Good news: The Clippers are also coming off a back-to-back. Bad news: They lost to the Knicks last night, and scored only 33 points against NY in the second half. The Sixers are riding high after winning in Boston, the Clippers should be angry, very angry, heading into the Wach for the 7:30 tip tonight.
In lieu of a preview I have a question. The Clippers start a very, very big lineup. Kaman and Camby are essentially centers. I have to believe we'll see more of EB/MS at the 4/5 than SD/TY, no?
I am at the Wach, so you guys are on your own again for the game thread. Tonight is the field trip, so check out Twitter for pictures from the game (hopefully we'll get a shot of DepressedFan.com on the jumbotron).
Two in a row? Is it possible?
Dare to dream, fellas.
Sorry guys, won't be able to make it tonight because my car isn't even close to being able to handle all the snow. My street hasn't even been plowed yet. Disappointed because I was looking forward to it, but have a good time tonight.
same here. i'm really disappointed. wonder if there will be more than 6 or 7,000 at the game tonight.
i was excited to see eric gordon play too, he's a good shit
My son crashed our 4 wheel drive truck today so cannot get to game. So sad. Even stood up my dad and sister at the hospital, they had to hitchhike home!
Sorry Brian, I doubt there will be that many less than normal, however!
Almost there. My bet is less than 5k in attendance.
Yeah I never miss a game under normal circumstances but I am a no go tonight.
sixers.com twitter says, AI is not acitve and Lou is.
Yahoo.com still lists the starting line up as last night but they also list Iverson and no Lou
Brezec I guess will not be seen again this season?
I think Speights and Brand get in 3 minutes from tip off
Brand should be starting, obviously. Idiot coach.
Davis doing whatever right now vs holiday
Fuckin Dalembert they should be a rule to never pass it to him when his askin it in the post
That's going to be good news with Sammy going to the bench. He just does senseless shit.
Man! Speights has such nice touch for a big man
And Thad hasn't just gotten better all of a sudden, he's just giving it more effort and consistent hustle whereas early he was pouting, and felt his IQ was challenged with not knowing all the options within a set.
He needs to get time at the four (or wing in this offense) because with the flaws with this team and its construction, he functions better there - just as Iguodala does at the three (or other wing in this offense.
Green on Brand is better but they shouldn't double
If only Speights could play some defense, or run back in transition
Thaddeus Young is not a four and the sixers need to stop playing him there
And at this rate, the Sixers are consistent with playing up or down to the competition. The crowd isn't going to be like last night's. The team is going to have to pull it from within without it being provoked.
Good D Willie on that last play. Good D
I'm hoping that's sarcasm cause I'm assuming you're referring to the play where Baron Davis made him his bitch?
In his defense, no one on the sixers seems able to guard B-Davis tonightty
Nice help defense by Dre twice and then a swift bounce pass to EB for the possible and-one.
WOW!!!! SPEIGHTSSS
Bout time you did something Kapono. Something.
Damn holiday with his bad 3's
HIs shot selection needs work yes - but he's also only 19 and still a better defender than any other guard on this team and a better passer
Some day Speights will put the effort in defensively he puts in on the offense
The guys are making some really crisp cuts tonight. Dala with one and Jrue with one too. Forgot what happened on Dala's but Jrue didn't convert with EB almost securing the o-board.
and I think on the Dala cut it was Jrue with the pass
WTF is that Jason? What....
Sure wish the house was full and raring because these same damn guys would be playing their hearts out.
Maybe if the team didn't SUCK so badly and wasn't coached by such an idiot more people would show up (probably not tonight cause it's a freaking blizzard) but hard to blame fans not wanting to show up to watch these pathetic displays of basketball.
Lets go guys....close this quarter out on a positive. Yeah Louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Good pass Willie G. And Speights with the Duncan-like bank for two.
Green is the best defending Davis
Not really - no one on the sixers can defend him...
Come on Dre and Marreese.....u have to contest there on that drive, if not foul. sheesh
Willie possessed. If he has to lead.....then I'm all for it b/c maybe the rest will follow. Tighten up!
