The amazing thing about the Sixers loss at Milwaukee on Saturday night isn't how badly they were beaten, it's that it was really the first game they
should've won, but didn't, in nearly two months. Tonight, they need to get back on track, they can't afford even a week-long dip at this point of the season.
The stars seem to be aligning for the Sixers. Apparently, the Jazz will definitely be without the services of Paul Millsap, Mehmet Okur, Francisco Elson and Ronnie Price. Gordon Haywood is questionable and Raja Bell is a game-time decision.
Since trading away their superstar, the Jazz have dropped 7 out of 10 games. They're super thin, especially up front. There's no other way to put it, this game must be a win.
Jrue vs. Devin Harris should be a fun matchup. The last time these teams me, Jerry Sloan decided to use AK47 off the bench to counter Thad at the four, I doubt Tyrone Corbin will have that luxury tonight, in fact, I think Utah will probably have to go small for most of the game, which should favor the Sixers in a big way.
The Jazz are essentially a poor defensive team, but they do force a fair number of turnovers. More than looking for keys specific to beating the Jazz, I'm going to look for improvement from the Sixers in the areas they struggled mightily against the Bucks on Saturday. Turnovers is number one on my list. Jrue had another very bad game in that department after two solid games. Even Iguodala has been coughing it up with more frequency of late.
Overall, the team needs to right the ship immediately. This road trip doesn't look terribly challenging on paper, but you can't take teams lightly on the road, not even tragically bad teams. Go out, execute your game plan, take care of the ball, and hopefully put these teams away early enough to steal some minutes for your starters late in the games. That's the goal, and it starts tonight in Utah.
Prediction: PHI 110, UTA 97
The tip is at 9pm, game thread will land around 7, probably.
Just saw on Twitter Favors will get the start for Millsap tonight.
Do the Sixers start out with EB on Favors and Andre on AK47 ? I like that better then EB on Millsap because he tends to school the younger players. Not terribly worried about Hawes on Jefferson because he likes to shoot jumpers.
Actually Jefferson has a lot of post moves and shoots close to the basket. I might consider switching Brand and Hawes, but it's not a necessity.
Jefferson's also averaged an efficient 26 and 11 so far this month. In three of his last four, he's scored 33 or more.
The way he's been playing, he'll foul out in about 24 minutes.
Cousins' last three games:
12
10
11
turnovers + fouls.
Also, Cousins now leads the league in personal fouls.
Can you and tray have a 'side thread' for the kings game on this road trip please?:)
He leads because he actually plays. It's not as if his foul rate is absurdly high; it's about the same as the rates of players like Nazr, Nick Collison, Kurt Thomas, Turiaf, Amir Johnson. Favors is averaging 3.4 fouls in 16 minutes for Utah. Among players playing 15 minutes or more, Favors in Utah is first in fouls per minute, and Favors's 56 games in New Jersey are third. He fouls out once every 34 minutes. Basically, if you gave Favors starter's minutes, he'd foul out in the fourth quarter of every game. I can understand that he may take years to develop an offensive game. But I was under the impression that he was supposed to be an NBA-ready defensive big man. Yet he's the worst fouler in the league, and he's only averaging 11 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per 40 minutes - only a little above-average for his position - compared to the way less heralded Ed Davis's 12 boards and 2 blocks per 40, or for that matter, Cousins's 12.3 boards (top 20 among players playing 15 minutes or more) and 1.3 blocks per 40. It's a little weird to me that everyone's still so sure he's a great prospect.
Favors is a great prospect based on his size/frame and athleticism - not based on what he can do on the court. Davis lacks Favors broad frame, so he will never be able to bulk up. That is why Favors is the better prospect even if Davis is the better player.