It's unfortunate the Sixers had limited time to celebrate their big win over the Spurs last night, but 1,200 miles lie between then and their destination for the second night of a back-to-back, Minneapolis. Kevin Love and Co. had a shorter trip from Indiana, where they lost. It looks like another test for our beloved Sixers. Brief preview, long game thread to follow.
Check out the Q&A I did with TWolvesBlog leading into the game. Also, check out the other half right here, where they answer my questions.
Also, here's a Sixers highlight reel sent in by a reader:
Lineups
PG: Jrue Holiday vs. the guy who was drafted 11 spots ahead of him
SG: Jodie Meeks vs. Corey Brewer
SF: Andre Iguodala vs. Wes Johnson (or Michael Beasley)
PF: Elton Brand vs. Kevin Love
C: Spencer Hawes vs. Nikola Pekovic (or Darko Milicic)
Let's not spend a ton of time talking about the T-Wolves, specifically. If Beasley plays, I'm looking forward to seeing how he deals with Iguodala's defense. If he insists on shooting, I expect it to be a very long night for him. Speaking of long nights, Kevin Love is shooting 43.9% from three, making him a horrible matchup for Elton Brand. He's also the best rebounder to play in this league since Dennis Rodman, making him a nightmare matchup for Thad Young. I'm really not sure what you can do about love besides just accepting that he's going to go for like 25/20 and concentrating on limiting everyone else. The Flynn/Jrue matchup is a complete joke, and one the Sixers should just abuse for about 40 minutes.
Now that we've got the particulars of this matchup out of the way, let's talk big picture. The Sixers just finished a stretch of five games against playoff teams, teams above .500.
vs. NYK - W
@ NYK - L
@ ATL - W
vs. ORL - L
vs. SAS - W
To come out of that stretch 3-2 is huge, but there's work left to be done prior to the All Star break. Tonight's game is the first of three straight on the road, win all three and they go to the break 28-28. That's too lofty of a goal. They need to take 2/3. It doesn't matter which two, but to be realistic, tonight's game has to be one of the wins. They finish the trip with a back-to-back in Memphis and Houston, and I don't like their odds of taking both of those games. Minnesota is a bad team, terrible. The Sixers have done a great job of putting away the bad teams over the past couple of months, they need to continue that tonight. Get this win, do whatever you have to do.
Prediction: PHI 102, MIN 91
The tip is at 8pm. I'll be right here throughout, join me for a rockin' Saturday night game thread.
yes Kevin Love is a beast, but the wolves aren't good, 9-16 at home.
Last nights win was a great win, but you have to come out strong against the weak teams even on a back to back or last night just becomes one of those games where mediocre teams sometimes beat teams they shouldn't and then lose to teams they shouldn't.
I added a couple things to the top of this post and the site. Definitely check out the highlight reel (video above) and the other half of the Q&A with TWolves Blog.
liked the Q & A. I actually think Rubio could be a better than average defender in the league after a year or two playing over here. He's got long arms and is pretty active even if his foot speed isn't top notch.
I think Rubio is actually going to be a very good defender. I don't know why people are so low on him. He is unique and it'll be difficult to compare him with anybody but i guess Rondo is as close as it's gonna get.
According to ESPN Rumors page, Beasley won't play tonight
Wolves starting small forward Michael Beasley has sprained his left ankle several times this season. Beasley has finally decided that it's best to miss some games and let the ankle heal, instead of rushing back to the lineup.
"I'm going to rest it until it's not sore no more," Beasley the Star Tribune. "It's one of those things, I don't want it to shorten my career. It's my feet. That's one thing you really can't mess with. It's not that serious, but I do need to rest it. I never really gave it a break. I need to take some time to strengthen it and let it heal."
Beasley has missed two games so far and could miss another two or three before he returns.
Sixers Shut Down Spurs
From Elias: The 76ers held the Spurs to .333 shooting from the field in their win on Friday night. That marked the fourth time that the Sixers have held their opponents to a field-goal percentage below 34 percent this season, the most such games for any team in the league (November 3rd vs. Indiana, November 19th vs. Milwaukee and December 12th vs. New Orleans).
