I can't think of a better way to end the weekend than a Sunday night battle with the Chicago Bulls. Derrick Rose has payback on his mind, the Sixers desperately need to come away with a win against a legit team after playing so well only to come up empty so many times.
Since the All-Star break, the Sixers have won two games by a combined 51 points and lost a nail-biter to the best team in the West. I realize it doesn't seem like it, because the issue of pulling out close games reared its ugly head, but the Sixers are playing good ball right now. The Bulls represent an opportunity to make the terrible end to the first half a distant memory. The basketball they've played this week is no different from the basketball they were playing when they beat the Bulls to improve to 16-6 on the season. A win tonight, and maybe it's OK to start believing again.
The tip is at 7pm. This is your game thread. I'll be right here throughout. You couldn't drag me away.
Prediction: PHI 87, CHI 84
headed down to the game tonight, hopefully only jrue and dre are the ones to guard rose, dont want lou anywhere near him
Anyone know if ESPN is bringing the d -team again for this one? And /or @wheresviolet?
Nah this is a better game. I expect some of ESPNs best tonight.
They had 2 ABC games today, right? It's at the very best their C team.
Fun schedule fact:
The Sixers have played by far the most inter-conference game in the league so far - 16. They only have two more games vs western teams remaining vs Utah on Friday and @ San Antonio later in March. This is very good considering they have really struggled against the deep western conference (only 6-10 so far),
That's off from last season, they were .500 against the West, I believe.
I'm not feeling it tonight. But then again I hav not had a good read on this team all year.
Rough game on both ends for Lin today. 6/16, 14 points, 6 turnovers. Rondo with one of the sickest triple doubles I've seen, 18 points, 17 boards, 20 assists.
it's interesting that given his history and the Knicks Defense, the 17 boards is by far the most surprising stat.
Yep they should definitely trade him.
That is insane.
at the game right now its pretty packed especially for a Sunday night game
Nice. I never saw the number, was it a sellout on Friday night? Be nice to have back-to-backs.
Yea I think it was a sellout ... Let's go sixers
Shulman and Doris are doing the game.
Doris Burke is much better than Mullin.
Yeah, she's better than Mullin, but people go nuts for her for some reason. I think she's kind of too much rah-rah for my taste.
Anyway, Lou better be able to handle the doubles tonight, because Chicago is going to pressure the hell out of him.
Btw, funny to see Wade foul out.
They said that was the second time in 7 seasons that wade fouled out? And there was still quite a bit of the fourth late.
Burke is better than Mullin, but having Mullin do a warriors game is just atrocious by ESPN in general,
I didn't think that last one was a foul on him. JVG didn't either but he tried to evade admitting it.
JVG is usually pretty open about questioning the officials, he questioned a few foul calls on Battier...or affirmed that lack of call.
Guess that one makes up for 5,000 times he's gone to the line when he wasn't fouled.
This nba studio quartet is irritating
Rondo is a merging superstar.
Who is he merging with Mr Johnson?
I really can't take Magic. He's such a fucking idiot.
Most former players are pretty bad in the commentary department, but that's true across most sports, it's the lack of English literacy in any commentator I find embarrassing.
NFL and MLB don't often give players front office positions though :)
I know brian doesn't buy the excuse, but you got a healthy rose AND deng in this game. Healthy to Healthy - the bulls out match the sixers - and the sixers front court is bad when it's healthy - and hawes injry is lasting forever and brand, well he's old
Let's GO!
Lavoy loses the tip - in about 30 seconds
Aaaaand we're off....Lavoy loses the tip. Cement shoes.
Collins looks pissed, or flu-like, or nervous.
Jrue.
OK, got the reset. Get a better look.
Pretty play, AI9 to EB and he hits.
Good bounce pass Andre.
Jrue again. Let's go.
2 o-boards on that trip, ugh.
Jrue with the answer, nice.
Jrue right back at cha DRose!
AI9 drive and dish to Lavoy.
Good in traffic feed Dre to Lavoy
31% from three is good, Doris?
Jodie off the dribble? OK
EB has twice failed to put an ass into Noah.
How do you let Noah get that board flat-footed?
Bulls run the 1-3 pick and roll, Iguodala and Jrue trap and stop the ball. Doesn't look like they're looking to switch that screen
Wow, AI9 behind the back and lays it in.
IGUODALA WITH THE BEHIND THE BACK!
Andre Iguodala with the crowd pleaser!
Shit, that three was halfway down. And then Rose hits the three on a broken play in transition. Fuck me.
Damn Rose is hot. He said in that article yesterday he would be zoned in.
"rose was banged up and did not play in the 4t..."
No, his team was crushed and they benched him. Love revisionist history. Also, saying a 3 pt shot is good for Rose is just false.
i do remember he was ill, though, right?
After the fact, they said something like that. Then he torched the Knicks the following night.
I think it was debated that night. Most said they sat him to save him for a game the next nt at Orlando.
The bulls reported 'flu like symptoms' that night
Subs here, you think?
Thad and Lou.
Unless Boozer comes out - Lavoy shouldn't come out
No subs
Lavoy Allen is doing a nice job putting his body on Carlos Boozer on the defensive end. Enjoying watching his effort.
It's not exactly the scoring pace I expected early on.
Glad to hear this is a 'revenge' game for Rose
No subs.
Nope no subs.
Ugh, lavoy.
wow, Lavoy Allen turned an easy pass into a laser into the 3rd row.
I like that Andre tries to set guys up, but I wish he would just pull up after getting into the paint.
Wow, Jrue w/ a bailout J.
Oh, Lavoy. If you're gonna foul him, foul him.
right when we lauded Lavoy's defense, he blows an assignment. In comes Vuc.
