Whether it's anticipation or trepidation is anyone's guess, but I can't wait for tonight's Sixers-Celtics game. Lineups and game thread, right here.
Lineups
- PG: Jrue Holiday vs. Nate Robinson
- SG: Jodie Meeks vs. Ray Allen
- SF: Andre Iguodala vs. Paul Pierce
- PF: Elton Brand vs. Kevin Garnett
- C: Spencer Hawes vs. Shaquile O'Neal
The tip is at 7:30pm, this is your game thread. I'll be right here throughout. Join me if you're hoping for something to erase the memory of last night's game (and booze didn't do the trick.)
So after Brand did well against Howard the other day, I think he gets the better of that trash talking maniac tonight even on a back to back.
He only played 28 minutes last night, so I'm expecting big things from him.
Sort of. I'm not expecting him to look tired, at least.
I think they give us a competitive half, then fall apart.
Yay, I've got the Boston feed on League Pass. Can't wait to hear these old bastards chewing on air through the entire third quarter.
Not the dreaded Heinsohn special tonight. Good grief.
Tommy points!
what a self-absorbed a**
Thank God I'm home.
Hmmn, Pierce has 22 assists over the past two games. Iguodala needs to be all over him.
I'm getting drunk for this...you know, just in case.
Probably a good idea.
No panic changes to the starting lineup for Doug. It'd be great if our backcourt could hit a couple shots tonight.
how long until Doug realizes that Jodie has come plummeting back down to earth, and his "shooting" doesn't spread the floor if he can't actually shoot
Streaky shooters who can get their shot off quickly still spread the floor. He still gets picked up in transition.
Pierce and Shaq look so pudgy next to Iguodala.
Shaq looks pudgey next to santa claus
No way they can hit their shots at the same clip they did last game, I say we give 'em a hell of a game.
And we're off. Hawes wins the tip, but Pierce steals it. Then misses a jumper 1 on 5.
Lazy Hawes pass. F you.
Meeks dribble-drive. F you.
He's doing it more and more. Starting to concern me.
There you go, Jrue. To the hole and finish.
And he follows it up with smothering defense on Nate, comes away w/ the steal and starts the break. There we go.
Good steal Jrue. Please no senseless fouls tonight kid.
Just looking at how our offense is going, Jrue's probably gonna have to score 25-plus for them to be in the game.
Yep.
Nice board, Hawes. F you.
Hawes dribble-drive. F you.
See, this is no good with Hawes and Meeks driving. Jrue's gotta be the one initiating. AI9 too, but that's it.
Jesus, if you go up like that and you know you're going to foul him, just come down on him with both arms so he can't get the shot up too.
Beautiful backdoor from AI9 to Jrue.
Didn't like that shot by Jrue there on the pull-up.
Iguodala is in Pierce's head already.
Heh, banks are open for Hawes.
Garnett's just too good of a defender for Hawes to do anything inside. He should stop trying.
Can't lose Ray Allen like that, Jodie. Got lucky there.
Robinson is such garbage.
Hawes/Meeks two-man game, huh? F you.
Get Hawes the fuck out.
Is there some kind of fucking rule that Hawes gets a touch every fucking possession? God damnit.
Hawes needs to chill with all the shooting.
First Tommy point given. Spare me.
Have to get Thad in there for Hawes. He's our one "front court" player that KG or Shaq can't guard.
KG can guard any of our guys, frankly. Maybe on the entire team.
who would have thought it'd be Shaq giving us problems.
Hawes is sooo soft.
jrue is going to enjoy Nate Robinson guarding him.
Desperation time, Battie in already.
Battie in for Hawes. Would've preferred Thad, but I prefer anyone over Hawes after that display.
I kind of wish he was shooting there. Shaq is a different case than most.
Iguodala is all over Pierce.
They're not hitting tonight. If we could just execute a little bit we'd be on to something.
Bad shot, good result, Jrue.
Good early offense there. Jrue got the board, AI9 pushed the ball after the outlet.