If only they were consistent in their defensive effort...
Different web sites are updated with different periodicities and there are two ways to determine possessions/pace which can lead to slightly different outcomes
So basically, our four phenomenal defensive showings this season have been against three bad offensive teams (two of which are really, really bad) and one really good one.
Carmelo Anthony is better than the rest of us - just ask him
Melo ''I take my hat off to myself for dealing with all this stuff that’s going on and still be able to go out and play at the high level.'' Twitter
Chris Tomasson: More Carmelo Anthony today on performing despite trade rumors: "I don't think an average person can walk in my shoes. I don't think that''
Also, Melo did a fast for three weeks and had this to say about it:
Anthony also claims to have had an awakening during his fast.
"It was mental,'' Anthony said. "It was spiritual. It was emotional, man. And during that whole time it was a lot of prayer with myself. And just taking some time out and just getting some clarity on things with myself for my career, with my life, and it really helped me. I started seeing things a lot more clearer from every aspect of my life.''
Ready for a big follow-up win tonight! Sure don't want a repeat of our last trip to Minnesota. Think last year was the MLK day game and an excruciating loss in painful fashion. Can't remember all the particulars but think we had a nice lead and ended up relinquishing it in maybe overtime or something.
Andre is going to have a big game tonight, I'm feeling. (yeah, that's become the norm but mean I don't think he will struggle with his shot and scoring tonight)
This is one of those games where I'd take any kind of win, hopefully they exploit good matchups, especially Jrue's. Iggy should be able to do some damage. Love is not quick on defense so Elton should get his share too.
I agree there's not much that can be done on Love, just let him have his usual and force the other players to beat you.
I think it's difficult to grind out a game like this after such a good win. The mind's probably still in celebratory mood but the Sixers gotta win this game to make yesterday's win all the more special.
I really want to see us win the 2nd quarter this game. We've been horrible lately in the 2nd after the starters come out strong in the 1st. Let's hope Thad has a big game tonight. I don't think they have anyone that can handle him.
This is a game where I'd like to see Iguodala freelancing a bit on the defensive end. There's no real wing scoring threat for him to lockdown, he can gamble and make plays, get the team out in transition.
Marc says the Wolves can score because they're 8th in scoring - actually, they're 21st in offensive rating and 1st in pace. How many years do you think it will be before advanced stats make it to basketball TV coverage the way OPS and a few other things have made it to TV coverage of baseball?
Thad and Lou both went soft on their last shots when going hard would've resulted in a foul. They clearly aren't the aggressors early. Collins needs to light a fire under them.
Young is a mystery really. Sometimes he finishes with such authority on a dunk, yet other times he goes to the basket like a mouse meekly (no pun intended) trying to steal a slice of cheese.
If we had Ridnour, I think you'd soon be complaining that Collins was using him way too much. Lou isn't really a point guard; Ridnour is and I think Collins would find a lot of comfort in having a veteran point around. Too much comfort.
Not a bad quarter considering only down a few and the long late flight, time change etc. But need a little more pep in their step to start the 2nd here, the Wolves aren't going to keep shooting this well and neither are we. Andre needs to take control
Did the Wolves cutting into the lead coincide with the arrival of Nocioni on the court?
Kudos to donh though
I really want to see us win the 2nd quarter this game. We've been horrible lately in the 2nd after the starters come out strong in the 1st. Let's hope Thad has a big game tonight. I don't think they have anyone that can handle him.
Be interesting to see if we don't have the legs to run here in this 2nd half, how we will operate in the halfcourt, meaning if we don't win it with our defense and need to continue to score to keep up.
Wow. I was just looking up games won by teams who didn't hit a single three. Check out this game from 1990. The Suns scored 173 points without hitting a single three.
On the replay, I can't tell what he was doing. There was no way that was a foul, and Ridnour didn't have his hand in no-man's land. Stupid play, but I guess I'll take it.
Man, what a great effort and execution and coaching for the likely win tonight. We're a force to be reckoned with, whatever degree. I like what I'm seeing and hearing, especially from the players.
