The Sixers will bring their newfound offensive aggression to Indiana to see if it works against a tough front court as well as it did against the cupcakes in New York. Expect a tight game between two defensive minded teams. Playoff atmosphere in Indy? The game certainly could have implications.
Belying the whole toughness theme, Spencer Hawes will make his triumphant return to the lineup (in limited minutes) tonight against one of the centers who abused him early in the season, Roy Hibbert. Evan Turner's impact on the defensive glass is also going to get a big test today, the Pacers rank 8th in the league in offensive-rebounding rate. They also get to the line a ton. If they're going to come away with a W, the Sixers are going to have to continue battling some of the demons they've been haunted by the entire season. I think they're up to the task:
The tip is at 7pm, on ESPN. This is your game thread. I'll be right here throughout crossing my fingers that Hawes doesn't disrupt what we've seen over the past three games by reverting back to the pre-December 2011 version of himself. Join me if you feel like making a statement to Team USA's "graveyard shift," Danny Granger and co.
Prediction: PHI 95, IND 90 (the 100-points-scored streak ends, but the winning streak lives on).
Hawes definitely starting?
limited minutes
That's what I heard.
Crucial question: To watch local feed or ESPN? Involvement of Doris Burke makes me think local.
Heh. The ESPN talking heads are blaming Lin for the Knicks demise. "This is going to be Carmelo's team now, like it always should've been."
Without the 'ascension' of Jeremy Lin - D'antoni would have been fired a few weeks ago anyway - so see - it is his fault
Tonight is the first 'must' win game for me. First amongst a string of probably many down the stretch here.
Wow, the Sixers are on ESPN again Friday night.
Funny, missed the heck out of Spence when he went out, but almost wish he wasn't coming back tonight.
Like I said in earlier game thread - I consider these next 3 games losses. A win in any of the 3 would be awesome, but I'm certainly not claiming any type of must win status.
Were all these national games scheduled before the season? I know they moved the Mavs game.
I know at least one other game was moved, you gotta think that pacers/sixers wasn't on the national ESPN schedule when the season was announced, no?
Aaaand we're off...Hawes loses the tip. Picking up right where he left off.
Turner with the good hands! Good start.
Turner steal to Jrue for the layup, followed by Hawes getting pushed around. Pretty much to script so far.
EB and Dre pick and pop. EB w/ two straight.
EBx2!
Don't fucking double off George.
Great find by ET, Sissy Finish!
Yeah ET, good look off the p&r w/ hawes.
Good hands Jrue. Way to cheat down and help out.
turner, gotta throw that down!
Love having JTI all out on the break.
Spence goes out after 3 and a half min
JRUE43!!!!!!!!
Jrue 4 3 off the reset!
Ugh, moving Voose screen.
Iguodala needs to shadow Granger all game.
Jrue draws some contact, no shots, though.
Less Turner on the ball in the half court so far.
Turner draws another foul. Again no shots. Come on, get into the penalty and get to the line.
AI943!
Just a great job of Andre coming out at free throw line extended behind the arc giving Jrue an outlet for the pass when nothing else was open for 3!
That was a bad call.
This guy has absolutely no familiarity with the Sixers at all. Do some fucking research if you're going to be calling a national game.
We're getting offense very easy and at will. Just tighten and shore up the D and it could be smooth sailing.
heh, what did Pasch just say? I missed it.
Something about how Iguodala is the only scorer in the starting lineup.
Late whistle. Two on Voose, assuming we'll see Thad here and Brand move over to Hibbert.
I suppose the referee could've waited longer to call that foul.
Actually no, he couldn't have. Just call the foul, don't wait to see if the ball goes in...
It seems to me they're doing that a lot more this year, or have they always pulled such nonsense. A foul is a foul whether the shot goes in or not in my opinion
such a weak contest Voose.
Hawes long two. Bleh.
GReat outlet EB!!! Good reaction
ugh, get the eff back on other end though
Nice move, AI9. Fucking Hansbrough beats Brand down the floor. Surprised no subs besides C so far.
Manning to Jrue for the +1!
Ah, Lou. Fuck me.
Not following closely this season, busy, I've seen the double team twice now on defense, is that a new wrinkle that's used often throughout the season?