JRUE for three!!!!
Jrue for 3! Jumper looking fluid and smooth tonight.
Meeks got eaten alive by that pick and Brand was 20 feet away.
Battie blew a layup, but at least he took the charge on Shaq.
That roll from Jrue to Battie, that's why the Sixers need an athletic big who can finish. That's such a beautiful setup, needs to be a dunk.
The attitude is there. That´s what I wanted to see from the begging. Hope they can keep up
Jesus, Hawes was 1/5 with 3 turnovers.
Our bench shows up in Lou and Thad, hold down Big baby from going off and we should have a shot at this one.
the defense is still lacking, cant win like this
Nocioni first off instead of Thad? Now that doesn't make sense.
Jodie's doing a terrible job on Allen.
Agreed. Mental and physical mistakes too.
ugh, thought Jrue should have laid that off the glass.
Thad is settling for the jumper so much more than he was earlier.
Nocioni dribble drive. F you.
Terrible end to the quarter. I have no idea why the worst players on the floor are getting so many shots. Maybe good defense, but it's pitiful.
PHI 17, BOS 23.
Damn, they close out quarters so strong. 10-0 run. wow everytime
Last game it was a 9-0 run to end the 3rd and 9-4 run to end the 4th.
Yep, that 9-0 run was the back breaker.
Brutal end to the quarter. Nocioni's parents must have traveled to Boston.
Veteranness was desperately needed, obviously.
What I don't get is why does he keep getting minutes when he's been absolute shit during this entire stretch of non-DNPCDs?
Is there a name for the type of offense that Nocioni plays?
offensive.
Great find by Jrue. Man, I love the way Avery Bradley defends. Jrue needs to stay on his toes.
They are really going to try and make Bradley a shooter. A double on Marquis Daniels is strong evidence of that.
Lou in.
Lou, you better not shoot one jumper with Daniels guarding you. Attack, attack, attack.
Nocioni might have the slowest feet in the league, for a perimeter player. Bad shot by Jrue.
Yay Noce did something
Dag, Bradley was all in Lou's grill on that steal.
Lou doesn't even know who avery bradley is
Lou cannot handle the ball with Bradley on him. Just don't give it to him.
it was so obvious that Lou was going to force something stupid there rather than just set something up in the half court
Jesus, are they going to box out once this quarter? All four guys turn and run under the basket. That's gotta be 3 or 4 O Boards already.
Oh yeah the Tiger with a rejection!
We absolutely have to get or extend a lead when their bench is in. Yet, it seems more difficult than playing even, when their starters are in.
I feel the same way sometimes, but you have to remember that our bench is really bad most of the time.
Eh, we're third in the league in bench scoring. Though, that's not taking into account piss poor D, lack of boxing out, etc.
Bradley's a good fit with the Celtics.
get Lou outta there.
Lou at the point now. Jrue sits for the first time. This is going to be ugly if Bradley is still in there.
Bradley's out, thank God. Lou can abuse Nate.
Like that.
That's a bad shot by Lou, good result.
I hope Doug sent Hawes back to the hotel.
Turner DNP tonight?
You don't need to suicide close on Marquis Daniels. Guy can't shoot at all.
When those Nate three's drop, it just pains me for some reason.
It's probably that stupid little bent over run he does.
Why is Nate Robinson always hot when the Sixers play against him? I swear every other time I watch him, he kills his team.
It may go back to that mano-a-mano thing with him and Lou a few years back.
He's killing them tonight, too. It's just not as bad because he's knocked down a couple threes.
it doesnt matter, he'll even the scales on the other end.
There you go, Nate. Keep taking those.
Meeks and EB back in. I'm hoping Nocioni is out.
I'm more talking about just the offense. Nate has 6 points on 4 shots. If the Sixers have a chance, he needs to be destructive on both ends.
He blows on the other end though.
Alright, no fucking letdown in the final 4 minutes.