You're speaking more game-specific while I'm speaking more overall team-specific. The progression, the quotes tonight from Jrue about his coach, just the whole vibe around what's happening in this particular year, it's good to enjoy it. Each year, the journey is just as fun as probably coming short of the desired destination.
That's like saying it's fun to take a drive to Allentown. Whole point of a journey is going some place. Admittedly, fun roadside stops improve a journey too, but I guess I just don't see effort as the metaphorical equivalent of a fun roadside stop. You can see effort anywhere, like on a construction site; I watch basketball to see basketball.
Well, I mean you have to admit it's more enjoyable to watch basketball when teams are giving effort than just running through the motions out there, trying to pump up their own stats. Though you are a Monta Ellis fan, so maybe that's not a safe assumption.
Let's stick with the driving metaphor. W/out effort, you're driving a Prius and taking the interstate from LA to San Francisco. With effort, you're driving a convertible on the pacific coast highway from LA to San Fran. Same destination, but one drive is much more enjoyable.
Gotta agree, he made the baskets in the fourth to put them away. 9/13 from the bench is ridiculous. He was showing Wes Johnson and Wayne Ellington's how to score.
I don't know about you guys, but I'm just downright proud and giddy right now with what we're seeing from the team. They are really coming together with Andre accepting the mantle finally. EB has long been beasting. Jrue is growing slowly but surely. Meeks has his moments. Thad shows signs of rounding into form as an integral piece. Lou does his thing, polarizingly. Doug is getting the possible utmost out of this group than one could expect. Maestro-like.
He's certainly no Jodie Meeks. Given Yahoo's report yesterday that Williams's unhappiness with Sloan partly stemmed from Sloan starting Milt Palacio and Keith McLeod over him in his rookie season, wouldn't it be funny if five years from now when Meeks is playing in China and Turner becomes a star, Turner pushes Collins out to get him back for starting Meeks all these games?
Then he can leak to the media that Collins wasn't watching enough game tape, and Rick Bucher can do a video montage of Collins through the years that will scientifically prove that the fire in Collins's eyes decreased drastically from his Bulls coaching days to now. Seriously, Bucher said that yesterday. He was like, "you can see it in those old clips, Sloan used to have so much more passion!"
Glad we got a win, a 20-point win no less. Indeed it was as it should have been expected, but after supporting the Sixers for so long we have had too many letdowns in such games in recent years. Great back-to-back wins for the team, great feeling for the rest of the weekend.
Hell yeah great feeling. These games have went the other way far too often for our liking. Great win. I say they sweep their next two before the break.
I'd say you are being greedy, I'd take one. Great that it's not crazy to think that though. Anyone else remember that game in Minny last year? A President's Day EFJ disaster!
Now that Mo is back for Cleveland I think Minny is the worst team in the league. Love, Ridnour, and maybe Johnson/Brewer are the only guys that should be in a NBA rotation.
Still, it was great to see us handle our business after that rough start. REALLY great to see the Thad Young we've been used to seeing all year come out to play tonight. He was huge. Jrue looked very confident again, probably should have had more than 2 dimes if guys converted his passes. Turner is really starting to figure out how to be a playmaker in this league. So fun to watch.
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Changed your end game prediction from the Q&A to the Game thread? Just being nice to Minnesota earlier?
Really looking forward to a not let down game.
yes Kevin Love is a beast, but the wolves aren't good, 9-16 at home.
Last nights win was a great win, but you have to come out strong against the weak teams even on a back to back or last night just becomes one of those games where mediocre teams sometimes beat teams they shouldn't and then lose to teams they shouldn't.
I added a couple things to the top of this post and the site. Definitely check out the highlight reel (video above) and the other half of the Q&A with TWolves Blog.
liked the Q & A. I actually think Rubio could be a better than average defender in the league after a year or two playing over here. He's got long arms and is pretty active even if his foot speed isn't top notch.
I think Rubio is actually going to be a very good defender. I don't know why people are so low on him. He is unique and it'll be difficult to compare him with anybody but i guess Rondo is as close as it's gonna get.