They don't do it regularly, but they'll spring it once in a while. Typically with Thad.
Ah Jrue. Fuck me.
Nice shot, Granger.
Thad to the line. Nice.
Defense needs to be better. Offense looks pretty good. Voose back in w/ 2 fouls. Allen completely out of the rotation, apparently.
Not like I watch a ton of Pacers, but I noticed the other day that i've NEVER seen hansbrough pass the ball.
Good job going to Thad, need a stronger move in the post w/ the mismatch, though.
Lou43!
Good kickout Dre, Lou for 3!
Thad tips it off Price. Nice job.
and what do you know, Psycho T dishes at the buzzer. shit
first time i've ever seen that.
Seriously, what are the odds?
that shouldn't count, it was still on his fingertips
Think that was late. Need to see the replay.
PHI 29, IND 26 or 24 after one.
Offense looks good, Lou iso at the end of the quarter excepted. Defense needs to improve greatly.
Think they wiped it away. Box score doesn't have it.
Yep, didn't count. Thad J, good. Lou/Meeks/Turner. Still hate this perimeter unit.
Hansbrough was late w/ the pass, fitting :)
Lou going for contact, doesn't get it. That's twice he's done that.
ET hits. Good.
Amundson just took three steps. like, really obviously.
Come on, D up better...
They're letting Indy play physical on the defensive end now. Thought both Turner and Lou got fouled on that last possession.
Get this unit out of there.
Good play there, Thad has to go up stronger with that though.
ugh D the fuck up guys come on
defense has gone to crap.
Jo-3!
No sub.
Meeks hits a much-needed three. Nice.
Too easy, Thad.
No paint protector is killing us last few possessions.
damn they just mug u inside
Jodie w/ the dribble drive floater? OK....
Meeks floater. Toughen up on the defensive end, damnit.
Lou picks EB. Fuck me.
WAYYYYY too much time without jrue/iggy.
Lets get jrue and iggy back in here
Damn Elton, why didn't you go out and contest West?
ET.
Lou set a pick on him.
Turner J.
just trading baskets; wont do. get Jrue and Igg back in
Lou struggling a bit here from what I'm seeing, little lazy fighting through traffic on D, lucky they didn't get burnt worse
fuck was that hawes
Fucking sissy Hawes. God damnit.
Can someone take care of their PF? West/Hansbrough combine for 20 points (9/12)
Sadly not really - not on this roster. Physical big guys (PFs or Centers) are just going to get points against the sixers - or at least good looks - the sixers don't have any truly physical big guys. Batties really the only one
meen Hawes has gotta dunk that
Gotta keep him off the glass, AI9.
This is fucking bullshit, man. Sixers are getting hammered on one end, Indy's getting the ticky tack foul calls on the other end.
CMON!!
Jrue in the lane. OK, STOPS.
Great hands, Jrue.
AI943 off the drive/kick by Turner. Beauty.
Dre 4 3! Close out hard dammit. Come on get it together.
ugh
Someone needs to take care of the scoreboard. PAcers still have an extra point.
From when?
They didn't take away the 3 yet right (that was only a 2)? Maybe you are watching ESPN and not local and they didn't discuss it there.
Nope. Not a word on ESPN.
need to just close out strong and pick this up in the 3rd with some 2nd half D
Good, they fixed it.
Get a hand up, Jrue.
need to just close out strong and pick this up in the 3rd with some 2nd half D
Well, Lou for one is coming up here. Hope he makes one of them.
Hate how few shots Turner took this half. Needs to assert himself.
hope Iggy is ok, he's not in foul trouble is he?
Wow, they ran a pretty play instead and got Thad a foul line jumper.
wtf was Jodie doing on that play? Didn't have anything to do w/ the dunk, but he just ran away from his man.
Lou did it again. Guided a ball out of bounds instead of fucking grabbing it, and it was off a Sixer. Fuck me.
Great, just got f ucked out of a possession
this is nonsense: pick up the damn ball folks!
what's with this bech lineup? Lou is in for Iggy, Meeks is out on the floor. Foul trouble I guess.
What the hell Lou?!