Iguodala coming out aggresive
For a winning team, the Celtics sure do have whiny announcers
and so passive-aggresive too
Sixers are really attacking the hoop here, that's why they're going to the line. Stop bitching about it, Heinsohn.
Good news: Jrue's coming back in.
Bad news: So is Hawes.
Good hard double by EB causing the turnover.
I don't want Nate Robinson in foul trouble.
They are on the penalty, so we need to keep attaking the rym for 4 minutes
Nate with 3 fouls, have to exploit that to end the quarter here.
Lou to the line stops Jrue from checking in.
Silly foul by Lou lets Jrue get in there.
keep Nate on the floor!!
That was worse than the flagrant they called on Brand against Blake Griffin.
I wonder if Heinsohn thought that was a foul. Did he say that he went straight up?
Ah Jrue, you had him, don't back off in the lane.
Love to see them taking everything right to the hoop. That was a nice pass by Hawes to EB.
Just don't let them make their end of quarter patented run here guys.
what the hell is Avery Bradley on the bench while Marquis Daniels is playing point?
Good question.
Finish strong.
Great trap by EB after AI9 harassed Pierce all the way up the floor.
Keep making these freebies here Dre.
Right, Heinsohn, because the Celtics have had to foul over and over again...
It's not even funny how much Iguodala owns Pierce.
Damnit. Come on now, don't let them keep this run going.
Nice job in the post, Ai.
wow Iguodala having his way.
Awesome quarter.
Excellent, excellent second quarter. Relentless attack of the hoop and merciless pressure on the defensive end.
PHI 44, BOS 38
If by that you mean 41-36, I agree.
You mean you didn't like the three jumpers to end the half?
Well, I continue to think our lovely young core is way too bereft of scoring to take seriously, or to "reward" by trading for an impact player.
Dre loves to jump before he passes ala Lou a few years back. Was up 7, still up 6. This one's for the taking. Bring it home.
...now the hard part; after they make adjustments.
well we've still got Nate.
Ray Allen abused Meeks, that was a little disconcerting. Don't want to see that continue after the half
halftime sixers related video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4GTOO6wvVE&feature=related
So far so good! I would enjoy not seeing the LouMeeks backcourt at any time in the 2nd half please.
Great D by EB on Garnett.
Jrue needs to go to the hole and not settle for that jumper w/ Nate on him.
Can't believe DC hasn't tried to post Jrue up yet.
Brand and Jrue working well.
wow what a bailout
Meeks!! cmon
Tough shot for Pierce's first hoop.
SHit, one point game. Pierce with his first two buckets of the game. 7-0 run
See, that's a big problem for Jrue. Shaq is giving you a wide open 10 footer. Gotta take that.
Alright, good timeout. Don't let them get over the hump, you knew they were going to make a run.
i think collins called that timeout one possession too late.
Totally agree, was saying the same thing
There you go. Keep going to the hoop. Good things happen when you're playing against old/slow bigs.
jeez its not like they're doing anything impressive.
how do we come out flat out of halftime??
This team's biggest problem is that they take to long to even get into their sets if they can't get early offense. There's gotta be more something (energy, focus, maybe both I don't know) early in the offense.
Heh, Garnett gets a tech while passing the ball.
God, Iguodala is in Pierce's jock.
Shut the fuck up Heinsohn. crying over two silly things.
He's making this game almost unwatchable.
Turn off the sound, that's what I'm doing.
Hawes, you fucking blow.
Hawes has to stop trying to score. It's pathetic.
Settle, settle, settle.
14-2 run here. They're up 4 just like that. And we're the beneficiary of the calls for once tonight. Pierce with 4 now.
4 on Pierce. And yes, that's a moving screen. And a tech on bitch Pierce who will have Iguodala nightmares for weeks.
have just muted game commentary.
my goodness those guys are annoying.
Hah, Collins was like "That's a technical" and the ref gave it to Pierce.
Love this foul trouble for Pierce and KG.
4 on Garnett.
EB took one too many dribbles there. Luckily got bailed out with a foul by KG.