He was up the moment Allen threw it out of bounds - that foul was the next stop :)
You know - if Doris Burke knows you gotta stop rose going right, maybe someone on the sixers should suggest that?
Wowo, Allen has been baaad.
Course, as soon as I say something nice about Lavoy he makes that awful turnover, gives boozer the and 1 - #8 was up as soon as the pass went out of bounds
Take away the right, Jrue. You don't have any help.
Vuc has got to shade more right there if Rose gets by that screen and by Jrue.
shade more to Rose's right I meant
Brand is hitting tonight.
Wow Jodie. Was that blocked? Airballed a 3.
It was rushed
Boozer can push #8 around pretty easily - kid needs some strength
Can we sit Meeks now?
Please?
Alright, let's finish this quarter strong. Need a couple stops right now.
Voose doing a nice job defending Jrue after he sets the screen, what the fuck
Saw that - seemed a little disjointed
Turner on Rose? please no
Gotta finish that alley oop Thad!!!
Thought Thad got bumped on that oop.
Turner played against Rose in HS, right? Someone told me Turner was a much better player back then.
AI9, good.
Too early J from Dre, it falls.
Iguodala chooses the jumpshots he takes a little better I think. His feet are set more often than not
Bail out call...
Don't think Vucevic moved on that one...
Voose w/ the left. They need to give him the ball in the post a couple of times/game, at least. Use him before he gets in foul trouble. Like that. Bailout call for Rose.
Lou, get rid of the ball quicker when you're doubled, damnit. You saw that and had voose so fucking early.
Had it the first time Thad. ugh should have went under the basket with the scoop.
Turners shoes, um, they're very powdery
PHI 24, CHI 26 after 1.
Not sure who a high-scoring game favors when these teams are playing. Either way, Sixers need to lock down on the defensive end.
Turner looking better on Rose now that he's sitting on that right hand. Hope he can keep holding fort till Jrue comes with his master lock.
1 turnover for each team? Wow.
If i'm not mistaken, that behind the back by Iguodala was the only layup we've taken, everything else was a jumper. Not going to win that way against this team.
Didn't Iguodala find either lavoy or brand (forget who) for a lay up in the first quarter?
Nah, Allen got a layup of Iguodala penetration, Voose had that move in the paint, and EB hit 2 or 3 like 10-footers, which are as good as layups.
"off" Iguodala penetration.
Good qtr. Bulls took a lot of ill advised shots (ad even hit some.) If they lose because Rose drains a ton of 3's then you live with that. The guy has shot 31% or better only 1 season of his career. A 3 for him is a terrible shot.
For those not able to watch the game on the local Comcast channel, they've added a "Passionate, Intense, Proud" commercial around Iguodala highlights discussing his all star selection. Nice to see.
Let's take care of business now.
Wow, Jrue's jumper is on. Get a couple threes up there, big guy.
Jrue, splash. Can't keep settling though. That well will run dry.
Vuc with the jumper.
Voose. Lou got fouled there on the drive.
Vuc again!
Voose again. Thought Turner should've gone to the hoop there.
Wow, the kick foul on Watson. Second time I saw that today (on Wade earlier).
First time ive seen that
There is a guy in a guy fawkes mask in the stands - why?
OK Vuc, now get your ass on the blocks.
Voose heat check.
Great D, there. Thad switched onto Deng, and Turner fronted Gibson so he couldn't get the ball, then Thad contested the Deng jumper. Really good work by those two guys. Let's get a hoop out of this timeout.
Extend this lead a little while Rose in still on the bench. He played the whole 1st quarter.
Voose! Nice look, Lou.
Good high-low pass Lou to Vuc.
Wow. Jrue, just make them threes.
Alright JRue. another J falling
damn Jrue is scorching
Don't need that Evan, with KK on you.
Turner, come on man. Just drive by Korver. He's giving you that shot for a reason.
Gibson w/ two straight over the backs.
Let's go!
Second quarter couldn't have gone any better so far.
Lou with a monster block!!
EB!!
Come on, they're in the penalty the rest of the way.
WHAT A BLOCK BY LOU!
And the dime to EB. Great fucking ball.
Pretty sweet sequence from Lou there
Only 4 pt lead w/ Rose back in...
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!
And then Jrue forces the TO to make me happy.
great D from 2nd unit; crowd loving it
Voose is the only bench player w/ a hoop so far.
watch for Rose's minutes tonight; he already played all of 1st Q. he should be returning now. hope he gets winded by the 4th.
Trap Rose on these high ball screens please. Take your chances with someone else making shots and beating you.
Just great ball movement ending in a Dre 3.
Yes, Carlos Boozer, that is a moving screen. Punk.
Come on Evan, that's two unnecessary contested J's from you ...
Bad shot, Turner.
Jrue in Rose's jock.
wow. just wow
Fucking o-boards.
Wish Andre would have shot that, instead of passing it to EB.
o-board, ugh dammit
Finish that EB. Again great ball movement.
There you go, ET. Get in the fucking paint.
ET dribbling into nothing, making it into something.
I love how everyone except maybe Evan is playing right now
AI9 to the line. There you go. They're in the fucking penalty, be aggressive. B E ....
At some point the sixers have to start getting some fouls right? I mean how was brand NOT fouled in that sequence mr official?
I see that the referees have completely swallowed the whistle for this game.
Tom Thibodeau would disagree
Possible SECOND round match-up. Hate the national press. I forgot that Bston and NYK were both 20 games over .500 and fighting for the Atlantic.
So - Evan Turner can handle the double - but Lou and Jrue get confused?
Brand has 6 o-boards already.
Joakim Noah thinks performing badly after a raise is a normal reaction?
AI9 on Rose now.