According to ESPN Rumors page, Beasley won't play tonight
Wolves starting small forward Michael Beasley has sprained his left ankle several times this season. Beasley has finally decided that it's best to miss some games and let the ankle heal, instead of rushing back to the lineup.
"I'm going to rest it until it's not sore no more," Beasley the Star Tribune. "It's one of those things, I don't want it to shorten my career. It's my feet. That's one thing you really can't mess with. It's not that serious, but I do need to rest it. I never really gave it a break. I need to take some time to strengthen it and let it heal."
Beasley has missed two games so far and could miss another two or three before he returns.
Eddy's will get a look at one of the 20 guys he wanted over Evan Turner.
That's too bad, Beasley can be fun to watch. Now I can focus on writing my paper, I guess. Though Rose-Paul could be a pretty distracting game.
Sixers Shut Down Spurs
From Elias: The 76ers held the Spurs to .333 shooting from the field in their win on Friday night. That marked the fourth time that the Sixers have held their opponents to a field-goal percentage below 34 percent this season, the most such games for any team in the league (November 3rd vs. Indiana, November 19th vs. Milwaukee and December 12th vs. New Orleans).
If only they were consistent in their defensive effort...
Of course the other three are bad offensive teams.
Is New Orleans bad? I'd have pegged them for averageish.
Well, bottom ten.
New Orleans 17th
Indiana 24th
Milwaukee 30th
San Antonio was 2nd before the Sixers game. Now they are 4th.
You must be looking at points per game; NO's 20th in offensive rating. I think they were worse a while back.
I am looking at offensive rating.
Well right here says that they're #20.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NOH/2011.html
And here it says they're 21st
http://knickerblogger.net/statpage/2011/index.htm
Different web sites are updated with different periodicities and there are two ways to determine possessions/pace which can lead to slightly different outcomes
17, 20, 21
None of them are good
So basically, our four phenomenal defensive showings this season have been against three bad offensive teams (two of which are really, really bad) and one really good one.
Carmelo Anthony is better than the rest of us - just ask him
Melo ''I take my hat off to myself for dealing with all this stuff that’s going on and still be able to go out and play at the high level.'' Twitter
Chris Tomasson: More Carmelo Anthony today on performing despite trade rumors: "I don't think an average person can walk in my shoes. I don't think that''
hahahahahahahhhahahahahahaha
His last three games he's efficiently scored 50, 29, and 42 points. It is kind of impressive.
Also, Melo did a fast for three weeks and had this to say about it:
Anthony also claims to have had an awakening during his fast.
"It was mental,'' Anthony said. "It was spiritual. It was emotional, man. And during that whole time it was a lot of prayer with myself. And just taking some time out and just getting some clarity on things with myself for my career, with my life, and it really helped me. I started seeing things a lot more clearer from every aspect of my life.''
Ready for a big follow-up win tonight! Sure don't want a repeat of our last trip to Minnesota. Think last year was the MLK day game and an excruciating loss in painful fashion. Can't remember all the particulars but think we had a nice lead and ended up relinquishing it in maybe overtime or something.
Andre is going to have a big game tonight, I'm feeling. (yeah, that's become the norm but mean I don't think he will struggle with his shot and scoring tonight)
Looking forward to it! Let's go Sixers!!
This is one of those games where I'd take any kind of win, hopefully they exploit good matchups, especially Jrue's. Iggy should be able to do some damage. Love is not quick on defense so Elton should get his share too.
I agree there's not much that can be done on Love, just let him have his usual and force the other players to beat you.
I think it's difficult to grind out a game like this after such a good win. The mind's probably still in celebratory mood but the Sixers gotta win this game to make yesterday's win all the more special.
I really want to see us win the 2nd quarter this game. We've been horrible lately in the 2nd after the starters come out strong in the 1st. Let's hope Thad has a big game tonight. I don't think they have anyone that can handle him.
my league pass feed is all fracked hope it clears up soon
Alright, just made it home in time. Really looking forward to this one.
i thought darko started?
