Whether you view things as half-full or half-empty, after tonight the season will be decidedly half-over. San Antonio is a regular-season powerhouse these days, and they aren't in the habit of playing down to their opponents. The Sixers need to pick up where they left off against Toronto if they're going to have any chance at finishing the first half on a win streak.
If I had any idea how to stop the Spurs I'd share it, but short of convincing Popovich to play Stephen Jackson about 40 minutes and encouraging him to take 35 shots, I'm at a loss. For the Sixers part, they need to hope Jrue and Thad can repeat their performance from the other night, and hope the rest of the team can somehow avoid ruining everything. Actually, they'll have to do more than just staying out of the way, they're going to have to produce, at least a couple of them.
Two keys to stopping the Spurs offensively, shut down the pick-and-roll and don't allow open threes. Step one is keeping Tony Parker out of the lane. That means Jrue applying pressure early, right when he crosses half court. See if you can get the ball out of his hands early on. Make someone else the initiator. When he does get into the pick-and-roll, you can't really leave Jrue on an island against the big and Parker. You have to come with a hard hedge and impede Parker's progress, then quickly retreat and cut off the passing lane to the roller. This is something they've been terrible at this season. The communication needs to be better, and the execution needs to be flawless, at least most of the time. Splitter has killed them on these plays in the past, I'd love it if he wasn't a factor in this game.
On offense, another 30+/10+ from Jrue would help, but wouldn't be enough by itself.
The tip is at 7pm. This is your game thread. I'll be here throughout. I can't say there are many reasons to be hopeful, but I'll be watching wire-to-wire just the same. Join me.
The easy to say, not so easy to execute philosophy for the game against the Spurs: Limit corner threes, limit penetration on the P&R, make Parker a shooter.
Honestly, i'd pack the lane and let them shoot reasonably open three from the top of the key all game. If they hit them so be it, but limiting corner threes and plays off Parkers penetration must be limited to a minimum.
The more i think about the Spurs the more i fantasize how similar the Sixers ideally could be: Holiday - the smart PG that can penetrate at will (Parker), Bynum - the star C, that can score and defend in many ways in the paint, the shooters - spotting up from the corners for corner threes (Wright, Richardson). Ideally Turner would be Ginobilli - the X-factor coming off the bench, but it's extremely unlikely Turner will ever be as good as Ginobilli, who should end up in the HOF when all is said and done.
The beauty about building around a PG and a C is that there are so many possibilities. And the Sixers are so close to it - healthy and resigned Bynum.
Love the photo. Apt.
Sixers always play really well against SA at home for some reason
free preview of league pass for a week starts today
unfortunately sixers are on NBATV tomorrow night which takes them off the league pass broadcast :/
I am attending tonight. Does anyone have any hecklng fodder? My seats are close enough for this sort of activity.
My recent highlight is yelling "Hey Andray, no means no!" at the Nets game while he was still a person if interest. He definitely heard me.
You're a fortunate guy. Enjoy. Just don't scream anything of a pungent nature to Doug or you could get the evil eye. You might try yelling something at the top of your lungs during a lull; anything, really, will gather attention. Content comes down to personal choice; it must be organic. Remember Luciano Pavarotti who heckled with majesty.
j rich out, wright to start
Out due to injury or lack if skill?
injury
Alright, national game. Don't embarrass yourselves.
think Barkley is calling the game
Yeah, should be interesting.
Barkley will be on the air from the arena. Great.
Come out strong, don't let Parker into the paint.
Dei Lynam is tying Chuck's tie.
ugh Reggie miller
More shots of Hawes in the Sixers intro than Jrue. Hawesome!
How about putting Jrue in the post right away. First couple plays, make Parker guard him down there and keep a three-point shooter on the strong side for the kick out.
If Pop caught wind of the NOH tape, I expect to see plenty of Splitter high pick and rolls early here. Of course, he didn't have to see the NOH tape to figure that out cause they killed us last time with it.
Aaaaand we're off...Lavoy loses the tip.
jrue floater
Jrue, good.
Come on, play some D.
Lavoy o-board putback.
Good follow, Lavoy.
They pushed the ball there. Don't think trying to play at SAS's pace is a good idea.
Shit, gotta finisht that, Thad.