It helps when the clippers give him a clear path to the basket, you could have made those baskets.
If willie green has to 'lead' this team is doomed cause he'll lead them to no defending piss poor shooting selfish play
i'm sure trading baskets is considered a success by eddie.
does anyone else find it incomprehensible that dunleavy is the league's 3rd longest tenured coach? i realize he would have to fire himself, but what exactly has he done to earn this?
"Speights plays one way and that's all out" lol
Half right, he plays all out on offense
on defense he plays not at all
Big lineup, small lineup - it doesn't matter because Kaman is just out-physicaling us all by himself.
killed 27-14 on the boards again. pretty much a replay of last night's 1st half. clippers won't shoot 59% again in the 2nd half.
but the sixers will continue to shoot for crap AND suck on the defensive glass like they do every night (though telling me 27 to 14 is just a silly way to look at it, their defensive rebounding percentage is pathetic)
10 defensive rbs on 17 missed clips shots. better?
last night their rebounding did a 180 in a positive direction in the 2nd half. if they make the same adjustments i don't see why the same can't happen against a shittier team tonight.
that would admittedly be giving jordan a little too much credit though
Nope, still not how i choose to look at it
of the 16 defensive rebounding opportunities, the sixers grabbed only 10, which is a piss poor percentage.
In comparison the clippers rebounded 21 of 25 defensive rebounding opportunities...a quite good 84 percent (the sixers were at 62.5% in comparison)
iguodala, holiday, lou, & sam shooting a combined 1-14
There looked to be a stretch in the 2nd where most other teams in the NBA would have gone on a big run, but while other teams would force some stops during their flurry of offense, the Sixers just end up trading buckets and really don't make up any ground. EJ makes me want to pull my hair out
Sadly, EJ isn't out there playing defense or fully orchestrating it. The players make my hair want to come out. These ARE the same chaps that played last night.
i was just going to make a comment about eddie jordan's cock and your mouth, but i decided not to
You can look at the numbers if you want, Jordan has always had historically bad defenses. And yes, the players are not executing well, but the system, or lack there of is an abomination. Jordan doesn't show any disgust for the lack of D either, i don't understand how this man became relevant in NBA coaching circles, he has NO CLUE.
Kaman and Camby a combined 23/20
Maybe the reason the clippers shot 59% is because their big men had such an easy time of it - no one could get in davis' way and the easy second chance looks
No reason to believe any of those things are going to change
Trading hoops for the entire second. Jordan is pleased. Matchup zone led to about 4 layups and dunks, which isn't exactly the idea.
Haven't seen you guys on the FSW brodcast yet - start criticizing Sam loudly - we'll hear you.
Or start a Fi-Re Ed-Die chant :)
How about that big man deefense - is it suck ass as it looks on tv?
have they shown Depressed Fan on the jumbotron yet? i don't see how they can put that up there.
McKie with Maggio at halftime: "we need to play with a little more toughness and we need to show more energy..We allowing Davis to control the pace of the game..."
Exactly, Aaron.
Sam picks up his fifth (takes less than 4 minutes of the 3rd to get 2 more fouls) after his inability to catch leads him to basically smack eric gordon.
Mike Smith of Fox Sports tells us that all of sam's fouls tonight were stupid fouls.
When AREN'T sams fouls stupid fouls?
Tonight would be a great night to shout obscenities at Jordan, i wish i was down there.
That's right, there's the energy and effort. LETS GO!!!!!
It coincides with Sam sitting his ass down...might be helpful...
Damn, two bunnies missed in the last few mins...Dala has to make that. Good effort though.
Willie wants it. Jump on his back.
He may want to make his free throw, not commit stupid fouls or give up stupid turn overs then.
Seriously
Start Elton Brand
Kill Sam Dalembert
that will make the sixers better
Good pass Dre, not taking that three, and getting it to the hot hand in EB.
Ugh. You can't let Thornton finish that Marreese. Just can't give the op for the and-one.