AI9 with the seemingly mandatory 1-2 from the line.
Thad got raped there. Hit the freebies.
guess not.
That heckler must be right next to a live mic. Fucking 0/2 for Thad.
Ha, this guy ragging DRose "MVP! but no rings Derrick!" sitting near the announcers.
3 consec FTs blown.
Good double, Thad.
so they're putting iguodala on rose and putting all kinds of pressure ondeng with double teams.
Even tho he missed it, like that drive by jrue
Yeah, rushed the shot.
I like how aggressive he is tonight, wish he would get an assist at some point tonight though.
Love how Dre was face-guarding Rose there. Jrue was doing it earlier too.
Thad with some acting lessons.
Let's go, close this half out.
BRAND WITH A HUGE BLOCK!
Brand, you are a fucking stud. How did he block that?
I know Jrue's played 20 min, but wish he wouldn't have taken him out at end of this quarter.
EB block!@!
Enough w/ the one on one Evan
Brand is a MAN tonight.
Also, if Evan could hit the shots where he creates looks for himself, he'd be a pretty good player.
he's be an all star if he could shoot probably - but he can't shoot
Not a good shot Lou, should have given it back to Thad.
great playcall coming out of the timeout Doug...
Creative play you drew up there, Doug. Fuck me. Why do that? Why?
I think he's saving the stuff that works for the playoffs
Could that possibly be what Collins drew up out of the timeout?
A play calling for Lou to take a crappy shot? Yes - it happens too often out of times outs to not be on purpose
Don't let them get a hoop in the final 8 seconds. Tighten up.
Get this last stop here. What a defensive quarter regardless.
Never mind, Collins obviously knew that play would result in Watson getting injured. Good work.
Just don't let korver hit a quarter closing 3 please
Why so small on defense here? Wtf? Boozer and Noah are in, and they go this small?
Cause the bulls are going to run an iso for Rose - that's how the NBA works
or a pick and roll. either or.
Dammit....
Ah, to give the foul. Makes sense. My bad, Doug.
22-footer for Rose. That's fine.
Oh Thad
I mean, Thad iso'd on Rose and he takes a pull up 22-footer. You aren't going to get a better result than that. He just hit it.
Well, I didn't like Thad's defense - gave him too much space and fell for the 'fake' too easy. Rose had a pretty open look...that's all. Iguodala probably doesn't give him as open a look that's all.
Thought he was guarded by EB after the switch out high w/ Dre, no?
nvrmind it was Thad sorry
Darn, Rose is really good.
Great half by the Sixers, let's have one more like it.
PHI 46, CHI 40 at the half.
Great second quarter. Come out and play 12 more like that.
24 more, preferably.
Man - you think this game is going to last a while?:)
Jrue 0 ft attempts
24 please.
Yah. I meant 12 more like that in the third. 24 total :)
Sure feels like we should be up by more than 6.
Down three after one, up six after two. Sounds about right. Need to come out strong in the third.
I would give anything for the matchups to play out to where we can face the Bulls in the 2nd round. Anything.
As much as I love our team getting a national TV game, I can not fucking stand all the long TV timouts and split-screens.
Is Deng even playing tonight? Oh yea...Iguodala. Love it.
hehe you tend to be distracted by Rose being treated to Jrue-Mirror Vision.
Beating up on the bobcats is a message to dwight howard?
It's the freaking bobcats boys
they're not even beating them up. it's a 1 point game in the 4th quarter.
If Jrue can get to the line like Deron Williams does I'd be very very happy.
Sixers players seem expert at avoiding contact, which in general i guess is a good skill, but some FT's would be nice, gotta learn how to finish after you get hit (Andre is bad at it)
ohh fyi; if the Bulls lose tonight, it will be bacuse CJ Watson got injured and Rip Hamilton is not "at 100%" yet (imo he's in Elton Brand territory physically).
because
The team cancer has 14/8 2 blocks against the great and powerful clips...
you can cool the Sammy nostalgia now; it's a closed book anyway. haters will be haters.
Hey - he's a free agent and the sixers still need a big man :)
Only if HOU doesn't pick up his option.
With the great Darryl Morey that's a 50:50 proposition in my mind. The whole 'whiz kid' thing has got to be removed from his 'resume'
Maybe Lin needs a new nickname: 18-17-20 giver upper.
WHat I like is the ESPN commentators conclusion that because Rajon Rondo beat up the knicks there's 'no way' he's going to get traded
How about the "Big Apple Turnover"
and I see he had 6 more today
Sure hope Thad gets on track in his 2nd half run. Need him to score.
Hmmn. Not a great start to the second half, Lavoy.
SHoot the ball Lavoy....
Lavoy to the bench early in the third huh?:)
Lavoy :/
oh Lavoy Allen...
Iguodala on the curl, jumper is good.
EB gave up a better look than the one AI9 made.
AI9 again.
wow Dre wow
Yeah like that Andre, get to the paint and fire it up.
Hmmn.
Does anyone else feel this way? Iguodala's jumpshots just seem more controlled than they have in the past.
Bailout call for Rose.
Bad, bad shot Jrue, come on.
Bad shot, Jrue.
0/3 for Meeks. Fuck me.
MEEKS. THREE TRIES AT IT!!
Enough Meeks...
Jodie, Jodie, Jodie, .............
damn Meeks 3 TRIES!
Is there a worse starting 2 guard?
Great fucking D.
AI9 quicker to the ball than 4 Bulls, EB to the line as a result.
Good hustle from Andre to stay with that loose ball.
Make these freebies EB please.
What fucking defense. Holy shit. Deng, you are helpless.
I do love watching these two teams play each other. Tough, physical, defensive games. My favorite...
Get this puppy to double digits.