Brian that was off pacers. By A TON. maybe espn didn't show that one either.
you guys wawtching ESPN didn't see the 5 different slow mo replays of the final tip out of bounds. it wasn't even close. off the pacers by a mile.
Ugh. That blows. Couldn't tell from my angle, but could he have grabbed the ball?
Lou? It was possible, but that momentum might've required him to make a leaping out of bounds pass. He played the safe/right move and let it go out, the refs just blew it. FYI - horrible job (apparently) by ESPN not mentioning that, nor mentioning the 3 that was blatantly a 2 (and was ruled as such).
They also said the shot at the buzzer in the first looked like it was good before the break when it got overturned.
Really disappointing effort on defense, esp with whoever was supposed to be on their PF tandem. Terrible effort or something, no way they should have this many points already.
PHI 51, IND 54 at the half.
No idea why Iguodala came out of the game, but it better not be an injury.
If the defense doesn't improve greatly, they're going to lose this game.
Beasley to Lake Show
a Lou fadeaway 3; that's our play out of the time out???
more heaves and sloppy play.
need to tighten this ish up in the 3rd.
Hawes was practically in the first row after that missed free throw, have not missed the big softee version of Spence one bit
Only three shots for Turner in the first half. Jrue carrying the scoring load w/ 5/5 from the floor for 12 points. I think you maybe give Lou a little bit more rope, but if he stays cold, you have to go away from him.
if ET is the player that I'm wishing him to be, he'll come out here and try to set the tone
Come on. Big start to the third. Let's see if they made the adjustments.
EB, shooter's roll.
sissy finish.
There we go. Great D. Get another hoop.
Jrue? come on man, wth and a runout on other end because of it... shoot
Hawes is just not looking good in his first game back
anybody here the rumor about beasley to lakers?
Shit, Jrue.
dont know if espn saw it, but iggy just got hit in the head, then went absolute apeshit on the ref on his way down the court. somehow no tech.
He's getting leeway now that he is an All Star, I hope
Vuc can clearly give you more than Hawes at this point, well at least tonight, hell even Lavoy for that matter. get him on the bench ASAP
That's what I want to see, AI9. Now hit the freebies.
wow, iguodala wanted that jam.
love it Dre.
Way to take it strong, Dre
Take this mug over Dre.
Jrue face there for mvp
Granger's hot. Fuck.
hibbert just pushing hawes away whenever the shot goes up
ugh Granger
For a team w/ a record about as good as ours, their crowd is quieter than the Sixers.
Can we put battie in for hawes
Just noticed he didn't play at all tonight - that's weird, this is the kind of team he needs to be in against - physical big men
IF Hibbert is going to be a problem, why not try Lavoy? Vuc isn't going to guard him better than Hawes.
WHOA DID YOU GUYS JUST SEE BIRD'S DAUGHTER? that was so weird
Gotta know how long you're in there, Voose.
Vuc block! damn, 3 sec violation on other end though
Wow, we get the 3 sec call? Hibbert is posting up like 5 every time...
Wish that fortitude from the Utah game would peek through. That physical will.
They just look almost disinterested, rather lethargic of sorts.
This team is not better than the Sixers, and it really isn't close. Eerie game so far
Man, Voose. These rookie mistakes...
Vuc you've got the get the fuck out on other end too!!! I was watching him the whole time, doing a little dance, sheesh
No need for Andre to cheat down to the corner to help Jrue. Granger 3
Turner NEEDS to keep taking open 3s.
Haven't seen someone have a night like this on AI9 in a long time.
Turner three! Needed that badly.
We just can't stop their bigs tonight, damn
Much needed bucket from Turner - 3!
Get Lavoy or Battie in the damn game Doug!!!!!
No fucking foul there?
how did young not get a foul call there?
cant believe no call on that Thad drive!
wow. brand getting called for a tiny push. ugh.
Atta boy, Jrue.
This team flops way too much for my liking.
Jrue with another J
Damnit, somebody get on Tyler Hansbrough. come on please
dont like turner coming out. ever really.
........ and how is that ball off Iguodala?
Good trap, Thad. Come on, finish this quarter strong.
I'm literally on my knees praying we don't see Turner/Meeks/Lou at some point here.
