The regular season was nothing but prologue to what happens now. Sixers/Heat. Nothing more needs to be said.
Lineups
- PG: Jrue Holiday vs. Mike Bibby
- SG: Jodie Meeks vs. Dwyane Wade
- SF: Andre Igudoala vs. LeBron James
- PF: Elton Brand vs. Chris Bosh
- C: Spencer Hawes vs. Erick Dampier
The tip is at 3:30, on ABC. This is your game thread. Believe it or not, I'm going to have to watch this one on DVR late tonight, it was either that or get divorced. Keep it clean and fun in here, I think we've all got one common goal in mind, it's time for forget the little agendas and root everyone wearing Sixers colors. Beat MIA.
Darren Collison has had a terrific first half in Chicago, 15 points and 5 assists on 6-10 FG and 2-2 from three. Let it be the day of young point guards!Jrue, go forth and dominate. ABUSE Bibby. Penetrate. Get to the line. DO IT ALL!
then what will happend when they put wade on jrue?
Come on Brian, doesn't your wife understand what the playoffs are?
ESPN just showed Jrue and EB warming up...Jrue was hitting his jumpers!
so pumped
PHI 101 - MIA 97 Write it down.
any links anyone know of?
There can't possibly be a chance Bavetta refs this game?
Hansborough abusing Boozer is pretty enjoyable. The Bulls look like the old Iverson Sixers - playing 1 on 5 with Rose.
Never would have thought I would root for Hansbrough but have to now. Time to switch channels though, let's do this
Nice three by Jrue.
I thought for a second the Miami crowd was all there and then I realized they made all the chairs white.
Everybody is showing up so far.
Brand owning Bosh - perfect start.
That Meeks finish was great.
got a link ??
its on abc on tv
I love eb's leadership. He told jrue that all we have to do is rebound. And he has 6 early ones.
Nice 3 by Jodie - great look there.
good to see him make it
LOL at Jrue burying the 3 in Bibby's face after the timeout was called.
doug should give brand a breather and let thad young play james jones right now. and throw some subs out there
Going out for the rest of this one.. let's hope me leaving the computer doesn't upset the basketball gods
Brand looking strong so far. Time for Young to show us how much he is worth this offseason.
One thing for sure: they're not gonna beat us with Bibby 3-pointers
doug should give brand a breather and let thad young play james jones right now. and throw some subs out there
ugh i pressed retry. Good first so far. We just have to keep letting the supporting cast beat.
I wonder how long we are gonna keep this up
Lou looked ok out there - made the one runner, did his patented 2-for-1 long 3 (miss) at the end of the quarter.
Nocioni AND Turner in there to start the quarter.
AND Hawes
foul was before the shot. Good job ref :).
Playing Noc, Hawes, and turner is gross.
I can't wait for you to be gone Hawes.
Why isn't jodie in there?
now they are calling touch fouls. LOL the nba
Doug is getting out coached.
He seemed to really want to save some legs early and then the zone + the backups was just a mess. Good coaching by Miami - agreed.
this line up is shit
First time this year? Has to be.
nice to see jodie hit a three. That zone is killing us.
OH MY GOD NO, A WEATHER UPDATE FUCKKKKKKKK
Unreal, what the fuck.
It won't end, jfc.
lol, I hate life. 4 minute weather alert.
Try the last 2 1/2 hours....SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what the fuck noce?
I hope he doesn't play the rest of the series. I am fed up of the mullet.
Noc is useless get his sorry ass out
He's not useless. He's net negative.
James walked on that
Clear path foul? please
he wasn't past half-court. So it can't be a clear path.
Is Marc Jackson an idiot or just so full of himself that he can't think straight?
yeah i know and van gundy's starting to get on my nerves as well.
Anybody got a link? Please?
Pretty please?
http://www.livep2p.tv/
if that's not working here are a few more to try.
http://www.myp2pforum.eu/threads/55037-NBA-Playoffs!-April-16th
thanks a million!!!!!!!!!!