Bulls close to losing it.
hey, are the calls actually coming the home team's way right now?
Jrue draws the foul. Rose tells the ref he's a superstar.
We've missed 14 of our last 16 fg's? and still up 4, jeez just make a shot please, we'd be killing them.
Don't think that's right. Are the two shots Iguodala hit the only two?
Not really sure, the caption said 13 of 15 before EB missed the one when I wrote that.
Just keep shooting the long twos, Sixers. Can't possibly come back to bite you...
Come on, get a hoop out of this timeout. Bulls on a 4-0 run on two really tough shots. Fuck me.
timeout Dougie Fresh
Pretty bad shots all quarter
Get Meeks the fuck outta there
+1
I will enjoy watching jodie meeks play for another team next season
55 pts; he's AMAZING!
Holiday has 12 points on 12 shots
Brand has 10 points on 10 shots
Come on please...
Not sure Meeks can start or this team anymore. He is really bad out there.
Not sure how that wasn't a jump ball or a travel but I'll take it
What's really weird is EB has 4 assists, Jrue zero
"get that shit outta there!"
JAMMMM Iguodala
damn
Ugh Jrue, draw that contact. F me, Rose to the line on other end.
Shit, Iguodala has to get over to the strong side of the floor to contest that Rose layup. Brand had no prayer. Didn't have to foul, though.
Louis WIlliams and Thaddeus Young are the only players on this team who even seem to drive to the basket consistently...that has to change.
Rose a chance to make it a one point game.
One low post player - wow what a difference that would make
The Bulls yell at the ball more than every team. Good ball movement gets the Vucevic dunk
Hey, look what happens when you go towards the net and try to score...
Vuc dunks?? Nice feed Thaddeus.
Voose in Deng's face. Got like .3 inches of air on that dunk. Nice high-low from Thad.
PUT A FUCKING BODY ON HIM, VOOSE.
Vuc, might be a good idea to put a body on the guy nearest you, YOUR MAN.
He was watching Noah, not the shot, not even sure he knew the shot was up.
Geez Vuc, can't finish that shit???? Frack...
OK, settle down. You knew they were going to make a run. Don't let them stretch this lead.
Does #8 KNOW how to grab a rebound - he seems to slap them all the time
Keep jacking up 2's Rose.
or 3's
They need "good Lou" to step up since the Bulls defense has asserted itself. Jrue does not look like he will pu up 2 big scoring halves in a row.
OK, collect yourselves and finish this quarter strong. You can break their back with like 6-0 spurt right here. They battled all the way back only to have the lead right back where it was.
Go get him beatle boy
Did they ever show a replay of that behind the back reverse layup past 3 guys by Iguodala? (I passed on the halftime buffoonery.) Every Rose layup gets 5 replays.
Shit. Point fucking blank.
Damn Vuc....
Fuck me.
Long 2 after long 2 after long 2 after long 2
What would it take for a big guy? shit
Turner was fouled there.
cant believe I'm saying this but I just wish Lou would shoot instead of passing now
ET please go up strong. Not double pump and get swatted plz
Turner hits one. Get a stop here.
All these o-boards but can't convert.
ET can actually make a jumper.
wow what a move Thad!
THAD!
wow Thad.
AMAZING MOVE BY THAD!!
Thad w/ the whirling dervish.
One stop please.
Nice move Thad
Jesus, Rose is on fire.
HOW THE HELL does he keep doing that
F me. Rose is sooooo good. Man.....
What do you do to stop Rose when he's shooting like this?
Nothing.
meh I bet that wont keep happenng. I'll take it
Fucking garbage shot by Rose, again. Again nothing you can do about it. That time Thad was right on him.
PHI 64, CHI 64 after three.
12 minutes to glory, folks.
I can listen to Malik Rose all game.
Derick Rose with a dagger right between Thad's eyes.
AGAIN!!
Anyone have what we actually ending up shooting that quarter?
Brian - if you feel like answering that question - i just took a screen shot of the sixers box score - at the end of the third
Damn Thad and Lou are 1-10 combined?
All these offensive rebounds we're getting, along with the 10 turnovers by the Bulls to our 2, doubling them up on free throw attempts, and we're tied because we can't shoot long J's all damn game. UGH
Doug - you're also not getting any points off all your offensive rebounds
No rest for Rose. Wonder if he goes the rest of the way.
Voose again.
Oh Evan...wtf
Fuck you Turner for the drive. Fuck you Lou for losing your man.
timeout
Damn. ET, Lou and Thad 3-18. Not gonna cut it.
Fuck you Lou for taking a crappy shot. Fuck you Turner for not closing out.
damn Turner; THAT WEAK STUFF DONT WORK
Hey Doug - that's enough rest for #9
No idea where the offense is going to come from. No idea at all.
#8 and #9 pick and roll - that's your best option
This team needs a starting quality SG. Because right now they lack one on their roster. And I think if you believe otherwise you watch to much college basketball. Maybe in 1-2 years... but right now they are weak at SG.
They also need a starting quality center and a starting quality power forward after this season as well
Brand? No idea. Jrue started hot, but he was like 6/9 or something, 6/15 now. Where do you go?
Lou/Thad side pick and roll.
Brand sat the final 5:29 of the third. Put him in and run a play to get him a nice 14-foot look. See if that works.
All the talking from doug tonight keeps reinforcing 'we suck at the half court offense'
Get Turner out of the game. How do you fucking lose him like that?
Cause Lou or Meeks are better defenders?
ILLEGAL SCREEN
x2
Why Evan? why cheat off like that, he just hit one in your face a min ago .... sheesh
Need a bucket in the worst way
Malik not allowed to say Turner getting extended minutes because Meeks couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.
just put Jrue back on him; what kind of counter intuitive reasoning is this?
wtf was that, Turner?