You can see how Speights love this game
half of it at least
DONT HATE, APPRECIATE
Big, big play by Speights there. Baiting Kaman into expulsion.
Now win this game.
Man, I thought that Gordon heave was going in. whew
Marreese needs to learn to use his teammates better. He doesn't want to give it up when he gets it mostly.
Not sure why with Kaman out the clips don't try to post up Camby...he should have succeess too
camby's basically a jump shooter at this point though
Yes, Speights. Finish guys, finish.
Why didn't Speights grab that board instead of trying to slap it back in? Dag
Marreese got the slightest of fingertip on that one.
clearly their idea was to pick on young on that possession. he got abused too
Damn he abused you Thad, and you fouled him. Thornton that is.
RELENTLESS
Speights said fuck it. I'm going to shoot this mutha every time I get it....Damn, thank goodness he made it.
clearly when they repost to him after kicking out, the play is specifically run for him. he didn't say "fuck it, i'm shooting"
Speights 4 President
PLEASE TELL ME IT counts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please
YESSSSS WHAT A SHOT...YESSSSS!!!!!!! DAMN WITH 0.1 WOOOWWW
i've said it before & i'll say it again, most clutch sixer of my lifetime hits yet another game winner
How does Iguodala keep doing that?
how can you overturn that?
The damn lights screwed him. That's the closest I have even seen, ever. Thousandths of a seconds.
But it was the correct call by the refs if there was any confusion with my comment.
brad miller'd
THAT'S FUCKIN BULLSHIT
from the replay you couldn't say it was in his handsss
i guess the NBA doesn't have the "indisputable evidence" rule like the NFL.
Come on Thad, D up tighter.
Damn Dre, stop trying to handle so much. Cause that is not your specialty.
Well they just out-hustled your ass in this extra period. Just like they did the whole game. Beat Boston on the road and can't beat the Clips at home.
Sarcastically speaking, you know that is just straight bad coaching. Pitiful.
Did the phenom that shut down Mo Williams old ass even play tonight?
Oh, Baron ate him up too.
Mo Williams is 27 dude, you know about as much about personnel as EJ
Old as in basketball legs and quicks, not age. Acute one....
You revel in being a douche bag don't you?
No, we cannot win 2 in a row! Why?
Do not blame this on the guys. Once again, our amazing, awesome coach. I put this 100% on him. Why? Stay tuned but I want to see who says I am crazy first or who guesses why?
While I was posting his, Eddie Heady already posted the answer! Sorry. Credit must be given.
Our awesome coach plays 5 guys the whole OT that are exhausted from playing alot of minutes the night before (2 the complete 2nd half) and 1 fresh off an injury! What a coach! Not one substitution till the last minute.
Well.....All hail Royal Ivey and Samuel Dalembert. With honorable mention going to Kapono, Carney, and the effervescent J Smith.
Oh, I forgot about Jrue and Carney. You know they would have made a difference. Damn that EJ, he does it everytime.
I am not saying you play certain guys the whole time. Substitute Lou, Jrue, Sammy, and others maybe for defense. I think even Ivey can feed a ball to Brand.
Who in the world is in charge of this ship???? The person in charge is the one who either gets the blame or credit.
My point is clear and correct. And I believe almost anyone would agree with me.
But at some point you have to hop off the soapbox. Just like that article the other week from csnphilly, EJ's quote was that he and Ed talked, specifically about something.
There is no *he* in charge, it's *they*.
Evaluations may be taking place, for all we know. Really.
I respect your point BUT THEY have played together last year.
The vast majority of sixer bloggers believe our problem is EJ. Plain and simple. Can the majority be wrong. Yes, they can. Are they, I believe the stats prove they are not wrong.
But calling names, using cute jingles, etc... are not the way to prove your point.
I fear that they will trade away pieces of this team that will set us back years. That is my fear.
Your fears will be assuaged. They have to move someone if they want to ascend.
Wasn't the refrain to be able to have 'thick skin' if posting here? There's nothing cute or out-of-line with my lingo, it's just not respected. And again, no prob, b/c I don't make comments to be respected - I make them because I love this fucking team.