He's hurt, I believe.
think he's injured
This is a game where I'd like to see Iguodala freelancing a bit on the defensive end. There's no real wing scoring threat for him to lockdown, he can gamble and make plays, get the team out in transition.
Here comes the tip...
lets. go.
Hawes wins the tip.
The montenegran center goes right at Hawes for an easy hoop in the post.
Hawes off to stupendous suckage
Wes Johnson building a house.
Please drive to the basket, these are not good or tough defenders
Well that was a stupid foul Jrue
Marc says the Wolves can score because they're 8th in scoring - actually, they're 21st in offensive rating and 1st in pace. How many years do you think it will be before advanced stats make it to basketball TV coverage the way OPS and a few other things have made it to TV coverage of baseball?
Hmmn. I'll say three.
And I mean, without Beasley they have to be one of the three or four worst offenses you could put out there. Their hot start notwithstanding.
Hawes! lol...
Foot on the line, Hawes.
Andre Jrue
See what meeks is doing
COPY IT
Ugh, don't need the flashy crap against this team. Just put the biscuit in the basket.
Take a time out doug - they need a head slap
Though 7 feet, Hawes is reluctant to roll on the pick, choosing to spot-up. heh
frustrating
Anyone else see the Thad Young trade rumor? I just saw a second-hand thing w/out a link to the original.
http://philly.sbnation.com/philadelphia-76ers/2011/2/12/1990535/nba-trade-rumors-sixers-shopping-thaddeus-young
Yeah, that's what I saw, but he doesn't link to the Fox rumor.
Here it is
I'm not seeing it in there, but I may just be dense.
Bottom of article - there's 3 bullet points of 'random facts'
the the 'heat or threepeat' link
The Thaddeus snippet is the 2nd of the 3 facts
Gotcha.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=18756
Could be lots of first round picks available - and lots of teams like cash - just buy one or two
This is a nightmare
Lou for Meeks.
That's Lou's best role, IMO. Catch-and-shoot off the ball.
Let's go Lou.
Looks like we have weary legs just a lil.
garbage into gold
And Love intentionally throws it up to then go get it past Spencer. hah
Love makes Hawes look pathetically slow. Think about that for a second.
I've always thought Love was slow. Hawes, ugh, even worse.
Extended play for Songaila, love it.
I guess Speights isn't good enough to match up with Kosta Koufos.
Look at how easy that pick and roll thing works
That p&r is there all day.
Turner looking confident early. Just wish those 21-footers were dropping from 23 instead.
He brings a lot of rebounding to the second unit, which helps when your "bigs" are Songaila and Young.
I was hopeful Songaila could at least do the fundamental things, like make his free throws.
Damn lou - you suck
Thad and Lou both went soft on their last shots when going hard would've resulted in a foul. They clearly aren't the aggressors early. Collins needs to light a fire under them.
You really to need let the strike or s tags work :)
Young is a mystery really. Sometimes he finishes with such authority on a dunk, yet other times he goes to the basket like a mouse meekly (no pun intended) trying to steal a slice of cheese.
Not really a mystery to me - he's much more athlete than basketball player...and easily distracted on the way to the basket
Andre needs to come back in. For anyone.
Jrue with the runout. Nice!!
OHHHHHHHHH. Jrue with the reverse slam off the steal!
ALways liked ridenour - maybe the wolves like lou :)
They would like Lou, he's like a mini-Beasley, or like a better version of Flynn. Call Kahn and see what he'll give for him.
Ridenour is a better back up point guard :)
Hell yeah, let's do this. Ridnour is much better from 3 too.
If we had Ridnour, I think you'd soon be complaining that Collins was using him way too much. Lou isn't really a point guard; Ridnour is and I think Collins would find a lot of comfort in having a veteran point around. Too much comfort.
That would definitely be my concern. We'd start seeing Ridnour for the entire fourth.
Would you rather see Lou or Ridenour the entire fourth?
Ridenour knows his role
Nice time to foul, Songaila.
How do we go on lockdown on the Spurs one night and let the T-wolves score at will the next night?
Because that's what mediocre teams do, they often play to the level of their competition up and down
PHI 28, MIN 32 after one.