If Turner gives the ball up in time, Jrue has a wide open three in transition. Fucking stupid.
Thad def needed to go up with that one stronger than he did. He was too lax w/ the release.
jumper after jumper
Thad w/ the cut. Need some stops.
Gotta hit one of those, Dorell.
Well, here comes Wonderboy, Lavoy w/ 2 quick ones. Reaching in on Duncan there, stupid.
2 on Lavoy, assume Hawes coming in here after the TO.
Is Kwame available? Saw he was listed as questionable again.
Maybe Hawes will be pissed and play with some fire since the inauguration was today.
This broadcast is ugly, Charles. Are you and Reggie going to make any attempt to show that you're paying attention to this game or are you just going to engage in a 2 hour version of one of your TNT gabfests?
They'll probably just treat the whole game like it's garbage time. Just hope it isn't.
Close the backdoor, Jrue.
Parker getting into the lane way too easily
They used to be competitive against Spurs back when Sammy would get up to guard Timmy.
I would have loved to see how they would have matched up this year with a healthy Bynum. Would at least be interesting.
sissy hook
Tough ass move there Spence, kudos.
Diaw and Turner are exchanging their offseason workout tips.
Jesus, get in the paint.
this is ugly
Come on Jrue, bad shot man, too early in clock.
bad shot jrue
Attaboy, Jrue.
DEFENSE.
keep driving
Jrue w/ a nice move, but abused badly by TP on other end.
Jrue to the cup again, Hawes putback follow.
Nice show, Hawes, you fucking stiff.
Thad cheats down to help Jrue w/ TP's penetration leading to a Diaw 3.
TP in the paint with ease again. Come on, D up and stop the dribbler please.
That's not accurate at all on the first count. Thad cheated down because Hawes hedged and didn't even impede Parker. Just opened his hips and let him go right by.
What was Turner trying to do when Parker reached him in the lane? ha
Two pretty drives by Jrue. Keep getting in the paint like that.
keep shooting jumpers, you will lose, drive to the lane and you might win
So, Bynum can't move laterally yet and still has pain when trying to jump. Aldridge says. Think he said his pain is a 3 on a scale of 10.
Great, my favorite iso play, a NYoung fadeaway. CLANK!
PHI 17, SAS 25 after one.
They need to play them no worse than even here in the second Q. Don't go into the half down double digits.
Looks like we're going to hear some great tales from Reg and Charles in the 2nd half with the way this one is going. Poor Harlan.
Evan with a quick bad shot.
Terrible jumper early in the clock for Turner. Great first possession.
Turner sucks
Hawes actually dunks.
I'm sure I'll regret saying this, but that De Colo guy blows.
turner jumper goes in
ET coast to coast pullup from 16.
Heh, Doug, "Let's not have one pass, then a 20-foot jumper." Turner's immediate response, zero passes, 20-foot jumper.
How the heck did Dorell end up on Splitter there?
Nick Young wound up on Diaw the previous play.
oh, b/c Hawes hedged wildly causing rotations on the strong side.
at least he drove and got to the line
That Aldridge report on Bynum was not encouraging. He basically said that Bynum still feels pain when he makes any sort of cut or lateral movement.
And when trying to jump or explode.
I love how the national reporters always know more about this team than the local beat. CSN was just showing Bynum saying he felt good and everything was moving right along with his rehab.
I sometimes wonder if the follow up questions occur to the local beat writers, or if they just ask open ended questions like "What's the update with Bynum" and just leave it at that.
That would be way too much work. I love the way they ask questions now: "Talk a little bit about....." God forbid they challenge somebody.
Spurs getting much better looks than Sixers. No surprise there.
Wonder if he brings Jrue back right here. Kinda doubt it, with the back-to-back looming.
Sixers story (with Bynum pregame video): Bynum: 'Everything's picking up'
http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/sixers/bynum-everything-s-picking-up/article_44606278-8da3-5c4f-94c8-2234f9ec65c3.html
Alridge's report was a bit more negative, although he didn't directly contradict anything in your article. He mentioned that Bynum isn't making cuts or other moves because he still feels pain when he tries a make a move. Is that what your hearing Tom?
But can he pick anything up without hurting himself?
They're fucking free.
Stephen Jackson abusing Nick Young. And that's not shocking.
