Second night of a back-to-back, for the second time in a week, against a team with several days of rest coming in. Things don't get any easier for the Sixers, but the wins remain just a crucial. Jrue Holiday matches up with an old friend tonight in MIL. Brief preview and long game thread to follow.
Lineups
- PG: Jrue Holiday vs. Brandon Jennings
- SG: Jodie Meeks vs. John Salmons
- SF: Andre Iguodalla vs. Carlos Delfino
- PF: Elton Brand vs. Luc Mbah a Moute (the guy who dislocated his shoulder)
- C: Spencer Hawes vs. Andrew Bogut
The Bucks are making an improbable late push for the playoffs. They currently find themselves only one game behind the sinking Pacers with the Bobcats in between them. You won't find a worse offensive team in the NBA, literally. They rank 30th in OFR. Their defense (and the sad state of affairs below the Sixers in the Eastern Conference) is the only thing keeping their playoff hopes alive. Milwaukee has the 4th-best DFR in the league at 102.3.
This past summer, their GM made some extremely questionable moves to bolster his team's offensive prowess. Corey Maggette, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Drew Gooden were brought in to score points in the half court. None of them has moved the needle (Both Gooden and Maggette are expected to miss tonight's game).
Milwaukee is definitely beatable on their home floor, they only play .500 ball at home.
Defensively, I'm not sure you really need to gameplan for anything. Jennings is having a terrible sophomore season, shooting under 40% from the floor with poor peripherals to go along with it. John Salmons (39%) and Early Boykins (36%) are the only guys on their team who shoot at or above league-average from three. Bogut is a shell of his former self since the traumatic elbow injury he suffered last season.
For me, the main offensive key is to keep the turnovers down. The Bucks take care of the ball pretty well, and they force a lot of turnovers. That possession discrepancy is probably the only thing that keeps them in a lot of games. Attack mismatches, put some pressure on help defenders and swing the ball from side to side on the offensive end and the Sixers should be able to put enough points on the board against this defense. Just take care of the ball and I don't see this as being a very tough game.
Iguodala, Jrue and Meeks all played 35+ minutes last night. Keep an eye on their legs. It would be nice to see Turner get off early and be able to eat up some minutes for Jrue and Iguodala, those guys have been playing a ton recently.
Prediction: PHI 95, MIL 84
The tip is at 8pm. This is your game thread, I'll be right here throughout crossing my fingers that my wireless connection doesn't crap out on me again. Join me if you're pumped for 4-games over .500.
Other games of note: ATL hosts the Blazers.
Sixers should start their 5 game road trip off a win (3-2 road trip prediction)
Go Blazers! Last night's win makes this an even bigger game.
Turner didn't score in either of the last two games and seems to have lost a little aggression. They could use some production from him.
FYI, Meeks has 100 3-pointers this season. That's the most since Iguodala (101) in 2006-07.
Collins: Sixers would be better off making playoffs than losing like Barkley says
http://ow.ly/4d7rm
Think it's a close Sixers' win. Would make them 8-2 in last 10 on the road.
Bogut may be a shell offensively, but he still grabs like 12 boards/gm and i think he might even lead the league in blocks. He's the 1 guy that could hurt them tonight imo.
Bogut's an awesome defensive center. Offensively, he's basically been Spencer Hawes, and that's not a good thing.
w00t Kate Fagan is back with the team as of tonight!
>>
deepsixer3: Flying to MKE to rejoin 76ers. Thanks for patience, was off on future project and learning some new tech. we'll use rest of season.
about 8 hours ago via Tweetings
The hawks start a six game home stand tonight...SIX GAMES.
The sixers longest home stand of the season is four
I think they'll be lucky to go 3-3 on that home stand. If they lose to Portland tonight, could be 2-4. Sixers need that game down there in the worst way.
Win or lose tonight I still think they get 3
Milwaukee, Denver, Detroit
They'll lose to miami and chicago and then hopefully the first away game after the six game trip (philly)
Did you get the two things I sent you today?