I'm not here for anyone's ego or my own. That shit is petty. Excuse me for being on a higher wavelength.
You're a ridiculous parody of contradictions...half your posts aren't about the team, they're about passive aggressive shots atr someone or other who had the GALL to disagree with you, you post pithy comments that are lacking in anything like facts or intelligence and pretty much all you do is try and find people to blame for the sixers losses that aren't eddie jordan...you're probably really his brother, or secret lover, not sure which
Yes - this was unnecessary, but when this blog becomes most unreadable it's when you dominate a thread like this one
Thank you, John. I give up, thought maybe he would answer my points but not going to happen. I go back to the suggestion to ignore him. I don't like doing that but as you pointed out, it ruins the blog. Thank you, again. Then end, Eddie's Heady.
John, just maybe, Eddie's Heady is actually Eddie Jordan? Alot of similarities!
Typo, The end, Eddie's Heady.
2 missed FT's in the last 3 minutes (1 by Iggy and 1 by Speights) might have changed the outcome of this one. When two good FT shooters are only getting one of two, the other team has new life. Tough loss to swallow, Speights was great. Wish I could have saw it live.
Maybe O'Koren will be the one to go? If he is in fact Jordans defensive mastermind than that seems the likely shakeup to me. I don't see the Sixers firing Jordan and putting another coach on their payroll.
I mean, he didn't put his best defenders in when he could have.....yeah right, we've all heard that before.
Phil Jackson could have subbed and coached that, it wouldn't have mattered. That WAS the Clippers. AND they were the Celtics.
Microscopic and narrowed criticisms abound - misfits on display.
it's amazing you are the only one who cannot see what's going on here. you just essentially called speights a ballhog for shooting that final shot before iguodala's, not like that was the game plan because he was hot or anything. you refuse to acknowledge that coaching has anything to do with what we see on the court.
Let's be fair now....I merely said Speights needs to learn to use his teammates more. You know, when the hard quick doubles come, kind of pass it out.
Oh, I don't understand basic principles though....heh.
Same ol' pickin-and-choosin, nothing new.
WOW you know about passing out of a double team!? That's amazing you are a true mastermind. You refuse to acknowledge that Jordan has always had dreadful defensive teams. Is that just some kind of coincidence?
no, no, no. after they repost to speights after he kicked it out because the bucks sent a double, you said, "Speights said fuck it. I'm going to shoot this mutha every time I get it....Damn, thank goodness he made it."
when clearly the play was run for him. it just follows with your irrational belief that nothing they run has anything to do with the coach.
and he DID pass out of the double. then willie sent it back down to him, because that was the play they called.
You dumbass, I was referring to Marresse in general, while considering the run-up of touches he had gotten prior to that one.
Narrowed criticisms about a coach who's a career 80 games under 500? Who's never had a team finish better than 19th in the league in defense? Whos team is the worst in 3 pt percentage against? And holds the record for worst team 3 pt percentage against? I'd say that's a large sample size. IF you can defend Eddie Jordans basketball philosophy, you don't understand the basic principles of the sport and I feel sorry for you.
he's decided to stop responding because he knows deep down we're right. but he's stuck it out this long with jordan that he's afraid he'll look stupid by admitting he was wrong.
i know he's reading though, so i'll continue. look at the bucks' roster, and tell me if we switched coaches, that we wouldn't be at least 11-13 right now. if you believe jennings, delfino, ridnour, mbah a moute, bogut, ilyasova, redd, charlie bell, & hakim warrick wouldn't be 7-20 with eddie jordan as their coach right now you're out of your fucking mind.
Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!! 11-13!
What a coach and roster. Shoot for the moon, will ya.
the fact that you can't understand the very simple point i'm making is unbelievable. it's worthless arguing with you. instead of eddie's heady's you should go by simple jack. that's what i'm going to call you from now on. goodnite simple jack.
2 fans of the same team, and you are the sore loser, all because of a supposed affront to an ego. I'm so beyond the quote-unquote simple points.