Jrue back, will play a bit less than 20 mins in the first half.
Can't jump before passing, Jrue. Come on....
Thad back, now. Need to cut into this lead w/ those two in against the Spurs bench.
Jrue backdoor for the hoop. Nice pas by Spence.
FUck you Hawes!
Fuck you, Hawes.
go small, with wright at the 4 and thad at center
Catch the fucking ball, Hawes.
lol hawes
You're a wuss, Spencer. Total wuss man.
Get Hawes the fuck out of there
Nice shot, Turner.
who gets blocked more than Evan fucking Turner
Come on Jrue, why pass the ball to Turner in the backcourt for him to only go into Turner-ball in the frontcourt and shoot an airball 7 footer?
Reggie Miller is a moron
A moron who never shuts up.
Really bad night for Thad, so far.
That was inexcusable, Thad. Bad bad pass.
Thad what the fuck was that? You throw it into three Spurs?
stop shooting jumpers
Nice D, Turner.
he is lightning fast, isn't he?
Jrue, bad shot. Too early..
Leonard right to the rim. geez
NYoung bad shot.
Good D by Jrue on Parker that time, leads to the TO and the dunk on the other end.
evan 3
Jrue drive and kick to Turner for a corner three.
ET with a 3. Maybe he'll get voted in on Thursday...
He would if Collins and Jrue weren't taking turns holding him back. Or maybe Iguodala is still holding him back, from Denver.
Oh, I thought it was the refs.
I'm leaning toward getting rid of Turner, The guy seems like he will never get it
as a contestant for Wing Bowl maybe
lol, I meant get voted in as the towel boy who wipes the court
Shelvin Mack to the rescue!
Mack makes his debut
Another wide open three for Jrue that Turner fucked up. Jrue gets the travel to end the play.
Come on.
Mack with his first TO
For some reason, I hear Mark Morrison playing in my head.
Two stops, two turnovers on the other end. That's not going to get it done.
mack!
Shelvin Mack looks so much better than Wayns out there. Not saying much, but still
Could be a positive development coming out of this long winter. I loved his game in college. Looks like he's slimmed down - very strong.
Phantom call on that Duncan dunk attempt
PHI 35, SAS 49 at the half.
Jrue scores, Parker comes right back and does the same. That's not positive momentum.
Ugh, Parker always kills Jrue
Parker is a bull when he gets a head of steam. Can't possibly stop him. Especially when Hawes' lard ass is often in your way.
If it isn't at or below 10 by the end of the third, just rest Jrue and Thad in the fourth. No use blowing tomorrow night's game as well. Milwaukee is home resting, waiting for the Sixers. Which isn't much of a shock this season.
Lavoy never got back in after picking up his second, did he?
He was back in briefly in the 2nd quarter
At least Turner gave a hard foul.
Unfucking real. He misses both and they give up the o-board.
Hawes immediately in for Lavoy after that o-board. He's definitely the toughness solution.
Turner to the hoop x2. Get stops.
two straight nice drives by Turner, pulse?
keep driving!!
Wright to the hoop. Nice.
I wish Charles would just shut up. OK, you wouldn't sign Bynum, we hear you.
think he said it like 5 times already
Win the final 9:27 of this quarter, come on.
Hey, any word from Charles on whether or not he thinks we should sign Bynum?
cut it to single digits here, let's go
jrue
Please catch fire, Jrue.
Free.
sissy 3, hate that shot
Spence three from Jrue. Come on.
Fu....Yay Hawes!!!
Man, Thad is just a blur.
A blur who can't shoot free throws for shit.
fucking FREEEEEE
free
Fuck you, Hawes.
don't waste that run, come on man
Those missed freebies just completely fucking swung the momentum. 6-0 run to push it back to 10 from 4. God damnit.
5-0 run to make it 9.
Come on. Good move, Jrue. Gotta finish.
You are so fucking weak, Hawes. And then a foul+goaltend. Fucking motherfucker.
Back to 12.
Hawes is a dumbass, blatantly goaltending that.
just like that it's back to 12
funny how 3 consecutive missed FTs can kill a team's energy
You had those three missed freebies, and then the pair missed by Splitter, followed by the SAS o-board. Just a huge fucking swing on stupid shit.