Terrible first quarter, but well within reach. Need to wake up in the second.
why would you go for a 2-for-1 with 26 seconds left in the quarter?
of course, then songaila fouls to give them free points
Not a bad quarter considering only down a few and the long late flight, time change etc. But need a little more pep in their step to start the 2nd here, the Wolves aren't going to keep shooting this well and neither are we. Andre needs to take control
They're slow getting back on D. Tired legs, I guess.
Lou is hurt - perfect chance to sit him the rest of the game
This rebounding problem is on its way to being chronic
Lou might get to the line 20 times tonight.
Lou great defense followed up with craptastic 3 attempt
Look at Lou rejecting the guy Eddy's wanted over Jrue last season. Or one of the dozens of guys Eddy's wanted over Jrue, I should say.
I hate Lou so much
Way to shoot in rhythm Lou.
Spurs must be pissed from last night b/c they are destroying the Wizards right now.
Could also be that the wizards are awful :)
Doug Collins is the man, the guys say they're having fun, that's half the battle. Good sign.
Good look from ET. Jrue, finish.
Turner has been great. On the glass, passing the ball, hitting his shots.
More minutes tonight at least, he deserves it.
First lead of the night, let's go.
Jrue with the pat the dribble pull up J. His stroke is nice looking at times, it really looked it on most of the ones he took last night.
Yes the badgers took out TWO #1 Ohio State teams in the past 6 months...go badgers
Wes Johnson, still building a house.
Let's go. Stretch this lead.
Pretty drive and dish by Jrue to EB.
The timberwolves seem to commit a lot more fouls than the spurs and knicks don't they?
K-Love did not seems happy about going to the bench
Sorry - digitl jumping got it backwards - wasn't love who was pulled
Collins is really conservative with foul problems. Typically, you don't have to come out of the game with 2 fouls in the second quarter.
But when you got a guy like lou on the bench to come in - it's alright and makes sense
Keep getting stops. Let's go. RUn here. Lob from Lou!
The guys look to have their second winds now. heh
I like the fact that it looks like they're using two guys to box out Love on every play.
Minutes for Nocioni. So glad he and Songaila are finally in the rotation.
Showcasing them for the deadline, that's all ;)
Johnny Flynn is worse Lou with dribbling the air out of the ball.
Is he putting the roof on yet?
So is griffin playing in the rookie game or are they just not replacing him?
Still haven't heard. Nocioni is so bad.
New Jersey just took the lead over New York in the 4th. Nice.
Is Amare hurt? Yep, guess so. Just saw him in a suit. NYK by 4 now, with under 3:00 to go. NJ is just terrible.
Yea Amar'e out. If NJ could find a win here somehow that would help us.
They just gave mozgov a 3 point play - knicks up 6 2:20 to play
Yeah, I'm watching. Hope the Nets can come back but I'm doubtful.
Fields corner three to end it. Great D by the Nets.
Iguodala got lost between two options there and stuck in the no mans land
He was also fouled.
Saw him asking for one - but with all the digitcal jumping couldn't see it - and Andre is always asking for a foul :)
PHI 54, MIN 50 at the half.
Terrible end to the quarter after they put their foot down and claimed an 11-point lead.
Nocioni is awful. And by that I mean awfully tough.
Did the Wolves cutting into the lead coincide with the arrival of Nocioni on the court?
Kudos to donh though
I really want to see us win the 2nd quarter this game. We've been horrible lately in the 2nd after the starters come out strong in the 1st. Let's hope Thad has a big game tonight. I don't think they have anyone that can handle him.
Terrible last 2 minutes of the half. Should have brought a ten-point lead to half-time.
Yup. Terrible.
I hope Collins remembers the JTI/Thad/Brand lineup got them the lead and goes back to it in the 2nd half.
I hope collins remembers nocioni sucks
Be interesting to see if we don't have the legs to run here in this 2nd half, how we will operate in the halfcourt, meaning if we don't win it with our defense and need to continue to score to keep up.
Hawks just lost at the buzer cause Stephen Jackson is clutch
Way to get the defense back on their heels.