Turner fucking blows.....
Ballgame
Lou is up - turner will be coming out probably at the next stop
Sixers have been going into late game meltdown mode quite often lately. It's a shame; they play so hard in the first halves of games, and usually the third, but if it's close late, they just can't seem to hang. It's happened quite often this year.
Because they lack rather important pieces to be able to hang
They can't make (or even draw some times) free throws
They don't have a guy who just keeps getting to line
They don't have consistently good defensive rebounding
They're still an incomplete roster. They have been for a few years now
That's game. I doubt they score another 11. Make that 13.
Ugh Brand with the turnover there after doing a great job battling for the rebound.
Ballgame....... arrrrgggghhhhhh
Deng is one of those players who is real good when they aren't injured - and he's healthy tonight
3/8 for 8 points. 2 boards. 3 dimes. Yeah, he's been sick.
Deng has not been 'real good' tonight
I'd rather have him on the sixers tonight than say
Jodie Meeks
Louis Williams
Thaddeus Young
Ummm ok
So you say something blatantly false, then when you're called on it you try to make a completely different point. Just say "I'm wrong."
Wow - man you people are so damn pissy some times
Shall we call you out for being wrong every time your game prediction are wrong - i mean you don't say 'i was wrong'
Deng is a better player than the three players I mentioned, I'd rather have himon the sixers roster
PS - the bulls are better than the sixers, no matter what you want to say otherwise...no matter how hard you try to convince yourself other wise.
And now we change the subject for a second time.
So he's been better than three players who have played like crap. Wow, he's awesome.
Our offense is an embarrassment
1. Jrue disappeared.
2. What ET does right now is not good enough for the NBA. College PG's are not NBA wings. Hope he coes back next year with an NBA game.
everything catches up to us, their outside shooting, the calls, even the turnovers.
why is Iguodala on rose still. hate it.
For all of the people who have given Iguodala a pass for not wanting/thinking to score I hope you finally see what his biggest flaw is. Where has he been in the fourth quarter of these tight games offencively?
Perfect trolling moment, you couldn't resist could you.
You're right, this is all Andre's fault
Call it what you want. You can't deny he has been a non factor on offence in these games when they can't close teams out.
A Jrue assist!
Great board and great find, Jrue.
Come the fuck on.
Pulse? please don't do me like this...
nice feed Jrue
Damn Thad and Lou are 1-10 combined?
Thad has both makes, in transition.
So he's been better than three players who have played like crap. Wow, he's awesome.
Jrue only 2 assists. Won't cu it.
Jrue vanished in the second half - again - that won't cut it either
The sixers choked in the second half against an upper echelon team - again - that won't cut it
They're staring w/ Jrue on Deng now. That's a tough matchup for him. Don't like this.
Great find by jrue.
need to keep the ball in Jrue's hands; good looking now
Keep fightin' here.... come on don't let up. trap those high screens
Jesus Jrue - have you never been double teamed before this season?
Jrue slam!!!! Let's go dammit D the eff up!!!
Mega-stud Deng w/ the wide-open air ball.
Come on.
Yes - he was called a mega stud - sometimes you're no better than the rest of the name calling whores - you know that right?
I'm aware. You put your foot in your mouth, deal with it.
And you put words in yoru mouth - sinking to eddie's level or tray's level doesn't make this place much more fun to read - you know that right?
Stop whining
I'm not whining - i'm stating my opinion of how this board is devolving and how while everyone blames me i took a week off and it wass still full of bitches arguing and name calling - but let me answer you how i'm expected to
Fuck you?
Deng with the sick airball
Helter Skelter basketball - that's how this team wins.
You're absolutely right. But let's not lose hope or excitement that they can figure out a way to win otherwise.
I have very little hope they're going to win - The bulls are the better team
Everyone here knows that. It's a young team that hasn't hit it's prime yet. It's exciting to see them hang with the league's best. You're so damn jaded.
As Doug would say... c'mon now.
Let's go!
I refuse to get too excited right now. Can't do it to myself.
Don't tease me like this and pull me back in. Finish this motherfucker off
good.
now who were those bloggers that were calling ballgame with 7:51 lest?
let's see if we can win a close one.
Who here is a blogger besides Brian?
I hope I was wrong. And I'll admit it, in bold, if I was.
raises hand
Here we go.
Come on.
Jrue sure woke up. That rebound and fast break was huge.
Shit. Everything but the board and that ends it. 5-0 run. Fuck me.
F me. Thad doesn't box out and a Watson 3. F me F me F me
Fucking hell
Now we are trapping Rose out high? Little too late, no?
Can one of you number nerds let me know what Iguodala scoring ever age is in the fourth quarter?
I suppose they could - if you had any idea how to ask politely or spell average
I really wish I could meet you in person. I would fuck you up!!
Of course you would - cause you think fighting makes you a big man where I think it makes you an ignorant punk.
Still doesn't dismiss the fact that if you want information from people you probably shouldn't call them 'numbers nerds' with such obvious derision.
Look it up your damn self
No. I just think you are an obnoxious dickhead that hides behind a computer. I really want to smack the bullshit out of you.
That's kind of laughable since you're exactly the same way in my opinion.
You see, I'm exactly the same way in person as I am online, when I see ignorant fucks, I call them ignorant fucks. Your constantly calling out of Andre Iguodala as the only flaw on the sixers is pathetic, and petty, and childish, maybe you're not getting laid or something.
Next time though you want 'statistics' from someone with the intelligence to understand them and find them you probably want to ask nicer - you silly little internet thug - threatening people on the internet - wow - you're tough Mr Eskin
Once again, if you want to talk Sixers/Iguodala then I will forever point out the flaws of the do called best player on the team especially when the team needs him to perform best.