Uh can anyone tell exactly what Meeks is contributing in this particular game?
he's been putrid.
he set some screens, ... I think.
Maybe if we keep committing fouls, the refs will stop calling them?
Meeks has one technical, Brand has scored every other point this quarter.
They are doing a good job slugging it out with the Celtics. Can't really get much transition which hurts.
Terrible pass by EB on that break. ugh
Shit. Brand should've gone to Iguodala on the other wing.
That was a backcourt on Nate.
I thought so too.
I think they're saying he didn't have possession
Me too.
Thank you, Jrue. I hope Tommy has a coronary.
thank goodness it's not avery bradley!
They don't have anything even resembling a PG on the floor right now.
Good foul. Make Shaq earn 'em.
Time for our subs, huge point here being the end of another quarter.
Yup. Can't have a 10-0 Boston run. Also don't want Pierce in there without Iguodala on the floor in the fourth. I might ride AI9 the rest of the way, to be honest.
when does Noc come in and display his epic toughness with forced jumpers and turning the ball over in the lane
You forgot his unforgettable dribble drives.
I think Turner could be a positive against this Celtic backcourt.. Can also see why Doug hasn't played him as well though
Come on Thad. You have to be all over that board.Fuck me.
Meeks dribble drive. F you.
He's playing really, really poorly. No reason for Meeks and Lou to be getting minutes over Turner right now, not to mention Nocioni.
That was a killer O board off the FT. Big Baby got that one over Brand.
The Jodie Meeks Honeymoon is over, alas.
Damn o-board off of 2 misses by Shaq from line and piss poor attempt at a wannabe charge by Jodie and dammit he turns it over ont he other end trying to penetrate. shit
Davis has both feet in the circle and Tommy's still complaining.
Danger time here. 1:58 to go, Iguodala to the bench.
Huge frontcourt- Thad, EB, Battie.
Don't hang your head, Jrue, just don't fucking leave Ray Allen.
Damnit. He leaves Allen to stop a long two by Daniels. What the fuck?
Make your damn free throws.
The Celtics are so much more comfortable executing their stuff in the halfcourt. Thad should be getting the ball at the beginning of the shotclock, not as a last resort.
Shit. Bench let us down there at the end.
PHI 61, BOS 64
Leave Wafer for 3. ugh
Lou gets a deuce back before the buzzer. down 3, but still winnable.
It's unbelieveable how many more times we've been to the line than them and still losing.
What took so long to get Meeks the hell out of there? People talk about Turner giving you nothing, holy crap, Meeks did nothing right and played the entire quarter.
Totally agree, especially after a week and a half of it.
Come on, now. Go to the hoop and pressure the ball. Bring this one home.
Is Daniels guarding Thad on the other end?
Yes, put Thad in the fucking post.
Uh-oh jrue hurt his hand i think
Heh, that wasn't a foul on Brand.
JRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This unit really should score. 4 offensive weapons besides Battie. Just put them in their spots to score.
Shit. 5 on Brand. That hurts. Going small now? Yep.
Aw man, Tony Brothers trying to call makeup shit now on EB. Did EB just foul out? No, only five. Ticky-tack call though.
I genuinely hate Fat Baby
Got lucky on that Allen three. Jrue got caught on a screen. They're going to go back to that.
I'm convinced - we have NO offense whatsoever. Pound the ball, try a ball screen late or a clear out late and hope like hell.
Offense is largely due to personnel. The Celtics run very little basic offense outside of screening for Allen. I do agree that they need to be more focused in getting the right guys isolated though.
I think Collins called that one because they let Allen open for three there. That's where I think Turner could prove useful here.
we need to lou to start knockin em down
Pierce back in.
Ugh.
lovin battie
Iguodala should've gone right at fat baby there. Why pull it out when you have that kind of mismatch?
Nice possession there
Come on. Meeks should not be dribbling. More than one dribble should be a fine.
Let's go. We're getting stops, just can't knock anything down on our end.