Yah, just got got home, haven't had a chance to read.
For some reason, I thought the Sixers were the 6th game in ATL, but you're right. 3-3 is probable.
Portland, Milwaukee, Denver, Miami, Detroit, Chicago
The sixers game (thankfully) is in philly.
atlanta only wins one of those games.
The Hawks are better than Milwuakee and Detroit, two wins to me is a given, Denver is the unknown
3 min....
Portland is up six on the Hawks in the second quarter. Let's go Blazers.
So the Bucks' announcers said their key to the game is Brandon Jennings containing Lou Williams.
Dag Sidney, he says that Jennings has to stop Lou, not Jrue. We used to smoke him too when he played for milwaukee.
I like when they play that commercial w/ Eminem in the background during the Sixers games. They showed it at a crucial point in last night's game.
anyone have a streaming link for tonight's game? thanks in advance - i tried the same link i used for last night but it wasnt' working.
is atdhe.net still working? That's what I've always used.
atdhe comes up as a forbidden site. can't even get anywhere w/ it.
Siezed by ICE because streaming games is illegal
They moved the site to atdhe.me the same day, so much for the hard work of ICE. However they dont have a sixers stream working there
http://atdhe.me/
The Bucks must shoot 40% from three to have a shot tonight? I'd say they have no shot.
let's go
Alright, Hawes wins another tip.
EB in the post right away, big size advantage. 2-zip.
Damnit, Brand needs to catch that pass.
Two threes for Jennings.
Good push and finish for Jrue.
Jrue got a piece of that one by Jennings.
Wow, slippery move by Jrue on the baseline for the finish. Nice.
Jodie three off the AI9 post up. Great cross-court find.
...so who or what did we trade to these guys in order to get Jo-3 last year?
Ivey, Primoz and a second rounder for Jodie and Francisco Elson.
Royal Ivey, Primoz Brezec and a second-round pick.
Moncrief was right on that one though, was thinking the same thing last night - Meeks resembles Andrew Toney.
Charge. That's two early TOs for Jrue.
Shit, make that three.
Can we please get some post ups from Jrue on Jennings tonight? That's easy offense.
Team looks flat - need to forget about last night and focus on tonight
20-footers for Mbah a Moute is a win on the defensive end. I don't care if he makes them or not.
Spencaaaaa Hawes....lol
Please, keep giving them WIDE OPEN LOOKS at 3 pointers - no big deal
Jrue's on.
Gonna take us a while to get our legs under us tonight.
Ugly start so far. Some tired D being played.
Bogut looks like Hawes in the post.
Sixers need to clean up the turnovers.
Dre 3!
lol, because here would then be 100 assists per game. Would be terrible.
I would split them between primary and secondary assists
I like the idea, but the logistics behind it are a pain.
Turner first off the bench.
Good D by Jrue on that play.
They're 4/4 from three now, I think. I should just keep my mouth shut.
4 wide open looks - maybe the sixers will guard them one of these times - lousy switching on these double teams leading to too many open looks
Who the hell focuses their defensive efforts on double teaming John Salmons?
Jrue is sooo bad at leaving his man when he doesn't need to.
They have 9 assists on 9 made field goals.
I'm all for daring a bad shooter to shoot, but if he starts knocking them down, quit leaving him wide open.
sorry to ask again, but if anyone has a streaming site besides atdhe.net please let me know. thx.
here you go my man
http://www.firstrowsports.eu/watch/54737/1/watch-milwaukee-bucks-vs-philadelphia-76ers.html
4 turns for Jrue. that was the first bad one, imo. He should've just shot it.
That pass was never there Jrue. Not good.
Speights over the Larry Sanders.
I'm not fond of Earl Boykins
Or the End of quarter Lou iso
Portland lead at 4 - ugly game in Atlanta - 45-41 with 6:38 to go in the third
PHI 25, MIL 26 after 1.