+1
Turner out now, Iggy might end up playing entire 3rd, depends on Granger i guess
3 min to go, get this lead. Have to. Gonna be an uphill 4th quarter if not, the way this one has been going. Feels similar to the MIL game, but not in the literal
need to find a way to get some separation here. this keeps up back and forth, they have no chance
they dont even have to flop; freaking refs calling everything while we get smacked on the head at the other end for free
This looks like its gonna come down to the end for this game, we'll see if they can finally win a close one
i dont like how collins is coaching this game, he is playing it safe. he is making this team play boring system basketball which is not a problem but i figure you try to run this team out of energy as there playing a b2b.
Great job, Thad.
Thad w/ the 3rd chance point.
Let's go Lou, get on track son.
There we go. Lou off the curl, into the lane w/ the runner.
I'm sorry but it shouldn't be this hard to fucking stop Hibbert. He's not D12.
the difference is hibbert can hurt you from the foul line. can't just grab him when he gets in close
Can't let Hibbert get the ball that deep in the paint.
Thad needs much better touch on that hook, at least tonight.
Fuck me. That three is a killer. Killer.
Lou doesn't need to play for the rest of the game
And so is that one.
Man, fucking celebrating like that in the third quarter. Fuck this team up in the fourth.
PHI 75, IND 83 after three.
Lets get JTI in for the fourth quarter and put battie in the game to cover hibbert, if we do that we win, if not we dont
Finally a game where our D is letting down the O.
F me, Dahntay 3. Why was Lou so far toward the lane there?
F me, F me, George Hill 3 after Thad takes his muthaf'ing time coming up to follow Tyler setting the screen. Poor f'ing effort, just poor.
the defensive rotations have been horrendous.
Lou has lost his man like 4 times, all resulted in buckets.
nothing going right for us. boss heave fails. last second 3. Jrue and Iggy have played all the 3rd.
at some point Lou,Turner will be on the floor, let's hope Meeks stays glued to the bench.
Meeks has been much better than Lou to this point.
They need to amp up their perimeter D...more HARD double teams like the one that caused the Granger baseline turnover.
If this stays a half-court game, they will lose.
This would be a good night for our first close win...
At this point, it's going to be a come-from-behind win, not a close out. Those two god damned threes. Killers.
Hey lookee.... we're shooting 53%!
oh what..... they're shooting 59%
oh ok..................
sheesh
Pacers shooting 59% from the field.
Nice.
So no foul on the Lou drive, but Hawes gets the moving pick foul. Great start.
take this game over, Evan.
Nice box. This game is going to be out of reach by the time J and I get back in.
Unless Turner takes over.
what the hell Spence?
If Meeks can't score he needs to come out.
Pleae help us, Spencer Hawes is back for more burn. Lavoy is just an afterthought it looks like.
Dammit Spencer illegal screen!
Lavoy was a decent rather strong post defender, not sure why he doesn't use him. And he can knock down a jumper or two.
Sissy Miss, then a sissy foul. Awesome.
COME ON DOUG WE DONT HAVE A GAME TOMORROW GET IN YOUR BEST FUCKING 5 PLAYERS
Don't even get a hand up, Spence. Just watch him hit a 12-footer.
Spencer w/ that weak ass lefty shit. Jeez
Amundson with a J, fuck my life
5 fouls in 19 minutes for Spence. Really missed you, big man.
Amundson J again? Spencer you should be ashamed man, downright ashamed the way you stared at him shooting at.
what the hell Thad BOXX OUT!!!
The pacers are an extremely unlikeable team.
Do the Pacers normally protect the ball this well?
Or is it just because our defense is still in Philly?
Come on ET, make the damn freebies. 1 out of 2
How many fucking points have Jodie and Lou given up tonight??
I really dont understand doug collins sometimes, he's blowing this game with awful coaching/subsitutions
absurdity by timekeeper there if they actually keep this at 0.3 secs. That ball was out at 1.
I like how Spence gets pushed about 8 feet further away from the hoop when he's "backing someone down" in the post. useful skill.
Lou/Meeks/Spencer together right now?
Ummm...not so good.
Turner's guide hand is way around front of the ball on his free throws, can't tell on his shots. Looks like he's reverted back.