Here in DC, coverage of the game has been knocked out in favor of a 10-minute emergency tornado watch. This weatherman has been standing in front of maps for half the quarter.
Finally ended. So brutal.
really? im in sc and i see it just fine on abc
Because in South Carolina, you don't have a tornado.
So how many consecutive possessions with a Sixer foul called in the Miami/ref comeback?
This isn't looking good.
Not sure if there is even anything Doug can do to stop this.
Fuck you LeBron.
Settling for mid range jumpers from Thad is no good. Credit to the Miami defense also there - not getting any looks.
This is stupid. Doug should put meeks back in and jrue has to start taking those open 3s he has
GROWN MAN MOVE.
tired of this shit. Shove their asses to the ground. because the refs are calling bs. And a sweet 3 there from lou.
http://gfx196.yolasite.com/
eh, kinda fishy :\
Its pretty clear what happened. The Sixers became passive- being afraid to draw fouls. They can't do that. Make the f'n refs foul them all out if that what they are going to do. Because if you stop being aggressive then you hand Miami the game.
Yeah, good point. Their 1st qtr success was because of aggressive defense.
Anybody know how we're gonna score??
Someone - what the fuck has happened in this crappy second quarter? why can't we score? are they just packing the lane or something?
Grown man zone.
love you lou
want to see that foul replay, kind of weak....
lol, takes 3 attempts at the rim to get a foul for the sixers.
thad misses so many bunnies. And did marc just compare him to chris bosh? Screw him.
dag, just saw the heat have shot 18 free throws? what?
that was brutal. I think mo speights should get some burn because thad is sucking it up on the glass. maybe battie can get some time too.
They're calling the game very tight. We can't win at the foul line.
But, hey, down 5 at the half? Not too bad.
I keep wondering how this team would be different with Sam. We wouldn't be getting killed on the defensive glass like this (Miami o-boards). And Sam can get 3 baskets in the paint per game like Hawes does.
If we still had Sam Thad wouldn't of been as big of a factor.
hmmmmm..... don't get it
would like to see that foul discrepancy evened out a bit in the 2nd half. attack the rim, make the refs blow the whistle
The only way the media is going to call the refs imbalance out is if multiple Sixers foul out. They need to be more aggressive on defense. If you back off out of fear of fouls then you are just begging Miami to attack.
Iggy drew two terrible fouls and he went to the bench. That is when the game turned. Collins has to put Iggy right back in and force the refs to either foul him out or become more balanced.
Stuart Scott's really dumb.
and i just looked at thads +/- at -15. He also only has 1 d-board. And he has shot more fgs than any player despite only playing only 14 minutes. He needs to get under control.
Hate not being able to watch this, but too much work to do and a deadline well beyond reasonableness. Hope I have a good reason to watch it later, but the second quarter comments did not sound too encouraging.
lol yeah philly had like 8 personal fouls called on them in the second. but we are hanging in there.
in the second half:
don't let all their shitty role players kill us with wide open shots
don't allow lebron to play without igoudala on the court for even a second
for the sake of all that is holy, no more nocioni
jrue and lou need to drive all the way to the cup and get contact. jrue did this once in the first half. he started to do it again but stopped and popped at the foul line. the former resulted in 2 points, the latter 0.
thad: stop with the 18 footers
don't let the heat have so many second and third chances. get stops and get boards.
mor ejodie. he was playing with fire. unussually energetic especially on d
jrue needs to continue to contain wade. he did an excellent job of this at times.
just win
iggy got pushed in the back. And bosh got blocked
wow, speights in.
Good Job getting to line by Jrue.
Breen is so bad. He doesn't bother calling the Sixers possessions until 20 seconds have ticked
nice d-board and jumper speights!
lol, the crossed leg sit by doug is lultastic for a 6'7 guy.
eww speights misses bunnies too
did you see Wade on the floor? He's dressed like a linebacker from the waist down.
Sixers just aren't good enough.
Bosh, you're just not that good
Speights is killing us.