Really bad quarter on defense and way too many turnovers. Clean up the turnovers and let MIL's bad shooters come back down to earth.
Fuckin Lou...
26 points to the Bucks is terrible. Lets see some better defense in the 2nd and we should have a nice halftime lead.
Bad start to the second.
Another fucking turnover. Come on.
ANother turnover. come on...
and another. Jesus. Collins is going to lose his mind.
aaannndd another damn one
WTF!!!
Come on guys
Speights with some rare aggression.
WTF? This is awful. What happened to our bench?
How many bunnies were blown on that last possession? I lost count after 4.
Collins needs to light a fire under these guys.
Atlanta losing, chance to tie the idle knicks, this game is as important as last nights game. Last nights game is no longer relevant, stop playing like crap
No way they keep this three-ball shooting up like this all night. Starters may have to win this one too just like last night.
Sixers shot 75% in the first quarter
It's more likely the bucks keep hitting wide open looks at 3's then the sixer shoot 75%
Jesus. Bring Battie and Nocioni in if nobody wants to play tonight.
Brackins too.
0 points and crappy defense
way to start the second quarter
Bogut with the nice moving screen there.
Battie coming in on the next dead ball.
For Speights - who is to blame of course
Get the starters back in already
I liked it better when Thad didn't shoot jumpers. Way too many in the last couple of games.
and every single one of em are so off
God damn it there's an r in there - it's library - not lie-berry
Hawks up 8 at the end of 3
Where is Elton Doug?
GET LOU THE FUCK OUT!
This is pathetic, unacceptable, and demonstrative of how very far they have left to go
Why is lou still in the game now doug? Time to take his ass out
Jesus. This doesn't resemble the Sixers team I've seen for the past couple months at all.
They're spent mentally and physically I'm sure. Not saying it's over though.
would love to see IGgy drive to the rim.
23-9 so far this quarter.
Hopefully Skiles just did the Sixers a favor taking that timeout.
Spencer now believes he's an offensive threat
Brian, need to change that prediction from 11-6 to 10-7 if they don't get their crap together tonight
Too many guys jogging at shooters with their hands down. I hope Doug spits fire at these guys at halftime.
Did the sixers players somehow go on the Erin Express today?
Our ball movement is almost nil. It's not crisp and swift, too much holding it or dribbling.
And Jrue's careless with another one. turnover ugh
Stupid foul Evan
Down 20. that's their 11th turnover, Jrue's 5th.
Just pathetic in almost every aspect of the game...
ET's got to stop with that token contest, if he hears the whistle and wants to stick his hand in there, then don't let the guy get the shot off.
Hawes finally leans forward on a hook.
Thad's impressive.
At what?
Disappearing
Why does Iggy keep waving off Turner? Obnoxious. Turner is shooting well tonight and isn't part of the turnover-happy crowd.
3 fouls on Jrue. Guess Lou will come back in for the end of the half. Don't really have another option. What an abortion of a half.
EB? What kind of pass was that? I mean,....
Well, we were probably due for one of these at some point.
Was thinking the same thing. They've been good for too long...
Bull - I hate comments like that - it excuses piss poor play - there's no reason they were due to play a game that is just as bad as any of the 3-13 games. They're better than this and they're playing like shit, and 'due' is not a valid excuse
Of course they shouldn't play like that. But statistically you know it's gonna happen. It happens to every single team, even championship contenders.
So maybe the sixers didn't win last night - maybe the celtics were just due
"Due" is not a statistical concept. It's bull shit to claim that it is.
The way the sixers have been playing in February, even since January, even on the road the 'statistics' were on their side.
I meant us as fans. We've been spoiled recently with very competitive basketball. Of course they played like shit, nobody is excusing that.
I thought they might have trouble tonight after that emotional win. Obviously, that effort left a lot to be desired. If this team can shake off heartbreaking losses, they can shake off a stinker.