Nikola Pekovic leading the game in bemusement
Strong start to the third. Defense looks much better. Hawes with his first goaltend of the year, I believe.
Yes, and one from Dre. ha
7/7 from the line for AI9. I'd love to see him get that FT% back up near 80%.
Wow. I was just looking up games won by teams who didn't hit a single three. Check out this game from 1990. The Suns scored 173 points without hitting a single three.
I can't imagine a team in any game scoring 173 points, let alone without a three. That's insane. I don't see it ever happening again.
That had to be the Paul Westhead coached Denver team right? They played that go style that resulted in crazy point totals.
Man, great feed by Jrue. EB blew the bunny.
I couldn't believe the pass made it through there.
Dre 3!
AI9 for three.
Damn, that outlet pass from Meeks was Andre Miller like
Come on, make it like 15 by the end of the third.
Way to go, Thad.
Iguodala's got the yips tonight. 3 TOs. Collins yanks him :)
Turner three!
It's hard to argue with anything Doug is doing right now. He's the man, I'm sorry. They're just coming together like they did that year with DiLeo.
ET 3!
Spurs 101, Wiz 62. In the third quarter.
Wow, I think Pops changed his starting lineup for the first time all season. George Hill started, Manu off the bench.
Just close this win out, please.
This win can be the real confidence booster. Because mentally they see they can fight fatigue, which will be crucial come playoff time.
Nice D, Hawes.
Jo-3!
Big three for Meeks. They were on the verge of blowing this lead with this crap lineup out there.
Whoa, what a look by Turner to Hawes.
Wow, sick pass by Turner, and Hawes finished it.
You've got to be shitting me. Lou for three.
That mess was from 32 wasn't it?
What? YES
On the replay, I can't tell what he was doing. There was no way that was a foul, and Ridnour didn't have his hand in no-man's land. Stupid play, but I guess I'll take it.
BEST WORST PLAY OF THE GAME
PHI 85, MIN 74 after three.
Don't let them even sniff getting back in this thing right here, come out and set the tone that you're not letting up any only up 11.
Starters built the lead w/ defense. Bench maintained with O. I can live w/ it. I'd like to see JTI for a stretch here in the fourth.
Just make a small run at the start of the fourth, then we can spend the rest of the game trying to figure out who should be POTG. :)
Lou's had some really nice dimes tonight, with another one there.
I think Brand grabbed Love's junk.
Thad just moves too fast
Great overplay on defense. ugh, charge on Thad.
Meeks rarely failing to get to the line. He runs the court really well. Most times favorably.
Good pass from Lou, Thad's not ready.
Disagree on that one. Pass didn't get there clean.
Pass was way too hard
Ugly break run by Lou there. Jrue's coming back in, bring Iguodala back in too for Lou/Meeks. Let JTI run for a while.
POTG is really up in the air. I'm actually leaning toward Turner right now. 5/7/4/1/1/0(tov).
Don't disrespect Andre like that.
If the roof was on, he just hung the drapes.
Wes Johnson is working on the addition to that house now.
Iguodala making a late push for POTG. hit both of these freebies and he takes the lead.
There we go, Doug. Jrue for Lou. JTI getting a little more burn. Love it.
Thad abusing. Bring it home.
Thad catching fire. Ball game, folks.
Man, what a great effort and execution and coaching for the likely win tonight. We're a force to be reckoned with, whatever degree. I like what I'm seeing and hearing, especially from the players.
You shouldn't expect much less against Kevin Love and a bunch of bad bench players.
You're speaking more game-specific while I'm speaking more overall team-specific. The progression, the quotes tonight from Jrue about his coach, just the whole vibe around what's happening in this particular year, it's good to enjoy it. Each year, the journey is just as fun as probably coming short of the desired destination.
That's like saying it's fun to take a drive to Allentown. Whole point of a journey is going some place. Admittedly, fun roadside stops improve a journey too, but I guess I just don't see effort as the metaphorical equivalent of a fun roadside stop. You can see effort anywhere, like on a construction site; I watch basketball to see basketball.