If you take offence with being called any name that I use then it's probably cause cause it's meant for you. if you call me a "thug" it almost seems racist but that doesn't surpriseme in the least.
Like I said, I would live to meet you in person.
THAD!
love the hustle Thad
Thad and Brand bailing out Lpi and Iggy.
Let's go!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thad, carry us!
And we trap Rose again? turnover? what a novel concept.... should have been doing that shit the whole game
If we'd started at the beginning, he might have figured it out-- think this was the secret weapon.
Always wonder why teams don't press or trap more...I think the 'common wisom' is that they'll tire out too quickly or something.
Rose, WTF was that?
wow Noah is such a helpless baby on offense. they might wanna work on that.
Not sure they care about his offense...rebounds and 'put backs' - that's what they want from him - and he's damn good at it - sixers could use a guy like him on the glass
They're going to have a counter to that here. Take away his first pass, they're going to try to run a backdoor after they get it to Noah, if they can.
OMG Thad.
Whatever happens here, let it be said that the Bulls REALLY REALLY wanted to beat the sixers today.
Jesus Christ, Lou.
Stops!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jrue to Thad. Come on, let's fucking go.
OK, get a stop right now.
Thad is unconscious!!!
Come on Leon Rose, What the F???? he didn't even have the damn ball anymore sheesh
YES! OK, need this hoop. Something going toward the basket and look for Thad.
That home court bounce helping thad off the rim was nice...hard to believe they're still in this...i'm a bit shocked...
And then Iguodala takes that ill advised awful 3
Motherof god
Oh Lord. Didn't need that one bit AI9.
Thad/Jrue. Not IGGY.
What the hell was Dre shooting at??
Damnnit Thad go to the hole on him man...... shit shit
Thad - you've got Noah one on one - you're fast than him - USE IT
Fuck. Why not double him that time?
gotta give him credit for that one
Why is Thad settling for a jumper there when he's been so hot attacking the basket? That's your game.
Thad so didn't want to go right there.
Jesus. End game disasters yet again
implosion
Bad half court offense, bad play out of a time out
Continuity baby :)
Thad sizes up Noah, and sizes up Noah, open lane behind Noah, sizes him up again, and .............. pulls a J? Ugh Ugh uGH
Yes, that was pretty bad...he's got the advantage in athleticism right there...he either gets to the basket or gets to the line...not sure...maybe he's too in love with his new found outside range?
Why the fuck did time come off the clock there? The ball was never thrown in. Not that it matters.
Meeks is in a bad spot here.
Brand Noah'd him.
OK. You've got a shot. Let's see if you can get it off.
Oh great, just tease the shit out of me again. Perfect.
Inbound to Lou in the corner again?
Coaching mistake having a bad FT shooter on the foor.
Should CHI foul here? I say yes.
Asst. coach drawing up the play
I'm not sure why that matters so much. Different parts of a coaching staff do different things. In the NFL it's standard procedure...
yeah because the NFL is exactly like the NBA?
Well if you want to be all literal about it, baseball also has numerous types of coaches.
People seems obsessed with this who is drawing up the play nonsense. If Collins thinks the other guy can draw up a play better than he can, who cares.
Phil Jackson gets credit for the triangle offense, yet it wasn't his idea, nor was he the one teaching it to his roster.
Collins calls set plays during the game, but who knows actually drew them up in practice / playbook, so maybe Collins lets the guy with the best skill set do the best role he sees fit, that's what head coaches do.
Basketball is the slowest evolving professional sport
+1
Bet you $10 we don't get a shot off here.
(SIGH) such a Sixer game.
Seriously?
Dre really didn't have to rush that there. He had like 4 secs or 5. SHIT
Anyone think that was going to drop? Jrue was open on the other side.
Terrible play. Anything would have been better than an off-balance jumper with 2 guys on you.
Iguodala can only hit 3's with his deet set- he is no Paul Pierce. Any but Iggy on that one (did he hit the rim on any shot in the 4th?)
To me it seems, sad to say, that Lou is the only one who could achieve a 'non set foot' type shot with any confidence
I second that; Jrue is too deliberate and suffers from 4th-qtr-butter-finger syndrome, Turner useless, Meeks cant dribble. Few options really.
It's just another 'roster flaw' they have to deal with.
Didn't think they were going to win tonights game, but man hate when they keep giving me that small glimmer and then pull the rug out...makes it just hard to watch em some times
That 15-2 run in the third quarter did 'em in.
Lot of things did them in. They should have had a bigger lead going into half time with all those offensive boards.
wonder who the play was drawn up for? Meeks slipped but might not have been him. where was Lou?
nahh it doesnt matter anyway.
PHI 91, CHI 96 final.
Showed patented "heart" never giving up despite the game seeming lost multiple times in the fourth. Never thought they'd make a game of it after going down 13. Still not enough to get over the hump.
Thoroughly enjoyed the game thread, especially the e-fist fight and being called a whore.
Btw, my prediction was wrong. I was wrong.
Rush Limbaugh will apologize on Monday.
Meeks was your first option after not even being on the floor for most of the 2nd half... I don't think I approve
Meeks is the 'best' 3 point shooter on this team. Sad in and of itself I think.
He's not a guy that you can run off screens though. Meeks pretty much seems to be a strictly spot-up shooter, and a disturbingly inconsistent one with the looks he gets. Lou is probably the only guy you can run of screens on this team, and he's probably not even that good at it. So basically, don't be down three late in the game I guess.
So basically, don't be down three late in the game I guess
Nominate for cotgt.
Didn't like the AI9 and Thad settles at the end. Those are both bad shots. Didn't like that Lou shot before that. This game comes down to that brutal stretch to being the 4th where Turner and Lou took bad shots, and the Bulls capitalized on them.