Sweet dreams to you too.
In other words, you are stuck on a triple beam while I have moved on to the Richter.
you can't measure objects with the Richter scale you idiot...it has virtually nothing in common with a balance. Just keep ignoring the questions about the defense though like your boy EJ
Idiot?.............I meant you are on the small things while I am on the big things.
Yeah,... idiot, that's fitting. You point out the technical. Genius.
Mike
He never understands a point any one makes, he ignores them and continues to rant and rave.
Hopefully Brain can 'redirect' his vitriol some where else (know what i mean know what i mean, nudge nudge wink wink)
Exactly. The Sixers have decent length and athleticism, young players that can get out and run. They should be able to defend the perimeter relatively well but they are atrocious.They have been at least average the last few years, and I find it hard to believe that the departure of Andre Miller is the cause for the decline of the D. You can just tell by watching that the guys out there don't know what to do, so many breakdowns, so many mis-communications where guys don't know who to guard. That is coaching.so frustrating
Real quick, things that lost this game for the Sixers.
1. Brand needs to do a better job on the boards. I know it's on a big frontline of Kaman and Camby but the bigs have to do a better job on the glass. Brand had 3, Speights had 8, Sam had 6 compared with 11 and 22 for Kaman and Camby.
2. When the Sixers need a (this means ONE DEFENSIVE POSSESSION) stop, Marreese Speights should not be in the game. Dalembert is still the best defensive and rebounding big on the roster. (He was god-awful offensively tonight. Everybody saw that baseline fadeaway air-ball J he put up right? What was he thinking?) Too many times Clipper forwards just attacked the rim and help didn't come until the ball was already in the air.
3. Jrue Holiday had as much luck containing Baron Davis as Willie Green. I don't think he's accustomed to opposing point guards having 25 pounds on him. When he was guarding Telfair he locked him up but it looks like Baron just has too much size and strength.
4. Pick and roll defense. The Sixers generally semi-hedge/doubleteam the ball which starts the insane rotating and overhelping which usually leads to a wide open shot or an open lane to the basket from the wing. Which helps explain Baron Davis' 13 (!!!!) assists.
Eddy's Heady's, if you'd just explain to everyone why Jordan is not to blame for the putrid defense, it would be greatly appreciated.
The last 2 years where we had good defensive ratings was pure luck.
The line-up for most of the 4th seems like the most logical line-up to use most of the game:
Lou
Iguodala
Young
Brand
Speight
Eventually Holiday would replace Lou- but probably not this season.
And a big reason they fell 16 pts behind was small ball. Once the went w/Speights/Brand they rebounded better.
And Sam......... classic Sam.
very good, correct points.
I can't even begin to understand the motive of an EJ supporter. At least back with Cheeks, he was a genuinely good dude and a sixers icon so i could understand someone not wanting him to lose his job. But Jordan comes off like an arrogant prick,he's so confident despite his flawed system and his career exploits as flat out loser.
What exactly does Thad do better than Marreese, no offense to Thad but I said this earlier this year, our bigs are athletic, even Elton is showing that lately; so what are we gaining going small?
We are gaining by going small? A better draft pick!
thad's kind of a 3pt threat. but the emergence of speights has made this interesting. is thad expendable now? pretty much all he gives you is scoring. can't we make up for his 15ppg somewhere else? do you think stefanski should consider trading him?
What I meant was play Thad at the 3 and stop going small. If it is Marreese out there instead of Willie do we lose athletism? Marreese/Thad/Iggy vs. Thad/Iggy/Willie at the 4/3/2 doesn!t make any sense!!
oh i know. i was just thinking about if we even need thad in the long run.
Most teams need a starting small forward, so yes they need Thadeus Young
yea iguodala has never played SF, and no one has ever had a conversation about the fact that thad & andre play the same position. or if you thought about my question instead of answering like a jackass, could have thought about trading thad for a legit SG so you can move andre to SF, or just trade thad for another more productive SF who plays defense, and let andre play SG.