Bring Hawes back.
can't believe I said that
give evan a go and get battie in there for speights
And why do we always go away from brand. When we are struggling, we don't give him the ball enough.
beats me - happens every time
beats me - happens every time
the lou for one
Thad has to take over like he did vs NYK.
gfy nocioni.
c'mon nocioni.
heh, that was an illegal screen by bosh imo.
nice call ref. you bailed bosh out
Why isn't jodie in.
This game isn't as discouraging as I thought it would be. The sixers have a chance to win 2. Not playing great ball but hanging around. Lou could have up to 3 20 point games in this series.
lol, sixers gonna sixer.
c'mon, don't let up.
Manly 3 by Jrue there
Not sure why lou has gotten 22 minutes and meeks only 20.
Would like to know what Thad and iggy's Clutch FT% are.
absolutely pathetic.
dammit thad just can't shoot a lick...two damn freebies
what the fuck was that Jrue.
OJMG
if only he could hit his damn fts.
Man a 12-0 run on the ROAD in the 4Q. That's impressive.
Thad on Wade has worked here in the 4Q, until that and-1
Thad's going to get a monster extension.
time to step up
had they called the offensive on Wade's leg pushoff, he would of fouled out :(
Wade will never ever be called for a push off - he hides it well, and even when the refs see it, they don't call it. Remember the forearm to Dirk's midsection in '06? Foul on Dirk.
wish i could have seen it but looks like that 2nd quarter did us in??? never thought it'd be this close....wonder what Doug or the team did different in our resurgent 4th quarter?
Thad
Yeah, Miami doesn't have anybody who can guard him, except LeBron, I guess, and he won't be matched up with him.
Miami's defense was insane in the 2Q - they woke up after the first.
In the 4th the Sixers have just had more energy and it has shown in the score.
Final score is going to be a little worse than it needs to be.
thanks, just a very frustrating day all around
Their defense was very good in the 3rd & 4th quarters too. If Brand had made that foul line jumper.....
you should know by now that in the end, Elton is just always going to find a way to disappoint.
jrue had to shoot that
22 more free throws
You can call a shooting foul on someone kicking their legs into you, thereby jamming the contest?
they called the bump before the motion, but i didn't know you could then kick off after being fouled. Prob shouldn't of been an and 1, shoulda just been 2 shots.
Impressive game by us. Very encouraging. Doug needs to tighten the rotation by giving Nocioni zero minutes. We can playband beat these guys they have the three best guys in TE series but after that we have the next 7 best. Rebound the ball with more ferocity and we will win multiple games in this series.
Agreed, we do not need Noce. Turner provides better D and can actually find an open man. Good first game.
Exactly - why are we using a regular season rotation in the playoffs?
When Hawes got in foul trouble - I was surprised they went to Speights (who shot every time he touched it - sadly, making his first did him in) instead of Battie.
shit. if you would have told me that Jrue would have had that line but more importantly - NO turnovers - and Thad would have a double double on the boards I would have told you that we'd win...and Wade with only 17 pts? get outta here
but the bite out of the apple was the disparity in foul calling and they had a sizeable advantage with 39 attempts to 15....wow? was bavetta out there?/
Any chance he rips the refs in the post game presser? that kind of disparity is a complete joke. Thad got mugged a few times and ended up in the first row...whistles silent. Unbelievable
ha just said he can't respond to questions about the officials because his grandkids would lose their college fun.
heh, Doug just said his grandkids would lose their college fund if he commented on the refs. said he can't do it...
didn't realize we got hosed on some non-calls though that you speak of.
The one where he lost his shoe was comical that it wasn't a three-point play. Anthony hacked him on the wrist causing the ball to look as funky as it did when he shot it.
not very encouraging that lebron and wade shot a combined 10/27 and we still lost. yea they shot a lot of FTs but if one of those guys had really gone off we'd have lost by 20.
I think Brian's gonna enjoy this game
Doug can't justify Nocioni's minutes, that's piss poor. Those are 10 minutes that should be shared by Turner and Meeks.
the air ball was spectacular. and of course the signature out of control drive to the hoop leading to a charge
Not to mention, letting James freaking Jones blow right by him which lead to a critical Bosh FG.