Hawes, Meeks, Lou, Thad Turner lineup is the worst.
The boss needs to get benched like right now.
what's with the lineup that's in the game now?
Hawes; thank you for wasting 4 seconds of the shot clock. add that to many useless things you have done this game
Why do you give Hawes these minutes when he's clearly not ready, still rusty, and really proven he's useless tonight?
Lavoy and Battie are over there and can't possibly look this bad can they?
DAMN DOUG W.T.F!!!!????
Because it's his first game back, the more he plays, the faster he gets back into game shape, and it's only one game, the season is not on the line...and the sixers were just garbage defensively tonight...
hawes is such a bitch
EB for three? Oh they gave him 2
the defense has been horrible, and the calls haven't been our way, but fuck if Indiana isn't hitting everything they've pulled out of their ass
Where was the foul there?
i think i've asked that question more than a few times in this game. absurd officiating tonight.
Dahntay Jones is fucking Dominique Wilkins apparently.
This is not a game that we want DPOY voters to look at for Iguodala...Jones walking right by him...Granger shooting 70%...
Oh, well - can't do it EVERY night.
If you're gonna make a run and make me suffer, better start it now.
ET is feeling it
ET J!
come on guys, pulse left?? or just the usual tease?
Alright. Don't fucking lose this aggression in this timeout.
beautiful: Turner take over cmon
I am blaming this on collins. lou has struggles all year against good team with defenders that make him work for bucks, we needed a superstar tonight and collins chose to play slow system basketball against a team that wanted to play this way. of course they look better they have bigger players and want to play slow basketball after a b2b and collins now in the 4th wants to give turner the basketball
If the sixers needed a super star tonight, and they don't have one, how is that the coach's fault?
Plenty of time, let's D up here
Need to do it on the defensive end.
EB! Let's go.
Maybe get a look for Jrue?? damn he hasn't missed tonight.
EB
Wait for him to put the ball down before you double. That was way too easy.
EB steals a pass going to Turne rin the corner
pacers cant miss
Nothing you can do about that mess.
That West shot??? Like what?
It'd be too simple to pin this solely on Collins, the players have obviously left their nutsacks back at home before the flight.
Piss poor effort, shoddy defense, porous defense. and of course the Pacers are hitting everything ala that Hill shot.
wow. hill just hit a fadeaway 3 pter.
Come the fuck on. Thad got mugged there. Fuck this shit.
and...thats the back-breaker. f*ck.
Did Thad not get hit with the body on that one? Like damn....
F me it's over after that Hill triple. damn man, terrible effort in a crucial game against a crucial opponent when it maybe comes down to seeding.
ugh, ugh, ugh......
is it okay if we blame this one on the refs?
Sadly no, not when the pacers shot close to 60% :(
After turner hit two straight jump shots, wasnt really involved. Hes gotta take over at that point
he was denied the ball by George.
Lmaooooo everybody gets a lucky night I guess hill is tonight the duck the pacers and if u like them fuck u to
I think I need a consolation:
Spencer Hawes is ...................
BACK!
Was Dre fouled on that one too? Shit refs...
That was a foul
hate to bitch about refs, but...dang man.
White flag being waved by Collins. Apparently Jrue is strong enough to fling Roy Hibbert to the floor.
Switched Turner onto Hill out of the TO.
We can't beat the pacers and the refs
Can't even beat the Pacers, apparently...
You have GOT to be kidding me.
Is it the refs fault that the Pacers shot 85%?
partially, actually. some of their missed shots became free throws because of dumbass officiating.
They missed shots?
white flag by DC. onto Miami Heat I guess
Just watch Granger come in the lane and float it up, Vuc. Stellar defense, falls right in line w/ the rest of your troops tonight.
I can soley put this l on collins, this team had a game plan coming in to play slow basketball and collins not only fell into the bait you could see are possessions were slow and deliberate. i dont know how you play like that against a team with a plain advantage down low.
Annnnd DC rubs it in my face and NOW inserts Lavoy. wow
More like he rubbed it in Lavoy's face.
PATHETIC showing by our defense...probably our worst showing of the season.