I loved the offense down the stretch, even in the halfcourt. They were generating some quality looks against a really good defensive team. That's sort of a silver lining.
hope they can build on that as opposed to reverting back to Boss mode. Even Lou functions much better with the offense running that way.
Fourth quarter is killing this team
Here are the Sixers in the final 9 minutes of games on non-dunks the last 16 games (before tonight.)
Brand and Iggy a combined 4 for 26. That is is like 15% from the field.
Those are yur "leaders"? That is terrible.
http://bkref.com/tiny/Ne6h2
If it helps you, look at brand like a president in the last year of his second term. Anything you get from him is a bonus but he's just biding time until he has to move out of his white house
Frightening.
Can anyone figure out why they stopped that hard double on Rose? They didn't get beat on it, really. The Bulls scored when Lou didn't close on Watson, but that was a 20-footer anyway, not a great shot.
Probably the same reason the guy who is hot early in the first quarter is often ignored in the rest of the game?
It's some sort of Coach Collins magic we just don't understand
Felt like after that timeout they just let them off the hook. Don't understand it.
Noah did his best to give the Sixers that game, too. He was atrocious late.
Should start keeping a track of 'questionable coaching decisions' in games. I'd be curious to see how many there are. Be more interesting if a couple people volunteered to keep that list and compared em at the end of the game (only) to see what's unanimous.
I'm an advocate of doubles and full court press as much as possible in basketball, I think many players would get flustered more often to face that, but I understand it also expands more energy
It's funny. I usually point out when I think he does something odd, but I'm pretty sure more often than not I'm proven wrong. When he went small at the end of a quarter tonight isn't really the type of example I'm talking about (he went small just to foul), but mostly it's like "Why leave Meeks in there?" and then Meeks hits a couple threes.
I think he's more a Bobby Valentine than a Tony LaRussa, if that makes sense. Kind of jibes w/ his age, as well.
I'm not really sure what that means since I think they're both vastly over rated (Larussa and Valentine) and LaRussa thinks he's smarter than the game
pls. stop talking about TLR, doctor says it's bad for my anger management.
Meaning LaRussa is a "by the numbers" guy, while Valentine is a "gut feeling" guy.
I'm trying to figure out why they took so long to START it. The double/trap, that is.
After Jrue cross-screened for Thad, Jodie never let Thad set the screen to free him, took off before it ever got there, and slipped on some banana peel.
Andre then sort of panics and takes a very silly one dribble and picks it up, try to shoot it over two defenders (his and Thad's), with 5 damn seconds left, all while Jrue stands behind the arc at the free throw line extended with his hands up.
Yep, Sixers basketball. Passionate. Intense. Proud. Fucked.
Heh. So two best teams in the league in one week. Both right down to the wire. Both just losses. Nothing more. Makes me a bit ill.
Both Losses they should have won but didn't because of serious flaws in their roster.
Though the thunder game also had that pathetic FT differential which does expose a flaw in the sixers roster, lacking that 'star', just not one I agree should be a 'flaw', though Malik Rose does feel Kevin Durant is entitled to free throws.
Celtics game looming very large
I don't understand why Iggy didn't even consider passing it when he got doubled off the hand-off. He's such a skilled jump-passer I think he could have fired that cross-court pass to Jrue without Noah picking it off. Sadly, he was thinking "shoot" the whole time as soon as he got it. For such an unselfish, intelligent player he really forgets who he is in crunch time. KellyDad is absolutely right, he is not a clutch player. He's a great player, just not a clutch one.
That was a bad shot, but people have been killing him for not shooting in crunch time recently. Eh, whatever. What's the difference. Either he misses it or Lou doesn't even get it off. They're just fucked if the game is close.
Remember, it's always Iguodalas fault
Can't take him off the hook tonight. That three he airballed was a hero shot. The one he took at the end, well, it was a bad shot, but they've been in that situation twice in the past couple of weeks and didn't even get a shot off, so you can't kill him too much for it.
Per usual though, there are a lot of reasons the sixers were in that position, and many of those who 'hate' iguodala will ignore the rest of the game and put it all on him.
There's always more than one reason, more than one play, that costs the sixers the game. Half court offense, poor execution off offensive boards, some defensive lapses, lots of reasons they lost - as always.
That still doesn't excuse him from him having a bad game down the stretch and making a really bad decision at the most crucial time.
I sure hope you're not accusing me of "hating" on Iguodala due to my comment. It was the biggest shot of the game and he made a questionable decision that I wanted to talk about. Is this not the place to do it? You have to be an idiot not to realize he's the best player on the team, but that doesn't mean we can't discuss his flaws.
Nope - wasn't referring to you, if I was, I would have responding to you (and not brian) but the point - as always - is that the game was more than just one shot - and the sixers have no 'big shot' players - none - so give your best player the shot anyway - he had an equal chance as anyone else on the roster as far as i'm concerned.
The bigger issues, much like the timberwolves game (for instance) are that it's not about one shot - it's the entierty of the game that leads to that moment and all the focus on 'one shot' ignores the complete and utter failure of the team as a whole in one or many areas.
Oh ok. I apologize then.
I don't think it's that everyone is ignoring the mistakes that turn a game from a comfortable win to a tight game, it's the fact that this team is so epically bad when it gets tight. You can clean up some of those mistakes but you're still going to have to win some close games at some point.
Either way...this sucks. I should have drank tonight.
Even there though, everyone is epically bad on this team when it closes. The 'avoidance' of being fouled really hurts them down the stretch I think
Hah, probably.
This one was a little different from OKC though. I thought they were the better team down the stretch by a little tonight. They just were digging out of a pretty big hole.