Wow. If Thad hits those 2 freebies and Jrue FUCKING FINISHES on the subsequent breakout, it's a whole different sequence of events
The Heat got of course every cal. The FT differential was absurd
Great d on Lebron and Wade
Really take issue with Doug...those funky lineups he left out there for extended periods may have made the difference
Our horrific FG% in the 2nd and 3rd put this one just out of reach
Hope we can replicate the defense on LBJ and Wade...have this awful feeling that this was our best shot but I'm also feeling awfully disappointed right now
brutal loss...we let Chris Bosh beat us
Sixers 22 assists to only 9 TO's.
This game was 100% about the FT's. Not only did it give Miami a ridiculous cushion- but it made the Sixers play less aggressive for a long stretch- out of fear of fouls.
Meeks probably should play closer to 35 minutes.
Also, this game was encouraging if they get better on the defensive glass. That's all about effort. Thad was great on the game, but two major criticisms of his game:
1. He settled for too many jumpers. I'd rather him shoot those high arcing runners in the lane.
2. His defensive rebounding (along with Brand's for stretches) was not good enough.
In my opinion, their defensive gameplan was great and Doug's adjustments need to basically all come on the offensive end. They got way too stagnant and the Heat zeroed in on them. Iguodala was awesome as the initiator, they should start there.
yeah everytime he raised up from >10 ft I cringed
Four thoughts:
1. Iguodala was really coming up small until his defense in the fourth.
2. Hawes can't outplay Dampier?
3. Speights was active if that means anything.
4. Are we really that bad against the zone?
Four thoughts:
1. Iguodala was really coming up small until his defense in the fourth.
2. Hawes can't outplay Dampier?
3. Speights was active if that means anything.
4. Are we really that bad against the zone?
Four thoughts:
1. Iguodala was really coming up small until his defense in the fourth.
2. Hawes can't outplay Dampier?
3. Speights was active if that means anything.
4. Are we really that bad against the zone?
The Sixers were in position to win this one with 2 min left
There is a positive there. But there is also a reminder of how the Sixers struggled to win tight games all season.
This was a tad different though. Many of the Sixers tough losses were games that they had a lead or were on the see-saw, while this one was a great comeback. I don't think they had they had the ball with less than a three point deficit.
Does anyone know if Kelly's Dad has any thoughts?
ESPN, finding new and creative ways to ignore the Sixers:
http://postimage.org/image/u3ev51tw/
Lol, keep fucking trying you idiots:
http://postimage.org/image/u46z9y84/
Wasn't this game almost a carbon copy of the last game played against them? Big lead, 2nd quarter flameout; exchange big game from Wade to Bosh.
Did we get killed on the boards in that one too? Seems I remember them getting lots of o-boards in that one too, but we got our share also I think.
methinks all the games this seri3es will play out roughly in the same fashion - big lead swings, close game in 4th, tough loss.
when it comes down to it, we can't stop that Lebron-Wade pick and roll in the end game. I wish we had two Iguodalas.
but there is hope. if game 1 is the kind of game the Heat are gonna come with, we could even win this series. let's hope they keep sleeping.
I think Thad's starting game 2 on monday. Brand will start @ 5.
I hope like hell you're serious, cause that thought ran through my mind a few hours after that game. Spencer may be better vs the backups too.
I could see this for game 3. After a full season of Spencer, I can't seem them doing this after just one game.
On one hand, I love on the fly changes like that because it's do-or-die time and you have to make adjustments.
On the other hand, it was one game and you've had a system/rotation that has been practiced and executed all year. Granted only 41 times.
If Spo had any clue he'd then put Bosh at the 5 and LeBron at the 4, which is their best lineup.
Sixers overcome by Heat:
http://ow.ly/4BQhX
Sounds like Brian may have gotten the "you love the sixers more than your family speech" hence DVR. Been there, done that. I'm sure many of us have.