Only good thing is Collins will have NO problem getting these guys' attention tomorrow.
Turner is one of the only guys who showed up tonight...and that ain't enough.
Player of the game refs
should have gotten EB to level someone before the starters went out. worst refereed game this season IMO.
Thanks for nothing Spencer and Lou.
Nice D, Voose.
Vuc just doesn't understand the concept of moving his feet on D. Terrible job there on Hibbert. He likes to push with his forearm most of the time while being flat-footed.
PHI 94, IND 111 Final.
If you drink, strap one on tonight. I'd do anything to forget this one.
Can't decide which of the NJ, MIL, and tonight's game was the one that pissed me off the most?
Guess they all finish in a tie for 1st.
wow thad was a -20 and lou was a -18 tonight. bench let us down.
Nothing even close to a killer instinct tonight from even one guy on the team. The toughness is severely lacking from most, if not all, of these guys. Looked like the collection of pussies from the Eddie Jordan year. I say that very sadly.
you're not being fair to ET, he showed up tonight
or jrue
well, if you wanna go by that mindset then EB and Jrue showed up too.
All of them looked like their minds were elsewhere, or at least definitely on individual and team defense. To me, not a single one of them looked like they wanted to rip the Pacers heart out, more just every damn one of them going through the motions. Like let's hurry up and get this one over. Frustrating.
9 for 11 what? We lost because whenever Lou was on the floor the Pacers made every shot. Nothing beyond that really. Remove Lou and problem is solved. Always thought a trade of Lou for anything was addition by subtraction, and I still do. Tonight was a good example why, he brings down the other 4 guys both on offense and defense.
You don't really believe that do you?
Granger, Hibbert, Hansborough, 19 for 31
Those guys almost always shoot well though. It was guys like Hill that, in the crucial third quarter run when Lou replaced Turner, couldn't miss and put the game away.
Do they - did they all shoot their career numbers tonight, or is your vendetta against Lou clouding your rational mind?
Hmm.
David West was 8 for 12 - that's 75% - Season number 46.0%
Danny Granger was 8 for 13 - Harder to do in my head, but I bet you it's better than his season average (39.1%)
Hibbert was 3-6 - 50% - and is 49.6% for the season.
So - um - those guys don't 'almost always' shoot well or their FG% for the season might be better - don't you think?
Seriously - like most losses - this one isn't on one person - lots of sixers were crap defensively tonight- not just Lou -
To tell the story of the Pacers shooting - only 26 rebounds the whole night. They sometimes have that many at a half.
Refs were shit tonight and we didn't bring our D, but Pacers still shot the lights out.
But the real key in my mind was that we couldn't get our fast break going at all. On at least 4 or 5 occassions when Jrue, Iggy and ET tried to run out, nothing materialized. Think you have to give Indy some credit for swarming back on D.
If there's a silver lining, it's that Turner's stroke looked good again. We'll get our payback in the playoffs.
Really hate to see a game in which our starting backcourt shoots 16-19 and we still get destroyed.
Rod, get us a bruiser please. Get us a goon.
The pacers were called for only 8 fouls? so outside of the AI dunk attempt where he knocked over bambi (nickname for Hibbert who falls to the ground at first contact) and the strange out of bounds call on jones they only were called for 6 fouls!!!!
You could even see them grabbing jrue's jersey on certain plays.
Chalk up this loss to Granger and Hill not missing anything! and the pacers only committing 8 fouls!!!!
I thought that stretch with Jodie and Lou together really hurt us, Hill and Jones hit some shots and they pulled away. Those two just should not play at the same time, ever.
Exactly eight fucking fouls the whole game get the fuck outta and people mad that I said the pacers and refs bet us tonight.
I am not mad that you are saying that...all that I am saying is it is hard to blame the refs for a loss when the team you are playing against shoots 57% from the field.
That plays a big part the 57% but the refs does as well tonight was there night that's all we got them next time
Just had to share this - made me laugh
Alex Kennedy: "Dwight doesn't understand what he's doing to his image. He's making LeBron look good," said league source. Twitter
SOmeone was asking about Beasley
Many sources reporting a 3 way deal
Beasley to LA
Blake to Portland
Crawford to Minnesota
Not sure why the Blazers would take on Blake's contract, he's signed one year longer than Crawford and he doesn't make that team that much better.