Agree. Some baby steps tonight in the right direction.
Yea, you might be right. But I feel like if they actually got a little creative in their play-calling and didn't panic all the time maybe they can execute and win games even without a superstar. Wishing thinking, I know.
They went from a hard trap of Rose to more of a "show" of a double team that Rose attacked (and defeated.) Not surprising, since you can only hard trap at half court so long before the opponent makes a simple adjustment and gets dunks. It looks like CHI made an adjustment and the soft trap was Collins' counter move. It failed, but that happens.
Somewhat emblematic of the Sixers going from hyper-aggressive in their come-back to more passive late in the game with those jumpers and weak shots.
I am glad they incorporated Thad more in the 4th. But they still have a long way to go before they are even a decent 4th quarter team in contested games.
Sorry to spoil your Jrue watch Brian, but 0 FTs tonight.
Dre 1-4. wish our starting guards could just get there a little more. tonight seemed like a good one to try.
just got back from the game, glad to see the fight back but they shouldnt of got down by that much, it looked like that last shot was drawn up for meeks of a screen but he fell, also why cant jrue get a chance to "close"?
Games within 7 pts:
This year: 2W-11L
Last year 12W-21L
Combined 14-33 in games decided by less than 8 pts.
49W and 25W in games decided by 8 pts or more.
I keep harping on that, but it is a crazy stat. Crazy in any sport to see a team with a 65% winning percentage in the half of their games that are not close, and yet only win less than 30% of the other half of the games (that are competitive.)
Well, it's not half and half, it's 47 close games and 74 not close games. Otherwise, it bugs the shit out of me.
Fair enough.
So closer to 1/2 their games:
10+pt margin)
---------------------
18-5 this season
26-13 last season
Combined: 44-18 (58 win pace)
less than 10 pt margin
----------------------
4-11 this year
15-28 last season
combined 19-39 (27 win pace)
Sorry, I know that does not really help- but there has to be some explanation. Some numbers are "random" but this one is not.
Not sure there's one explanation. Could be more about what they do in the games they win big than what they don't do in close games. Could be any of the fifty reasons we've all come up with to this point. Whatever it is, I think they clearly need a talent upgrade. They're playing fewer close games this year, over 50% last year were close.
So if they finish the season riding this exact streak (beat every team below .500, lose to every team above .500) they'll wind up at 35-31. That might be enough to take the Atlantic, in fact, it probably will be, but it'll mean no home-court in the first round against either Indy, ORL or ATL, and then most likely the Bulls in the second round, if they get there.
I don't see how a team that can't win competitive games can expect to get to the second round. And I honestly don't think they fix the problem this year. Without shooters, post threats that draw a double, guys who draw fouls (and star treatment) or a P&R threat, they really have no answer when the game slows down.
maybe they can junk it up by mad trapping like tonight? But honestly, it is a roster limitation IMO. They can improve on 2-11, but not to where they will need to be to win a playoff series. Unless the opponent is so over-matched that the Sixers can run away with 4 wins.
If they somehow play the Hawks, I can see the Sixers posting four double-digit wins :-)
That would be nice.
Not to mention, as the team has improved its record in competitive games has gotten even worse. basically 100% of their improvement this year has been in putting teams away. But have actually regressed in close games... after already being terrible in those situations.
Yep. Their close wins came against the Lakers and Orlando. Their other wins against winning teams were all by 10+.
has doug ever given jrue a chance to close?
I'm actually not pissed off about this game. We lost against OKC due to rebounding and dumb mistakes. Today we played well and we came back from a 13 point deficit in the 4th quarter and then we came back again from a 9pt deficit with 4 minutes left in the game. We ran plays, played good defense, and didn't rely on BOSS mode late in the game. I'm still annoyed by the Andre bricks and the Thad jumper late in the game. The moving screen by Brand was unacceptable.
Lou went 0-7 but I thought he had an ok game. He had 7 assists and a huge block.
Meeks' inconsistency bothers me.
I still think that the Sixers are the 3rd best team in the conference. We should be good enough to fend of Boston and NYK. Moving up to the 3rd seed and winning a round in the playoffs will come down to what Thorn can do by the deadline.
Watching it live, I didn't think the Iguodala 3-point attempt with 1:10 left was a bad shot to take. He was open, his feet were set, and he had hit a shot from that spot earlier in the game. Obviously, the result was bad. And, if you think Iguodala would never hit a jump shot in that situation (he has not shown otherwise in a while), the shot attempt itself was bad.
If there was one positive to take away from the Sixers' late-game performance, it was the two halfcourt possessions that wound up with Thad baskets late. On the first one, Iguodala threw a bounce pass to Jrue, who had curled and gotten open in the lane, 8 feet from the hoop. Jrue then drew two defenders and passed to Thad for the layup. That is the type of play the Sixers have to execute more.
We win 30% of close games? It feels more like 10% or 5% to be honest.
2 of 13 this year, so only 13%.
The reason why they are even worse in closer games this year as compared to last is that this year the games against bad teams are almost never close. So their only tight games are against good teams. Last year they did not consistently take care of the bottom half of the league.
The problem remains that the bottom half tend not o be in the playoffs. But maybe this is a growing thing and they eventually "learn" how to beat better teams. Or maybe it means that they are just one player away- top where all of their guys can shift into a more comfortable position late in games once their is a focal point on the roster (I refuse to say "closer.")
How nice would it be to have Kenneth Faried off the bench right now? Still think he would've been a better choice than Voose.
Game story (with Brand video interview): Star-less Sixers drop another close one:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/sixers/star-less-sixers-can-t-win-another-close-one/article_1658083b-144e-59ca-95c6-a5baa43358fa.html