KG misses even a layup. And a damn jump ball? come on ref
Jump ball? That's horseshit! Off on Big Baby.
"it's been a jumpball kinda game"
i love watching hustle like this
Can we get the possession arrow? The number of jump balls tonight has been ridiculous.
Also, WHY IS JODIE MEEKS STILL IN THE GAME
we're like 0 for 9 on jump balls.
Daniels is trash.
Steps, good call.
We lose jump ball but Daniels travels. Big sequence here if we can score.
Damn we turn it over for a slam the other way shit.
Good time for the Meeks/Williams back court, huh?
I get Lou, Meeks hasn't done a single thing well all night.
5 on Pierce.
Look at Battie's trade value skyrocketing!
/sarcastic
Brand back in with 5 fouls. 4:38 to go.
Heihsohn take the blinder off. Pierce rooted under him. Battie missed the and-one.
the refs are trying to give it to the greenies
Jrue back in now for Meeks.
Bad shot by Dre. come on
Tie game. ugh
Tie game, let's get a hoop here, please.
Jrue!!
Bad shot, good result. Needed that.
Bad shot by Jrue but it goes.
That can't be on EB. good it's on Battie
God, they shouldn't have fouled him there. He shot that over his head.
jesus christ lou
Ugh. Wide open, I don't think he even got the rim. Come on, Lou. Now Pierce to the line. Fuck me.
Damn, Lou bricking a three. Wide open too.
Why doesn't Doug trust Jrue to take Nate down in the post?
eddie jordan warned doug about nate's tendency to inflict horrible damage to jrue's psyche.
2:51 to glory. Probably down 2 after these free throws.
I really think they need Jrue to get in the paint and get them better looks. They really aren't getting good looks. Defensively, the Celtics are in "draw fouls" mode. Gotta be smart. AI9 makes an uncharacteristic bad play on the last one.
Man, take a look at Meeks + Hawes in the box score.
Is it finally updating now ?
8 turnovers between them. 3/10 from the floor. Just killers tonight.
Get. stops!
man, Ray was out of control there. Foul on Jrue though. Eh, I don't know after seeing replay
Ugh, make them score off the FT line. Smarter, Jrue.
A team without a go-to guy can't close games...
Anyone else see Shaq shove Iguodala in the chest on that screen?
this is lookin like dudes who know how to close out vs. dudes who don't
No damn halfcourt offens!
Down 4!
Personnel does have alot to do with offense, but I'll be damned if coaching doesn't have just as much to do with it.
If they lose this game, their halfcourt offense will be 1000 % to blame. That last possession was awful. At least give Lou the ball at the end of the clock.
need a dunk here.
Nice two-man w/ AI9 and EB. Need more of that.
Whoops, Brand fouls out.
What a flop by Shaq!
Damn, EB's done, but Shaq shooting FT's isn't the worst thing for us.
what a flop by shaq
GET THE FUCKING BOARD HERE.
Damn Dre turns it over forcing it and falling down.
not sure what happened there, looked like he wanted to spin back into the middle (which would have been a good choice) and just control of the ball.
Damnit. One more stop?
Brand takes it for the team
Honestly, Iguodala has had the ball in his hands too much down the stretch here. That's not the mismatch, Jrue with Nate on him is.
BINGO!
DC just doesn't trust the kid. He's shown that in the last few close games too.
If we were tied I'd say hack-a-shaq, but we're down 2. They're going to run Ray off screens or a Pierce/KG two man game?
Can't hack him unless he gets the ball, otherwise Celtics decide who shoots them (Ray Allen).
Did Jrue get demolished by a screen or just fall down?
Davis fouled Iguodala big time.
No call, that's hideous.
Ugh, was Dre even fouled there? Nope, he should have initiated contact, not sure if he could've though.
Dre 0-6 in 2nd half. sheesh
we was robbed, they fouled dala
big baby fouled Iguodala.
Yep. No whistle.
F me... 4 point game.
Celts announcers already proclaiming victory.