Anyway---the game was pretty exciting but at the end, the Sixers have shown what they always show. Poor execution in clutch moments. That 3 point play from Wade sealed it. Unfortunately the Sixers dont have a guy who can do that. A guy when everything breaks down, makes an unbelievable play. Still---good effort.
The thing that we have to swing in our favor moreso than scoring from them is how many rebounds that Wade/James get vs how many our main three frontcourt guys can grab. Those two gobbled up 21 boards between the two of them, our THREE bigs only scooped up 19. smh...that's some shit that's got to change - quickly.
Elton grabbing 7 boards isn't going to cut it. Really disappointed with him today. That missed free throw line J off the beautiful setup by Iggy to cut it to 1 is going to stick in my crawl until game 2.
Along with Thad's missed free throws and Jrue's blown transition layup
yeah Jrue was hearing Lebron's footsteps on that one, that's why.
I was reading the local papers in Philly and Stefanski was talking about how pleased management was pleased with progress this season, will will be looking to make possible changes in free agency. Based on what we know about Thad, now do u pay him 7-8 mill a year and try to move brand or iggy and give Thad a starting spot. I'm not asking just based on the game today, but his play all year. I was reading Hollinger's chat on espn.com and he was saying if the 76ers had to choose, they would sign Thad and get rid if iggy if they were smart. What do u guys think?
I'm sure Hollinger's analysis probably didn't go past a quick glance at looking at the PER numbers this season.
The only way I even consider choosing Thad over Iguodala is if I'm confident Turner can be an all-star caliber player starting alongside Jrue and Meeks. Even then it's a stretch, because I don't think Turner can be an Iguodala level defense. (above average? Yes. Good? Yes. Very good? Possibly. All-league? That's a stretch IMO).
So would u find a way to trade brand and make Thad your starting 4?
Also got to factor in what you get back for Iguodala in terms of who to keep. I do think the sixers need to start thinking about getting younger and thad for $6-7 million + returns for Iggy might make me want to go young, even at the cost of not making the playoffs next year, which imo, after the way this series looks like it might play out won't be the worst thing in the world.
They barely lost, on the road, to the Heat. That's not really discouraging.
Well, basically we got badly outplayed after the first quarter. Aside from the first quarter and a 12-0 run in the fourth, they outplayed us by 29. They seem quite capable of defending us, and I doubt there will be many more games in this series where James/Wade combine for just 38. Nor is there any obvious reason to expect improvement on offense, other than maybe Lou playing better. I wouldn't expect Iguodala to score much while being guarded by LeBron. I mean, you could say Indiana barely lost on the road to Chicago, so therefore Indiana shouldn't be discouraged too. But in both cases I think the more accurate read is, really good team doesn't show up for the first quarter/first three quarters, in Chicago's case, and wins the game once they decide to show up. Now, a team that should be really encouraged is Atlanta. They win on the road, easily, despite giving up 46 to Howard. They had no trouble scoring and shut down everyone other than Howard and Nelson. If they can keep rotating to shooters (and that's all Orlando's supporting cast is), they could actually win the series.
Aren't you the guy who was praising the trades Orlando made?
And I'm pretty sure we can expect more than 4 points out of Iguodala in the coming games.
I was wrong about Orlando - although Richardson and Hedo were an improvement on Carter and Lewis. I don't think that's even debatable. In terms of cost, I always thought it was crazy and never thought Gilbert would pan out. The loss of Gortat was a shame, but he was kind of expendable. They are missing Pietrus right now. They might be a little better, though, because of the deals right now. They basically exchanged really bad albatrosses for slightly less bad albatrosses.
On Iguodala, sure, more than 4, but he could easily average just 10. Regular season it was 14, and now he's being guarded by someone even bigger and more athletic than him. He never looks to shoot much anymore. I suppose Thad could be more efficient, 9-20's pretty bad for him. You certainly aren't going to get much more out of Jrue. His play, overall, was quite encouraging for someone that young playing his first playoff game.
Come on, