Your first place Philadelphia 76ers will lace 'em up again tonight to defend their lead against the once-resurgent, currently-hapless Toronto Raptors at 8pm tonight. Brief preview, long game thread to follow.
The Raptors opened the season with a 3-3 record. They beat the Cavs twice and the Knicks, while losing to the Mavs, Magic and Pacers, so the 3-3 record wasn't really indicative of much. Whether or not Dwane Casey had truly changed the culture up there was still a big question. After their 7th game (a 12-point loss to the Nets last night, in Toronto), I'd say the turnaround isn't exactly on track.
Andrea Bargnani has had a very strong start, his scoring numbers are almost Dirk-like, and Jose Calderon has been unbelievable as well. Toronto can present a number of problems on the defensive end. They shoot a bunch of threes, and they shoot them well. They have two energy guys up front who can crash the offensive glass and hurt you if you don't get a body on them. One of the bigs is probably going to have to chase Bargnani out to the three-point line, which isn't exactly a strength of Brand/Hawes and Thad has a tendency to lose track of his man when he's helping. On top of those things, they've got three really strong drivers in Bayless, DeRozan and Barbosa. The Sixers are going to have to work hard on the defensive end.
Luckily, things should come much easier when the Sixers have the ball. Bargnani and Calderon are both huge defensive liabilities. Jrue and Lou should both be able to have huge games against this squad. Brand or Hawes (whoever draws Bargs) should also be able to do some work on that end. The Nets killed the Raptors with the long ball last night (15/31 overall, Stevenson and Morrow combined to shoot 11/22 from distance), so I'd look for the drive and kick game and hopefully Jodie can carry over his shooting from last night.
I know it's a lot to ask on the second night of a back-to-back, but this is an ideal matchup for Elton Brand. The only legitimate length the Raptors have is Bargnani, and if they put him on Brand, EB can use his strength. It would be great to see Brand return to some semblance of the form he showed last season. Meeks finally broke out of his funk last night, it seemed like a point of emphasis for Collins, maybe he calls EB's number early and often tonight.
One thing to look for early in the game is who guards DeRozan. He's their main iso guy in the half court, I'm hoping Collins will let Meeks cover Rasual Butler and put Iguodala on DeRozan so he doesn't get off to a hot start.
This is your game thread. The tip is at 8 pm tonight, for some reason. I'll be right here throughout. Join me if 5-2 sounds about right to you.
Prediction: PHI 107, TOR 99
...so since we still have almost 3 hours until gametime, how long until the NYY retire #20 Brian?
This year, you'd think. They have time to plan a Jorge day.
Ah, but will they set that up before the Dodgers massively overpay Jorge to catch another year??
Re: Sixers though, any chance once we get a break from all of these games that we can take a look at who they might be able to go after with that trade exception they picked up for Speights? Do we even know with the new CBA if/when there is a trade deadline by which they would have to use it?
Ed Davis is pretty legitimate length, defensively. I don't know how good a defender Amir Johnson is.
Looking at bk reference, I was shocked to see that we're first in the league in SRS, their point differential/strength of schedule amalgam. Haven't we played an incredibly weak schedule so far? Miami's only 5th and they're 7-1 with wins over Dallas, Boston, Atlanta and Indiana.
5 road, only 1 home. Plus the records of the teams aren't that bad. Utah is 4-3, I believe.
He's not that tall, right? Same height as Brand basically. Hes fine against that type, it's the guys that have a couple inches on him that cause problems.
There are a number of reasons:
- 3 blowout victories, best point differential in the league
- 5 road games and only 1 home game
- Dallas 3-5, Boston 4-4... Miami's opponents may sound strong on paper but they aren't exactly lighting it up so far
Hollinger's power ranking are not out yet, but i bet the Sixers are at number 1 in the league at the moment. Hopefully they can keep it that way after tonights game vs Toronto. They need another blowout to do that i guess.
Number 1?!?! Aren't there at least 5 different teams who have better records than us?
Hollinger's power rankings aren't based purely on record.
Anybody in the Philly area know if they have the sixers games on onDemand on Comcast after the games end?
I forgot to DVR the game. Trying to figure out how I can still watch it.
Yeah, they usually do, just not in HD for some reason. If Comcast is your cable provider, go to Sports, then CSN Philly, then Sixers.
game will also be replayed tomorrow on tcn - the comcast network
Looking forward to continued brilliance from my main man Spencer Hawes. What are the rules on when we can give him a contract extension? Dude is going to command serious dough on the free agent market. He's 23 years old and will probably finish the season averaging 11 and 11. When Joakim Noah averaged 11 and 11 he got a 5-year, $60M deal. I'm hoping that if we offer Spencer 5 years $50M right now, he'll take it for the guaranteed money rather than risking injury to test free agency. If we can't extend him during the season that would just stink, hopefully the Sixers are willing to pony up the dough.
No way. You pay him a 5 year deal based on 6 games?
Look, I like Hawes. I hope he continues to succeed, but he's still not an amazing rebounder. I am willing to bet you that he does not average 11 rebounds a game at the end of the year. And there's no way he continues to shoot 65%. And I would be very surprised if he continues to average 2.2 blocks per game.
He's a good solid player, definitely better than Samuel Dalembert as I predicted, but his past rebounding liabilities have to be considered. Let's wait and see how the rest of his year pans out.
Good points.
He's a good solid player, definitely better than Samuel Dalembert as I predicted, but his past rebounding liabilities have to be considered. Let's wait and see how the rest of his year pans out.
Hmm...reread what you wrote and then think about the definition of irony
"I'm hoping that if we offer Spencer 5 years $50M right now, he'll take it"
lololololololololol.
$10M a year is hardly crazy. Mark Gasol got $14.5M per after averaging 12 & 7 last year.
If we gave Spencer a 5/50 offer, he'd shit while doing back flips all the way to the bank. Its only been 6 games guy. Give him a bit to fall back to earth.
Haha fair enough, but we should have offered him 5/25 immediately after the lockout ended. I sure hope we extend him though, as much as I like Vucevic, we really need Hawes for the next 5 years in my opinion.
Hawes wouldn't have taken 5 years 25 million - that's less than an MLE contract...and the over reaction to less than one quarter of the season is astounding.
I'm not overreacting to a small sample size, remember I thought he was very good last year.
Why?
Last nights game was in Toronto
New jersey shot ungodly from the three. The sixers won't do that
Charlotte has some talented players. Augustin looks really good this year.
"Game is at 8 for some reason"
Flyers were at 1, that's the reason
Anyway, expecting a big game tonight from AI. 101-84 Sixers
Believe this one may be tougher than expected ala the NOH game.
Ok Youtube was being obnoxious all day but trying to post a video or two from last night on the DF Facebook page, hopefully these will give you guys some idea of the new and improved presentation (without too much of me talking...or people bumping into me thus the shaky camera)..
Nice. I didn't realize they had the full orchestra out there for the anthem.
Heard that today, Philly orchestra is one of the best around too
Sixers were really good on the first second half of a back-to-back. Let's see how they do tonight.
OMG, the Bobcats just started Diop who looks like Kemp 2.0 with all the weight he has gained.
Has he gained more than Diaw?
Unimaginable but yes :). Diop can hardly move let alone jump... And he is starting...
Wanted to give a shout-out to our old friend Ed Stefanski as his new team comes to town. The guy took a lot of heat in Philly, but other than the Eddie Jordan hire (which actually was a net benefit cuz it got us Turner), he had a successful run here. I predict time will give him an Ed Wade style "in hindsight, that dude built a really good team" review 5 years from now. The Sixers are a young, improving team that has serious potential to be a top 4 or 5 seed, and it was mostly built by Stefanski.
There are people who now think Ed Wade did a good job? Sheesh
He built the World Series champion. That team's key players, in both the regular season and playoffs, were Brett Myers, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Madson, Jayson Werth, and Brad Lidge. All but the last two were brought to the Phillies by Ed Wade.
Most of those players had one thing in common (i'll let you guess what it is) plus since you ignored one vital piece that pitched much better than brett myers, I'm not sure what to say.
The people who did the drafting when ed was here are still here...it's like giving billy king credit for tony dileo being smart
Leaving Hamels off was an obvious mistake (thought I had written him in), Cole Hamels would've added to my point, since Wade drafted him. And not giving Wade credit for the drafts is hugely unfair, considering how bad the Phils' drafting was before Wade became GM, and how many players the Phils have drafted since Wade left that have made an impact in the pros (roughly zero, although Drabek will eventually be good).
Someone as smart as you probably should know how long it takes to develop into an impact baseball player for a draft pick so that point is, well, pointless
Also, some of them have ha impact - and more importantly - their 'value' (of which they have none) allowed the phillies to build one of the best pitching rotations in baseball...(PS - who traded for cliff lee?)
Yeah then he traded him away for absolute garbage, and was lucky Lee didn't want to play anywhere else so he came back. The draft picks that went to Cleveland have done nothing. Amaro's drafting has been piss-poor. His trades/free agent signings have been OK (Halladay/Lee/Papelbon great, Blanton/Ibanez contracts completely horrible), and Amaro has a pile of cash to play with that Wade didn't have for most of his tenure. Wade built the team on a comparative shoestring budget.
Cole Hamels was an Ed Wade prospect.
Also, Ed Wade was a tremendous talent evaluator. The problem with him was that he didn't know how to piece it all together to make a championship team. He never took intangibles into account.
I like the comparison to Stefanski because Stefanski also was a good talent evaluator, but simply didn't know how to piece it together to form a cohesive team.
Yes, I'm well aware of it, but you missed the more global point - but that's ok - I'm not that worried about it
This Time Warner/MSG thing is really starting to piss me off. I always get a kick out of watching the Knicks suck ass while I'm waiting for the Sixers games to start. Watching Charlotte/Indy instead, which isn't quite good basketball so far. Hansbrough 22-foot jumper. I think I read today that he doesn't have a single assist this season.
I wasn't aware (until you said something) about it, but it happens all the time, LA cable companies almost lost all of the ESPN networks recently, I think Cablevision lost FOX and fox networks for a while as well...the fracturing cable landscape is building towards something...my boss (who was in the film industry for a long time) believes the future is that all tv programming will be a la carte
If the cable companies didn't have the monopoly on broadband access, you'd see a lot of a la carte, over the internet programming. HBO wants to break away from the cable companies and go this route, but they're handcuffed.
Well - you can use the phone company for your broadband in many places as well (though I won't get into the technicalities of why i prefer cable over dsl) but as usual, something the government thinks is a good idea - the regional monopolies meaning you don't have to lay pipe more than once has terrible consequences...it's been a pet peeve of mine for a long while...I think the time will come when the cable companies are really just internet providers, but someone has to be brave to take the first step of being a 'broadband' only network that you subscribe to...I'd love to see the NFL do it - let me buy the eagles game every week
A la carte would result in the death of most cable channels. Wouldn't bother me as far as watching TV, but the job losses would be enormous.
I think that you are very wrong, ala carte would change the model but there'd be more channel options - not less...networks might even go away but the show options would increase...and, a lot of advertising agencies would go out of business - and seriously after lawyers it's one of the worst preofessions in the world
How many channels would you pay for if it's a la carte? I'd go for the sports, news, and movies, and that's it. I don't think I'm in the minority there. Who is going to pay for all the channels in the 100s and 500s and whatever that very few people watch?
I think you misunderstand and don't understand the tastes of the american people - what shows are popular in this country - what shows in what age groups - there's a reason there are so many networks - people watch those shows - if no one did - they wouldn't be on the air - would some shows lose - sure - but if people didn't have their monthly cable bill - they'd be able to watch only what they wnated - i'm not even talking network - i'm talking show by show...if there wern't a big market for 'episodes' - i on't think apple would continue to sell them at 1.99 a pop
FiOs and Comcast seem to have every channel. They're both expanding.
I live nowhere near 'comcast country' - and i have lots of problems with comcast - buying nbc just expanded their inherent conflict of interest that the government and courts shouldn't allow
I'd love to get Fios, they aren't in my building yet, and I think I heard somewhere they aren't expanding anymore.
Where do you guys live? Are you not from the Philly area?
I'm in Brooklyn.
Yes I'm FROM the philly area but I live in california - i'm old
PS - another reason to live anywhere but new york :)
Yeah, i think doubling him is actually a great idea he won't pass anyway.
Big news in new york - i think shumpert is now starting
I'm not sure which rookie is getting more undeserved hype, Shumpert or Norris Cole.
Oh Cole definitely, cause it's national, and he's doing it on THE HEAT for gods sake...Thorpe has him 2nd in his rookie rankings
Wasn't Shumpert supposed to be an athletic defense specialist very raw on offense?
So far this season from what i've seen he is not very efficient but he has legit offensive game.
Teams tend to ignore him...marshon brooks looks good in new jersey - but is he really?
Nah i think Brooks is a poor mans Nick Young. 8th man at best on a good team
ooof, i just saw a bismack jump hook
Yeah, that was ugly. On the other end of the floor, he cut off Granger's drive, then contested the three when he kicked it out to price. So quick.
As bad as he is offensively how is Diop starting over him?
Side note, I'm loving Roy Hibbert's game.
Sixers broadcast on LP again.
I got Raptors broadcast on LP wtf? Can you change commentary somehow?
Alright, game time. Let's stow the side arguments for the next three hours or so.
Lebron and Wade out again tonight
Hawks blowing out the Bulls in the first half. The Hawks have been a pleasant surprise early on.
hawks(on the 3rd game of Back-back-back) are up 63-45 against the bulls at the half
All these NBA league channels why are they showing this game in standard definition smh this is like the second time on direct TV
I get 1 or 2 games per night in HD on Time Warner. It's a complete joke.
The only games I get in HD are on ESPN TNT ABC or NBA TV
Wow really I guess I should be thankful than I get 95 percent of the NBA in HD
Looks like there will be no Sixers coverage on DirecTV this year either, figured there was a reason CSN Philly isn't offered, though other Comcast regional channels are.
I hope Detroit plays w/ some balls against the Knicks. Really want to see D'Antoni completely burn out Melo, Amare and Chandler. They all played 36+ last night to beat the Wiz.
I'm pretty sure that Dexter Pittman and Eddy Curry are dinner buddies in Miami.
Barkley said Hawks are too nice, not enough hood.
HOLY CRAP:
LeBron has 22 in the first quarter.
Ah, I misread the espn text
The nets are one of the worst teams in the league this year - even when healthy - and without lopez (and is okur playing, he got backspasms last night) they're just terrible
Deron Williams has got to be counting the days until he gets to sign in Dallas
Are those T-shirts draped over empty seats that no one's showed up to yet?
And we're off...Hawes WINS the tip, it's getting chilly in hell.
AI9 booed on first shot of the game. Bad shot.
Well, only one possession for Dre to get booed.
Post look but he takes a fallaway.
Bargnani drives right past Hawes. Come on. Move your feet.
Give DeRozan that 20-footer all night.
Got plenty of cheers on that make, Dre.
Nice drive by Jrue, good ball movement and Iguodala didn't settle. Good offense. Jrue is all over Calderon.
Somebody is going to have to crash the glass w/ Hawes going out to the arc to defend Bargnani.
Put a body on him, Spence.
Drive and kick, AI943. Nice.
Good rhythm 3, Dre!
Good hesitation dribble Dre, terrible decision after that though. turnover
Pretty sure that was a goaltend, lefty runner, though?
Derozen is one ugly SOB
The crowd is on their edge of their seats ready to cheer tonight, thankfully.
Good energy, very little in terms of results though.
Give the ball up, Spence. That was ugly.
Damn Spencer, you haven't made me crack up like that in a while. and piss me off
Dunk that Spence.
Ugh. Meeks has cooled, significantly.
Frenetic pace so far.
Very ugly start. Turnover, missed good looks. Nice block by Iguodala after Jrue redirected DeRozan on that break, but then Jrue gave a dumb foul once they were reset on defense. No need for that. Settle down in this timeout.
Hawes out already
Hey Spencer - don't dribble
Hey Elton - Given Amir Johnson the top of the key - he'll miss - and don't assume he'll make the bunnies
Jodie - it only counts if it goes in - not if you hit the front of the rim
Jesus - can't they start ONE game off well...I know it 'doesn't matter who starts' - but the raptors are bad this is ridiculous - good teams are going to beat the sixers easily if they keep starting off badly
In other words, maybe it does matter who starts?
It's kinda strange, if you consider how we started in the playoffs each first quarter.
Vuc w/ a very early run.
Early burn for the Voose.
Vooose!
our boy!
Jrue 4 3!
Touch pass from the Voose for Jrue43!
Voosie baby.
Good pass out of the post, Voose. Iguodala's made a look like that more often than not this year.
Meeks is putting the ball on the floor way too much
I wonder if Elton is being scolded for assuming johsnsons bunny was going in and spencer is being scolded for that awful 'fast break'
Jrue on DeRozan now, like that much better.
Leaning Lou, for two.
Good start Lou, light em up and get to that line.
YOU DON'T NEED TO HELP JRUE IN THE POST. Fuck.
Thad, there is no fucking need to double Derozan posting Jrue.
I was screaming at the screen.
Vuc J.
Voooose!!
Voooooose
btw, I definitely want Jrue to get to the line more, and drive the lane more, but 100% perfectly fine with him taking more threes. Especially if he's taking the threes instead of those useless long twos. Keep it up.
Come on - Someone please remember that Bargnani is good - i mean he's not dirk good - but he's got range - stop leaving him alone -
Elton and Hawes out so early with amir still in the game is odd
I was shocked, but he has to monitor their minutes. Voose has done well, so far.
5 games in 6 days. Thats a lot.
I have a dilema. Nike Hyperfuse 2011 od Adidas AdiLight?
Jody mcdonald is still allowed to talk philadelphia sports? Jeez - the 50s are over
Before that 3 seconds call - thad and Andrea were VERY physical trying to get position - refs letting that stuff go a bit is good for the sixers i think - raptors are softer
Voose shows a lot more footwork and mobility defensively than Hawes to me
Good deflection Lou, Finish it though on other end. ugh
Defense! How many 24 second violations is that in two games?
I'm liking Vuc's activity on defense. Lou Williams misses a bunny.
God damnit. This is just ugly. Blown 2 on 1. Think Lou walked before he blew the bunny too.
Lou - YOU have to finish that
I hate to use the unfinished business nonsense - but that has to stop
Stroke em Lou.
"Former All Star, Jamaal Magloire."
Lou for dos.
Might want to put a body on him Evan.
Started off hot but super cold for a good portion of the quarter- missing easy shots too...too many open looks for the raptors...too many second chances for the raptors...gotta play better than this against a raptor team - sure you're tired - but so are they
Ah the lou iso - that worked well
Is Lou really good enough to dominate the ball that much?
On this roster, sadly, yess - I would have liked to see a called play - but it's nba tradition - run the iso - lou is most likely to make it and or draw the foul...it's a philosophy i have an issue with
He is our best driver, draws lots of fouls with his pump fake, has few turnovers and shoots okay. So yeah, I'm okay with him getting the last shot (although he struggled the last 2 games in end of quarter situations).
Time for the bench brigade to take over and stretch this thing to double digits before halftime.
Case you missed it - the 'bench brigade' came in pretty early and did not much extending
Reading comprehension can be a lost art.
I suppose you'd know
PHI 19, TOR 16 after one.
Really sloppy quarter of basketball. Defense played well, I guess.
Hated the last shot. Why they don't run a play in that situation is beyond me.
crappy on the defensive glass (less than 67% 8/13)
If Voose can give them something like that for 10-12 minutes a game, that will be a huge positive. They need someone to be able to give them consistent frontcourt minutes besides the three guys who usually play.
Lou has been good, but I kind of hated that quarter by him. Nobody else is even sniffing the ball.
Ball out of Lou's hands.
There you go, Thad. Get in there and draw the contact. Now hit the freebies.
I think he even went to his right?
Brand has really dead legs. He should've had that ball off the blocked shot. That was a goaltend.
JESUS CHRIST get a rebound
Zone, huh? Lou 22-footer against it.
This offense has been very, very bad. Can't get anything good in the paint.
Can't get much of anything since the first portion of the first quarter - they started off 4-6 and it's been kind of a mess since then
Take a breath, hit the free ones.
Hey, Iguodala made 2-2. No cheers to be heard.
He was yelling "short" on the second, heh.
Could you make out what they were chanting before he released the first one?
Nice turnaround J ET.
Turner nice shot!!
There you go, dribble into the post, rise and shoot.
I'm happy Lou threw that look ahead pass, but boy was it awful.
Turner has to be more aggressive. That's his first shot.
I understand he's super coach and everything, but the sixers don't often seem to take advantage of their height mismatches
Save that criticism and break it out when they aren't top three in the league in offensive efficiency. It's valid, but not really a lot to complain about right now.
I like to be ahead of the curve ;)
You know they won't stay in the top 3 any more than Hawes will continue to lead the league in FG% or Andre will end up with a 3% above his career average
Not to mention - the raptors suck - they should be killing em already - and one of the flaws is the play calling
They dont hve many height mismatches. Turner is the only one really at 2 guard.
Jrue Holiday vs Jose Calderon isn't a mismatch?
Sweet left-handed pass Lou and assist.
Seriously - this rebounding is pathetic
Lotta rest for Jrue here in the first half.
Another nice pass from Lou to EB. Good look.
Nice trap in the corner, forced them to call a TO.
Bibby is leading the Knicks in scoring at the half in Detroit.
Knicks stink
Draw the contact Dre. ugh
Granger is now shooting 29.8% on the season from the field. I can't really recall such a cold stretch for a decent, not very old scorer to start the season.
Nice steal by Jrue, leading to the Turner slam in transition.
Good entry pass from ET, good lefty finish Spencer.
That is as good an assist as you will EVER see.
ET with the nice dish for the sissy hook.
Don't like that shot at all, Jrue.
That was a nice job by Hawes to sprint the floor and get deep post position.
Don't love that shot, Jrue.
Don't like that early shot Jrue. Move the ball.
Real nice pass by Turner to Spencer for two.
Ugh, Jrue. 20 footer with 18 on the shot clock.
Iguodala with the good look to Brand who ran the floor to get in the middle of the paint
Think Brand was fouled on the play?
Brand's jersey got ripped haha
Hahahaha crowd loved Brand taking off his jersey
EB looks earthbound like his first season after the shoulder injury.
Nice, Jrue. Do that instead of jacking the 20-footers.
Jrue forcing, made it though.
Jrue bullied Calderon on that drive. He can at least get to 10 feet every time.
Like i said - use the mismatches
That was more Jrue doing that on his own. He really can do that every time to Calderon. There's a big difference between a 10 and 17 footer.
Still - it's the mismatch they can take advantage of - he used his mass to make calderon give him some space
Iguodala has 3 inches on deorzan as well
Iguodala wont take advantage of it
Interesting statement coming shortly after he did take advantage of it and ende up on the line
Collins calls the plays - it's on him
Timr for Jrue to make an impact
Meeks pressing. Come on ....
Wsup cuz. Haven't seen you post in a while.
C'mon Jodie. Know your role, stay in your role, star in your role.
Meeks is ice cold again
understatement.
Really not in love with Meeks for Turner sub.
yeah I thought ET should have stayed out there too
Raptors announcers saw the Brand jersey switcharoo and are now launching into a constant torrent of "Sexy and I Know It" references. Insufferable.
Hit 'em both.
Beautiful, beautiful passing. That's what you do to a zone.
Nice ball rotation, and look inside and find by Jrue. Spencer make.
Iguodala with the floor burn.
Late whistle there. Come on
That's not supposed to be called as free throws is it?
Eddies' called it again, if they can hold the ten-point lead into the half. Thought they were doing away w/ those calls. Ball don't lie.
Lou's way off on those 3's tonight. Way long.
Evan shouldv'e fouled DeRozan there. Make him earn em.
OK, 20 seconds left. Run a friggin play. If he takes a timeout to tell them "1-4, Lou dribble the air out of the ball, then force a jumper." I'm going to be pissed.
Iguodala should have made that layup but he was fouled on that attempt.
Anyone with the comcast feed does it sound like they have the 'crowd volume' up an the announcers down? Some times i can barely hear zumoff
Yep, can't even hear Zum.
i hope that's not intentional
Matthew Stafford is killing the Saints
Damn, they looked like they could have stretched it out a little there. I'd like Iguodala to seek out contact in the lane there. He would have either made the dunk or gotten hit if he went strong. What a cross though.
1-4 high set. Not executed well at all.
That end of the half lineup was horrible
PHI 41, TOR 34 at the half. Better second quarter, still not good enough. Should be up double-digits.
2nd half rebounding has to improve...too many bad 3's too
Bad shooting and bad defensive rebounding in the first half. Everything else was stellar (forcing TO's, taking care of the ball, not sending them to the line).
OFR: 92.63 ugh
DFR: 76.81
44 possessions, which is really slow.
I like the 12 assists on 15 FG's, I don't like the 2 for 10 from 3...the regression has begun :)
Eh. They weren't bad shots. Jodie had 4 wide-open looks. Jrue had 2. Lou's was a bad shot. Iguodala was 1/2, both great looks. I don't have a problem w/ the shots, and typically, they're going to hit 4/10 on the same looks.
I think jodie's all looking the same (off the front rim) are what irritated me more - same miss over and over bugs me :)
13 minutes for Hawes, 15 for Brand in the first half. Jrue only played 15. Wonder if Collins is planning to ride him in the second half.
Voose did a good job in his time. That was very big. Keeping Hawes and Brand around 30 is the goal.
Jrue's gonna have to pull a New Orleans on them and take this second half over. Defense is good, offense is out of sorts.
Doug needs to ride who is hot and if this really is going to be a defensive fight, he needs to keep Evan in - and lou out
Best lineup in the first half was JTI, Brand, Hawes (+5 in just under 2 minutes). That lineup has been pretty bad prior to this game.
Anyone have any word on their broadcast regarding that wrap on Spencers lower back?
didnt really say anything just said that there was heating pad underneath it
Ugh not a good start out of half time
Knew that possession was doomed, they waited so long to get into the set.
2nd possession not much better - not sure what Iguodala was thinking
Terrible offensive possession. Come on
Iguodal 2-10. Thats not good
No ball movement right now. If Jrue's gonna take over, now would be a pretty good time.
Jesus - are you kidding me - what is it with this starting 5 and starting off flat
Pretty pass by Jrue. Hawes w/ a sissy 10 footer that went 8 feet.
Early timeout by Doug, and it was needed. 7-0 run for the Raptors, 3-point lead. I'd put Turner in for Meeks.
Fuck, those were three god awful offensive possessions. Can Jrue just go right at Calderon?
Elton, might want to attempt to guard him, huh?
Rip em a good one Doug. sheesh
Amir Johnson usually isn't that good from that range - having a good night for him
and Spencer is having back issues - he's on the bench and wrapped again
Comprehension is difficult. He didn't guard Bargnani after he rolled and rec'vd the pass near the lane.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but Hawes being hurt KILLS this team.
Why no Voose in the game?
Too close, he's not going deeper than his top 8 w/ the game in question.
Go right up w/ that, Brand.
Back issues for Spence.
I'd like them to run this offense through Jrue right now.
ditto.
When Meeks puts the ball on the floor, it's pretty much always going up, isn't it?
He should get the hook for that last shot.
Jodie, I cringe everytime you pull it down and drive.
That's a terrible shot by Jodie. After a terrible drive. Come on.
AI943! nice give-back by Jrue.
Dre 3!
Great fucking series from offense to defense. Great hustle.
Thad with the get-up! Good hustle Jodie, way to be in the right spot.
9-0 run since they finally got Spence off the floor :)
Really no front runner for POTG right now. Wide open.
There you go, Jrue.
Keep this energy up, it can be ugly, just secure the W.
Jrue time
Jrue w/ the playground pullup
Did he tip that, or did it just drop?
tipped it
Brand has been sort of abused by Johnson on the glass tonight. Hasn't been burned by it.
Really can't hear a word Zum and Rose are saying.
Did Meeks just pass up a three in transition? Thats not his game
Stay aggressive, Jrue.
Jrue's going to dribble down and stick a three next trip.
We ask, Jrue delivers. Take this game over!!!
Jrue J! Take it over kid.
He's an assassin.
Jrue is taking over
Brand just bobbled that rebound straight into Bargnani's hands.
Candy from a baby. Stupid to double AI9 out there.
Thad got a ton of elevation on that jumper, weird.
Way to step right into the jumper, Thad.
JRUE again
There's your three, Brian.
There's the JRUE43, I was talking about!
JRUUUUEEEE!!!
J.R.U.E. for 3!
If the sixers keep extending this lead we might get to see a lot more of evan running the offense than usual, which I would very much like to see.
jrue is going off
Good box-out EB.
Both of my brothers are at the game tonight, so at half time I walked up to talk to them. When I was walking back down to press row, I passed Ed Stefanski, who was walking back up to his center court seat. He stopped, shook my hand, wished me a happy new year, and I wished him luck in Toronto.
Surprised he remembered me. I do honestly wish him luck, as he's probably the nicest guy I've encountered covering the sport.
Can you imagine how little Toronto would have if the Sixers rebounded a little better?
Just give me 25-28 minutes of EB playing like this...and we're good.
Jrue with a nice pass to Thad
That lineup was 23-6 in 6:29.
Heck of a dish, Jrue. Run the show
Thad is shot out of a fucking cannon. Beautiful.
This is getting to easy
Wow. Just, wow.
Good close-out on the shooter Jrue.
Thad finish.
Was that 3 steps or 4?
Sweet.
Bargnani is a tough match for Voose. That's OK though. Good time to give a chance to play him.
