for Miller. 2-point game, well-rested Miller, 6 minutes to glory.
I was wondering how we were going to stay in it with Miller on the bench. They will definitely try to stop him getting the ball. Bruce Bowen.
I think it's quite sad though that we play much better when we put our 10m center on the bench and bring in an "over the hill" veteran.
I understand bringing Miller in but why pull Thad out?
No idea. Thad should be in there instead of Ivey.
Iguodala is a man.
Go to the hole. Don't settle for those jumpers at this point.
You can't win in the NBA consistently if you are that not good at half court offense
I'll take an inconsistent win tonight and worry about the big picture tomorrow.
What a pass by Iggy.
Their inability to perform in the half court set will probably be the reason if they lose this game. The transition is great but when the Spurs make a basket, the offense just sputters and it's harder to answer.
WHAT THE #&(@^$*$
I'm speechless.
Monumental effort, nothing to show for it.
Need to take a break. Post game will be up later, or tomorrow morning.
or never.
I'll be reliving that last shot until Tuesday. Unreal.
That was kind of aggravating, but why was it so easy for parker to get that ball?
It came straight out to the baseline, Miller was the closest man to Parker, but he stayed about 8 feet from the baseline, looking for the bounce to come back toward mid-court. Of course, the shot was from the corner, so I don't know why you'd think that. Long rebound, Parker was in the right place at the right time. Ugh.
Question. Did we not have a timeout left when Parker missed the jumper and Lou grabbed the board?
Question. How the hell do you let Tony Parker grab the offensive rebound in the dying seconds with the game on the line?
A team that thrives in transition versus a half court game would probably actually hurt themselves by taking that time out...the sixers best bet in that case was to do what they do best, just didn't work out, a time out sadly is contra indicated when talking about this team.
Miller was looking to run, which was the right thing to do. Once San Antonio got back, then maybe you call a timeout. Maybe you get Thad and Speights in there for offense.
I just thought it would have been a good chance to calm everyone down and draw up a play, maybe put Thad or Speights in. Trust that sneaky Ginobili to make that defensive play. The pass that Miller tried to make was so predictable though.
exactly