A Kapono three here would have my laughing my @$$ off.
damn
Another gut-puncher vs the hated. What a tough one to swallow. All we needed to do was just make a few more of those rare free throw attempts. The life of Sixers fan. ugh ugh ugh
well then...
another just-not-good-enough-to-win game.
yeah....just hate it when those come agasint Boston. Dammit.
How long until the next lineup change? Jodie Meeks has become mr. invisible.
Where does he turn? Turner hasn't had as destructive of a game as the one Meeks just had all season. If Meeks just stands in the corner instead of being a turnover machine, we probably win this game.
Meeks was bad tonight, but when Doug looks down the bench he probably says to himself he doesn't have anymore options. Just like when he looks down and sees Speights when he's looking for a big.
Ugh. OK, so I guess Brand is your player of the game. Missed opportunity here, but you're playing the Celtics in Boston. You can't expect a win in that situation. Need to rest up and put this kind of effort up out west.
Now start the soundoffs that if Turner played we would have won the game. They've got to be coming.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Iguodala is not worth his contract.
More shows how miscast he is.
Exactly. Miscast as a $14M a year player, miscast as the primary option. He should be the 3rd best guy on a team, who doesn't have to take the clutch shot. And a guy like that is not worth $14M a year.
The Lakers won the title the last two years, their third highest player makes 14 million bucks.
That team has won 14 games in a row for a reason you know, they are pretty good. It's not Iguodala's fault nobody stepped up in the halfcourt offense tonight. He couldn't do much down the stretch, but nobody else was doing anything. For reference too, the Sixers lose that game by 15-plus if he isn't there tonight.
Iguodala was not fouled there, at all. He just threw up a wild shot. They have to stop putting him in these spots, 9 times out of 10 he's going to fail miserably.
not that it would have mattered, he probably misses both free throws anyway.
He was fouled with the way they were calling that game down the stretch. He set up Brand for a great look earlier. Who do you want with the ball there? Jrue certainly didn't look like he wanted it.
I don't know, watch the replay. He really wasn't touched. I don't know, give anyone else an opportunity. At this point, I just know the guy is not Iguodala.
I watched the replay, I thought Fat Baby clearly got him with the body, but that's my opinion.
My point is though, who are you giving the ball to? EB could only score tonight at the end when Iguodala drew KG and got him an open look. Lou cooled off at the end. If Jrue doesn't really want the ball against Nate, then who are they going to give it to? I can pretty much tell that it's not going to work with them either.
Thad?
That would be an option, if he's in at the end of games. Doubt he would have done anything tonight.
even if he got the call, how confident are you that he would've drilled the freebies?
50/50. All I'm saying is that I think this team needs help outside of the current roster if they want to score at the end of close games against anyone good.
He's actually 1 out of 2 in these situation against the Celts this season.
BOS twice.
ATL twice.
WAS twice.
All should have been wins. Hope i'm not leaving out any.
6 more on the other side of the column and maybe we're all believing it's for real a little more.
God Meeks has been terrible for a week and a half now. Hawes was terrible as well.
I know Jrue should have had the ball more there, but that's not all on Collins. Iggy gave him chances with the ball, but he didn't try to make many plays. Jrue did not outplay Nate at all tonight, and he had chances with the ball at the end of the game. Not a knock on Jrue, just the truth.
Meeks is barely better at the non-three-point shooting aspects of the game than Kapono, and I doubt he's nearly as good a shooter. He is better at actually getting his shot off, though.
Oh come on, Meeks stunk tonight, but he is a better player than Kapono.
Somehow this got posted in the wrong place:
Well, I continue to think our lovely young core is way too bereft of scoring to take seriously, or to "reward" by trading for an impact player.
Also, while playing Turner wouldn't have won us the game (might have even made things worse), one has to have serious problems with keeping things in perspective to think that he shouldn't have played today. Developing Turner, if that's possible, is thousands of times more important than winning or losing this game.
but Meeks spaces the floor
Yeah after the game Collins said Meeks was the one guy he had that could chase Allen around. Oh really Coach? Seems his dislike of Turner is becoming more apparent.