Still, why such a hard line again after they lose? Seems a lot like the Memphis game, just forget about it.
Come on get a stop dammit.
Wow...I'm so mad right now I can't even continue to watch in real time. It's too painful. Time to DVR this game and watch it later when I've accepted the fact they were due for a game like this and it probably won't be repeated again this year.
Lou! and one...let's go
12 total. 3 on EB.
We have a shot to get it under 15 at the half. I guess that's the goal.
Yes, please let Keyon Dooling beat you
When is the last time someone dropped 60 on us at the half?
Now that was a doozy.
PHI 41, MIL 59 at the half.
I'm going to do my best to forget that quarter ever happened.
Nice to see the return of the Lou iso fadeaway to end both quarters. Naturally missed both.
Hawks are going to win
By the way, they can win this game. Milwaukee is playing way over their heads and the Sixers are playing terrible basketball. The first couple minutes of the third are going to tell the story.
They can - but they won't
Totally agree. It's still very winnable. Just chop away and D up better, their shots can't keep going down at this rate.
OK, let's go. Jodie three...and a fucking o-board on the other end. Stops and hoops, come on.
Can't they give Jennings two minutes in the box for that swipe at Jrue??
Jesus, lob was there and Jrue threw it about 10 feet too high.
How tall did Jrue think he was? dag...lol
Let's go, put a run together.
Getting some stops, get to work on the other end.
See, they're missing now, just make wise decisions and take good shots.
Iguodala heating up. OK, come on now. The D is there.
Starting with a Dre 3 is nice.
Good hands EB, got it to 12. keep plugging
Jodie with a nice runner.
Uh, we rotated our ass off there, but Jodie gave a good foul.
Two bad turnovers by Andre in the last few possesions here.
They're still missing shots, come on...
EB gets stripped...foul...we're right there
That wasn't a foul on Hawes.
Need the bench to bring energy here.
Get this under 10 by the end of the quarter.
Another weak pass turnover, thanks to Hawes.
Have to get this to around 12 in closing here. Have to. They've gotten stops but given up o-boards or didn't convert on their end.
Yeah Moncrief we were your rival weren't we? Used to whip that ass......they got us one time though i think
Didn't like that early shot from ET there.
running in quicksand. if you can call it running.
We're shooting way too many jumpers right now. That bad one from Dre.
everything damn thing they're throwing up is going down wow they've added to the lead from the half
another turnover, break, dunk. f me....
Marreese jacking another early clock jumper.
PHI 57, MIL 80 after three.
Not sure why I'm even going to watch the fourth.
because you want to see the first episode of THE BRACK SHOW in a long long time?
Our bench looks like Boston's bench last night. They've really stunk it up both times they've came in tonight.
Brackins time. May not see the starters again.
Brackins sighting.
Brackins isn't shy.
Not an excuse, but they're exhausted, there was a lot that went into that game last night.
Still doesn't explain to me why Jrue was so jekyll and hyde tonight? He had been stepping up, but wilted tonight - opposite ends of spectrum type.
Brackins w/ a nice pick to free Turner. He missed the layup, but it's refreshing to see the picker actually make contact on a pick.
I was on top of the mountain last night, this still hurts though. Not mad, and doesn't diminish what I've seen from them though, it happens to the best of them.
Nocioni sighting.
Just don't lose by 30, please.
Is this Chicago Bulls 45 pt type game?
This is absurd
He's not even garbage time Turner now? wow
His +/- is like 10 to 20 points worse than everyone else. Has he really been the worst player on the court tonight? I'm not watching the game.
Nope. That would be Craig Cousins.
welp, this seems like as good a time as any to watch the DVR'd TWolves game and look for myself in the crowd...it has been a while since they dropped a clunker like this, but maybe this game will get them pissed off enough to not let it happen again...
The guy that played the most minutes is my potg. And not because he did that.