That's two turnovers tonight, one on Jrue and one on Thad, where the pass was fine. Hit Hawes right in the fucking hands, and he gave it away by being a weak bitch.
Good hustle by Jrue and Thad to keep that alive. Hawes wastes it.
Yeah Spencer, just jack up the given wide open 20 footer. They were inviting you.
that wasn't a jump ball
See, why doesn't Turner kick the ball ahead to Jrue there?
thad
Jrue walked I think on that layup.
Great play, Jrue.
Thad for the dunk.
Charles keeps saying how he doesn't understand why the Sixers don't push the ball more
couldn't agree more
don't like that shot from jrue
Ugh. Bad possession, Jrue.
Good timed dish by Jrue to Thad there.
Jrue, either shoot or pass to Thad. Nothing else.
Great gazing Turner, just let Kawhi alone.
Turner leaves Leonard wide open for a rally killing 3
Why the fuck was Turner off his man. Jrue shuts down penetration and they still get the wide open three.
OMFG
Smart, Nick Young. Really fucking smart.
Nice give and go, Turner, Jrue, Turner for the +1. Hit the fucking freebie.
nice give and go Turner and Jrue
TURNER AND ONE!makes the ft. nice dish by jrue
Get a hoop here, come on.
ET iso, down to 7. The tease is on.
7, need a strong start to the 4th
PHI 64, SAS 71 after three.
OK, really good quarter. Now follow it the fuck up. Great quarter for Turner there.
ET!sixteen through three
don't really like the iso play, but I'll take the result
7 point defecit, we can win this game
Nice of Turner to show a pulse for once.
so here's where I get worried though, heavy mins through 3 for Jrue, Thad, and ET so who starts the quarter? Are we going to see a Wilkins/Ivy combo here?
Think there's a chance Jrue starts the quarter.
Nope, Turner's in there. Walk for SAS to start the fourth. Come on.
decent move hawes
Hawes with the weak ass scoop shot.
Hawes!
sissy hook
F me. Don't pass it to Hawes Evan.
There's Turner's home run pass throwaway.
ivey 3!!!!
ugh terrible pass by turner on the break. IVEY THREE!
Ivey 3!
Ivey for three! Nice find by Turner. two-point game.
evan
Turner, good. Come on!
ET behind the back pullup.
sissy jumper!!!!!!!
ET!for the tie and the d board!and the assist to hawes for the lead!!
Alright, don't go fucking senile, Collins. Put Jrue back in for Ivey right now.
Turner weaves and dances, Hawes J!
Ok, let's get Jrue in now.
Hawes shoots so much better when he measures it.
ugh where is jrue
Thad J. up 4
Got Thad back in, no Jrue.
ET to Thad!
Let's go!!!!
thad jumper, bring in jrue when parker comes in?
et trip dub?
ugh et turn
Get Jrue back in right now.
Damn Evan....
x2
i love the graphic for this thread brian
Dammit Evan!!!! Trying to do too much...sheesh
two straight TO's on ET, need to settle down here guys
ugh evan, jrue in for evan
ugh another bterible evan turn, off good penetration
Surprised Parker didn't get the whistle there for that flail.
bad shot jrue
jrue misses the long two, again
ugly shot Jrue
Geez Jrue, what a brick!!!! Go to the rack w/ Tim on you.
Nick from Jrue, I believe.
Nope, it was from Hawes. I was looking down. Hand-off?
yea
Swaggy!!!
nick young!
young iso
swaggy!
NYoung fall away!
Good time for Nick to get hot!
This Stallone movie looks like the worst made-for-TV movie ever, but they're actually releasing it in theaters.
18-4 run to start this quarter. Whowouldathunkit?
ugh
Not a good shot by Ivey, he shuffled his feet.
Dammit Nick Young!!!! come on man...
Jrue with two straight steals.
Fuck running time off the clock, need to keep attacking.
Jrue should have pulled up and shot there
Jrue Holiday, clean that shit up!!! come on
Collins is yelling at Jrue to shoot the ball. Fucking turns. Turner back in, good move.
amen
wtf jrue
put wright in for ivey
Thad draws the charge. Need to settle down and get a good look here on offense.
Offense has been great(besides the past 2 minutes) in the 2nd half, but this game is being won on the defensive end this quarter.