Well, I mean you have to admit it's more enjoyable to watch basketball when teams are giving effort than just running through the motions out there, trying to pump up their own stats. Though you are a Monta Ellis fan, so maybe that's not a safe assumption.
Let's stick with the driving metaphor. W/out effort, you're driving a Prius and taking the interstate from LA to San Francisco. With effort, you're driving a convertible on the pacific coast highway from LA to San Fran. Same destination, but one drive is much more enjoyable.
Does basketball not comprise itself of effort?
Your comprehension is off apparently.
I'd like to see Turner get 3 more points. 8 guys in double figures has a nice ring to it.
Johnson just put the gazebo in the back yard.
That wasn't Johnson.
And Anthony Tolliver wants to makeover Johnson's house.
This is really tough. Thad, maybe? 9/13 for 18 points, +26 in 25 minutes.
Give the POTG to Thad. 18 points on 9/13 that really put the game away. +26 while on the floor so far.
Gotta agree, he made the baskets in the fourth to put them away. 9/13 from the bench is ridiculous. He was showing Wes Johnson and Wayne Ellington's how to score.
I don't know about you guys, but I'm just downright proud and giddy right now with what we're seeing from the team. They are really coming together with Andre accepting the mantle finally. EB has long been beasting. Jrue is growing slowly but surely. Meeks has his moments. Thad shows signs of rounding into form as an integral piece. Lou does his thing, polarizingly. Doug is getting the possible utmost out of this group than one could expect. Maestro-like.
No mention of Turner?
Why would he be mentioned? He's a bust, remember?
He's certainly no Jodie Meeks. Given Yahoo's report yesterday that Williams's unhappiness with Sloan partly stemmed from Sloan starting Milt Palacio and Keith McLeod over him in his rookie season, wouldn't it be funny if five years from now when Meeks is playing in China and Turner becomes a star, Turner pushes Collins out to get him back for starting Meeks all these games?
Heh. Hilarious.
Then he can leak to the media that Collins wasn't watching enough game tape, and Rick Bucher can do a video montage of Collins through the years that will scientifically prove that the fire in Collins's eyes decreased drastically from his Bulls coaching days to now. Seriously, Bucher said that yesterday. He was like, "you can see it in those old clips, Sloan used to have so much more passion!"
He'll mention Songaila before he mentions Turner
"we're seeing from the team" - isn't he part of it?
PHI 107, MIN 87 Final.
Nocioni grabbed a rebound in traffic to secure the 20-point win. Thad is your POTG, I'll have my wrap later tonight.
Glad we got a win, a 20-point win no less. Indeed it was as it should have been expected, but after supporting the Sixers for so long we have had too many letdowns in such games in recent years. Great back-to-back wins for the team, great feeling for the rest of the weekend.
Absolutely. 3-1 on 4 games in 5 days, with games @ ATL, vs ORL and vs SAS in there? That's an awesome, awesome week.
Hell yeah great feeling. These games have went the other way far too often for our liking. Great win. I say they sweep their next two before the break.
I'd say you are being greedy, I'd take one. Great that it's not crazy to think that though. Anyone else remember that game in Minny last year? A President's Day EFJ disaster!
Now that Mo is back for Cleveland I think Minny is the worst team in the league. Love, Ridnour, and maybe Johnson/Brewer are the only guys that should be in a NBA rotation.
Still, it was great to see us handle our business after that rough start. REALLY great to see the Thad Young we've been used to seeing all year come out to play tonight. He was huge. Jrue looked very confident again, probably should have had more than 2 dimes if guys converted his passes. Turner is really starting to figure out how to be a playmaker in this league. So fun to watch.
The 0 for the road wizards would like your consideration as worst team in the league
Hmmm that is a close one...
The Wiz at least have some guys that can shoot the ball.
Beasley belongs in an NBA rotation, he just wasn't available tonight. Maybe Darko does too, actually, and he was hurt as well.
I should have said worst team in the league right now. Darko has been pretty solid this year.
Well Beasley's only out for a few games, so this is a pretty temporary situation.
I love watching J/T/I out there with Thad and EB...shame that they get hammered so badly on the boards.