Minnesota probably hopes that Crawford opts out, after the Rubio injury, taking on a longer contract in hopes of squeaking into the playoffs makes no sense to me
Those two threes at the end of the third swung this game. Late rotations by Lou to the corner and Thad on the screen that Hill ran Jrue into. Our bigs got showed up too. Iggy consistently dominates Granger, but Granger's good enough to outplay him on occassion. Shit, now we need to take one of the next two from the Heat and Bulls.
Why? Does the season end if they don't?
yes (dick)
Pacers had more depth than us tonight as well. Haven't seen that happen much this year. Maybe the one downside to starting Turner. Good to see him play so well though.
I believe the sixers have 4 games 'in hand' over the celtics in the fact that the celtics have played 9 division games and the sixers have only played 5.
Assuming the sixers show up on both ends of the court (as opposed to tonight) the sixers shouldn't lose to the celtics, knicks, raptors or nets for the rest of the season (even if the nets get howard as far as i'm concerned)
PS - the blame for tonights game squarely rests with Spencer Hawes
headline should read Hawes 'Melos' Sixers
I can't blame Spencer for reverting to his 2011 form, he just seems like he's not going to be healthy for the remainder of the season. Sure he opened some eyes at the beginning of the year, who knew he was actually decent when healthy? Problem is, he's never going to be healthy, and they can't expect him to contribute like he did in December and January.
I blame Doug for trying to depend on a gimpy Hawes for defense and rebounding for 20 minutes tonight. Just wasn't realistic.
he has few or no options; can't put Brand on a guy who's listed at 7ft and 2 inches I believe. The Voose can play starters minutes, he makes too many mistakes and is foul prone. Allen ...
I don't really blame Hawes either, I'm just not fond of the player on the sixers roster, so I was just having some fun. Some people don't like it when I have fun though.
Hawes is weak - he can't stop physical big guys - no one on the sixers really can - Battie in limited minutes and Brand is just on his close to last legs in y opinion are the only hope - it's a glaring weakness the sixers have had all season and a team like the pacers can take advantage with west and hibbert.
the frustrating part is that I think they could go out and get a big guy to rebound and defend respectably before the deadline tomorrow, they just don't seem to have any interest in doing so.
I have no idea whether or not they are interested in getting a big guy to defend and rebound respectably, and I'm not sure they really could, but since Dwight Howard isn't an option I'm curious who you think they could go and get tomorrow to rebound and defend respectably that is a 'good get' for this roster long term - not just the rest of the season?
Not being a smart arse, honest, just don't see anyone out there in the 'rumorsphere' that would do the trick...
Well, I'm not asking for Dwight, I'd be down for someone like Marcus Camby...if he'd be willing to come here. Veteran guy that can come in and knows where to be defensively, alter the occasional shot, box out night in and night out for 18-20 minutes.
I'm ok with a short term solution, I'm worried that either A) Spence will be useless the rest of the season or B) he will re-aggravate his injured achilles and/or back and shut it down for the remainder of the season.
I kind of wish he would shut it down if he's going to play like he did tonight.
They're setting themselves up to get burnt in a bad way if they lean on Hawes being a contributor the rest of the way. Far more important to explore deals for a big than a backup wing IMO.
I think they probably need both. He has to bail from JTI too early every game because he needs either Turner or Iguodala rested so he has a SF on the floor. He could've done it better tonight, but Jrue and Iguodala were both on the bench partially because of that to start the fourth when the game was put away.
Story: Thorn, Sixers eye backup swingman at deadline:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/blogs/sports_columnists/tom_moore/sixers-may-be-targeting-wing-player/article_c20104e0-d2d7-5cae-9c16-5cb02e661d0b.html
While I agree with the idea here, that story and quotes just piss me the heck off if in fact the "denial" is actually true. Fill a now-created hole at a wing position 'off the bench' while continuing to ignore the glaring hole that's been in the middle all year. I agree their thought does "make sense", but at the same time their thoughts just don't make sense. Pretty much the norm though.
Ugh. Looks like the Celts are going to pull this one out.