Leave the rook in the rest of the game
Holiday of a quarter.
PHI 73, TOR 49 after three.
What a quarter. Unreal. Push it to 30 in the first couple minutes here, then clear the bench and get some rest for the back-to-back-to-back.
What was the ORtg and DRtg that quarter?
OFR: 134.98
DFR: 63.27
Brackins! Brackins!
Nocioni! Nocioni!
..even Allen, Allen, Lavoy that is..
is lavoy allen active?
not sure but he needs to be lol
Young has to be POTG with that quarter right? He looks so much better on defense this year. He had a number of great defensive plays in the quarter.
Voooooooose!!
Voooooooooooooooooose.
Don't want to see Iguodala, Brand or Jrue back in the game.
Damn, Iguodala is back on cue. Why?
27 point lead isn't safe, duh!
Raptors announcers showing the Sixers some love
This is ridiculous.
Can Jrue grow up enough over the next five months to score against the Bulls or Heat in the guts of the game?
ugh, I didn't want to see Dre either considering his minutes so far, but there he is.
I think Doug Collins is just trying to give Thad Young a blow so he can finish out the game.
Meeks, wtf are you doing? Voose w/ the sick block, wasted on the other end.
Voose is playing very, very well. And it has nothing to do with his scoring.
Vuc block! heh
ET bulls his way to the hoop.
Brackins for AI9 in this timeout, please.
They didn't make the first pass on that last possession til there were 8 secs left on the shot clock. Not good. Dre was directing everybody, just got into the set so late.
I am really impressed with Voose and his patience. He is not trying to force anything and seems to know where to be and when.
Mullet, Mullet, Mullet, Mullet!
2 turnovers for the mullet in about 30 seconds.
The mullet has touched the ball twice, and has turned the ball over twice.
LOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!
+1.
lou in spin cycle!!
OK, it's 30 now.
Brackins and Allen in for Lou and Turner/Meeks soon.
It's really a shame they don't have a single guard who's out of the rotation. It'd be nice to even rest some of the bench guys here.
Xavier Silas!
I'd let Mullet close it out as Point Forward. Seriously, for the last three minutes I would do that.
What do you think are they looking for to fill the 14th roster spot? G or F/C?
Should be looking for a big, if they're looking for anything. A guard to put in now is a nice to have, another legit big is a necessity.
There's Jodie.
Jo-3!
Nocioni is looking strange without the beard. Two TOV, missed 3, hard rebound and a good foul. Let him play and get in rhythm...
Voose with the sweet touch after Turner draws the play up on the court.
Lavoy Allen sighting. Always a good sign. heh
OK, do they get to 100? That's free Big Macs, right?
Noc with the back-down. Awesome.
I sure hope Spencer is OK, no way we lose him before this triple-decker. That would be just terrible.
Brackins coming in. I think we're going to see Noc at the two.
Vuc, Allen, Brackins, Noc and Lou, I guess.
No question about the POTG, right?
If anyone objects to Jrue, speak now or forever hold your peace.
Thad! He changed the game in the third quarter on defense.
Joshua Harris must be pretty fucking happy. Hedge fund guys LOVE when they bottom-tick the buy...
3rd quarter was Jrue-some. So Jrue-some, not even an encore for the kid.
This fourth unit has not let up on the D at all.
Heh, the Raptors wouldn't let him get the shot off. Bastards.
Confetti for all!
Did someone say earlier they should be killing the Raps already? Game lasts 48 right?
COTGT.
PHI 97, TOR 62 FINAL!
Just an ass whooping. Beautiful.
Awesome job by Voose tonight.
If he could just slide into and fill that role, it would be a huge boost for myriad reasons, as you said earlier tonight. Good game for the young guy.
The Voose with 11 boards. Nice!
Holy crap, really?
7 offensive rebounds at that and 1 point shy of a double double. Shocking
Still hoping for that 13-2 prediction to come to fruition. Toughest test Mon. night.
Got a feeling this is going to be a memorable homestand. For the team, and the newfound fans.
Sixers bench - 45
Raptors bench - 14
In case you missed it - Bench Brigade!
sixers officially have the best point differential in the league +15.3. That's sustainable...right?
Oh and the sixers have the best defense in the league too, giving up 85.6 per game. Gotta bring this shit up while I still can.
We made so many hustle plays tonight, it was incredible. Just great team basketball.
It felt like I was watching a college game it was so beautiful.