Come on, holding 5. 3:17 to go. Get a good look here. No turns.
I figured Spence would be fired up after this morning's festivities. Good timimg big fellah.
Fuck me. Can't have that.
MOFO!!! ugh
what the fuck was that inbound??
tie game
turner gets a good shot but cant hit
tie game
oh come on you leave Leonard open again?
Motherfucking motherfucker.
2:16. Give me 2:16 of effort. Why is Ivey in this fucking game?
Evan is the best damn ball-watcher in the league. He cheats and gazes for no reason at all. Kawhi 3.
The blog is called depressed fan for a reason.
Come on, finish that shit Thad!!!!
Shit. Got a good look. Get a stop here.
need to hit that thad
duncan, fuck
big break there
Nice! Freebie.
Come on, take the lead, now.
ok Jrue hits the FT, let's get a bucket here
Turner, I would've liked you for a day if you hit that.
DAMMIT that turner three woulda been huge
parker hits on the other end. fuck
ugh jrue
Yeah, F me.........................
Stupid fucking pass. That's the game.
fuck Turner misses the open 3, and Parker hits on the other end....Jrue turnover, we're fucked
well fuck jrue
jrue's worst game in awhile
and splitter gets the oboard
12 straight possessions that have come up empty now down the stretch. Oops, make that 13.
Then they can't get the d-board. Have to foul now. Sayanora. Probably blew tomorrow night's game, too. Heavy minutes.
Lost this one in that first half. Gaping holes on D, bad shot selection on O.
When Spencer and Turner play above their heads, it's a tough loss regardless of the quality of opponent.
can't believe we lost this one...I mean I can believe it, but it just fucking sucks...looked like it was going to be a nice comeback win for a brief minute
That damn tease....
tough loss
PHI 85, SAS 90 Final.
Well, first game this year they didn't close. Let's not make a habit of it.
Turner is POTG.
Hope they have some legs left for tomorrow night at MIL.
sucks
durant goes seven for twenty and scores thirty seven, jrue goes seven for twenty and scores fifteen
And they both lost.
I don't know what your point is. It is true that Jrue gets to the line at a pretty poor rate, which is why, for example, he has a worse TS% than the supposedly scuffling Deron Williams, who's shooting 40% from the field to Jrue's 46%. You can blame it on the refs that this guy who practically every NBA writer thinks should be an All-Star doesn't get calls, but the idea that he's being shafted because he's not a star doesn't really explain why Isaiah Thomas, Dragic, Sessions, Kemba, Brandon Knight, Shved, Collison, and Devin Harris all get to the line more and in some cases vastly more than he does. What does help explain it is that he takes more long twos than any point guard in the league but Curry and more 10-15 footers than any point guard but Irving, while he's only eleventh in attempts at the rim. As a percentage of his offense, shots around the basket aren't that big compared to a lot of point guards. And in any event, not every player who goes to the basket a lot gets to the line a lot; look at Rondo, who takes more shots at the rim than Jrue and gets to the line even less.
My point was they both lost. I didn't say anything about the refs.
I actually think the refs were pretty even in the Sixers game last night, favoring the Sixers is anything. Also think Jrue has been getting more calls lately.
Turner- 18 points on 15 shots, with 12 rebounds and 7 assists.
Hawes- 16 points on 12 shots, with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.
Trade them NAOW!, while they can still net something positive for them.
man do i hate to say it but it sure would've been nice to see the old LouWill drain the clock offense there at the end...
...but did i not hear that one white announcer call Jrue a SUPERSTAR coming out of that half??
Bad night for Jrue to press and have a terrible game. I guess it's part of the learning curve.
Really disappointed about last night. They needed this one. If they lose at Milwaukee, not sure they will be able to make the playoffs now. Even if Bynum does come back right after the allstar break, they might be in too big of a hole. The schedule gets tougher in March and April, lots of road games and Bynum's minutes will surely be monitored early, possibly coming off the bench.
@WindhorstESPN
Just filed to ESPN: Cavs & Grizzlies are in talks on a deal that would send Marreese Speights & Josh Selby for Jon Leuer. Picks involved
more games vs speights!
I can't believe the Griz would want to trade Speights. He's such a gamer.