Jrue did a better job of it than Jodie did. Should've just switched them if that was the concern.
It's been pretty obvious for a while, but considering how he has treated other rookies it's not surprising.
Yeah, that seems borderline delusional.
There is no way he could have made things worse. Meeks was no good tonight.
While I agree that our young core is going to need more scoring, this is the Boston Celtics we are talking about. They shut down veteran teams.
Sixers can't finish the job against Celtics:
http://ow.ly/3tvKd
Ah, all is right again in the world. "Gritty", "gutsy" moral victory.
With all of these moral victories we must be amongst the holiest fans around.
I wonder if there ever be a time where out bad news bears of a team actually gets more than just the moral ones in close games.
Honestly, games like this irk me as much as 45 point blow outs. did anyone have any doubt about the outcome based on past experience?
Also, why the DNP-CD for Turner? He won't get over the hump if he is only watching.
Collins is a heck of a coach. But he is slowly creeping to his comfort zone as a vet loving coach.
Just got back from the game. Here are my observations:
* 50 minutes before the game (when I got to my seat), two Sixers were on the court shooting, Iguodala and Battie. I was disappointed more of them weren't out there after the game they had vs. the Bulls. I saw Iguodala go 14 of 20 or so on 3's, which might explain why he shot more jumpers than usual in this game.
* Rod Thorn sat about seven rows in front of me, among the fans (good seat though, about ten rows from the court).
* I saw Eric Snow talking to Evan Turner at length before the game. I saw Turner several times not paying attention during timeout huddles, yawning and/or not looking at the coach. I guess it's tough to go through a DNP-CD.
* I thought Iguodala played a nearly flawless first half: 9 points on 5 shots, got to the line 6 times, held Pierce scoreless on stifling defense. He then started to become frustrated during the Celtics' 3rd quarter run, and Collins had to encourage him several times to keep it together. There was a lot of back-and-forth among Iguodala, Jrue, and Collins about what was going on defensively that quarter.
* Hawes is even worse to watch in person than he is on TV. Funniest moment in the game was in the first quarter, when -- after he had missed two shots (one blocked) and committed three turnovers in the first five minutes -- he banked in a shot and the whole Boston crowd groaned in shock.
* By my count, there were at least 5 jump balls in this game, and the Sixers lost them all.
* Down the stretch, I constantly saw the Sixers "getting into their offense" with 10 seconds or less on the shot clock. They hit a few long jumpers, but it wasn't good offense in general. Getting into the offense more quickly needs to be a point of emphasis going forward.
* Regarding the last shot by Iguodala, he may have been fouled by Davis, but getting a foul call in that situation is iffy at best. That's why driving is risky in that situation. Upon looking at the replay, it looks like Battie was open for a lay-up if Iguodala had dished, but I think Iguodala thought he had a step and could finish (Garnett did make a very good play to block the shot).
* I get why Speights doesn't play a lot of minutes for Collins, but I thought they really could have used him down the stretch on offense. If you recall, last year's win over the Celtics in a similar game saw Speights as the go-to guy down the stretch.
I'll leave the critical comments to others (I'm sure the anti-Iguodala faction will have a field day with this one), but in the glass half-full department, the Sixers showed in this game that they will give the Celtics trouble no matter how many times they face them with this roster (assuming no trades): Iguodala defends Pierce well and forces the Celtics to turn elsewhere for offense, and the rest of the team can be defended with some success. I do think Collins needs to think about an offense-defense lineup switch in close games.
Merry Christmas!
Collins relies on veteran Battie, sits Speights and Turner:
http://ow.ly/3twZ0
Christmas duties call, guys. I'm going to have bare-bones wrap in a couple minutes, then probably nothing until mid-day tomorrow. Sorry.
celtics fan here.. whats with all you saying iggy aint clutch? did he not hit the 2 huge baskets in our last meeting? if not for the rondo lob to kg iggy won that game for you with his clutch plays?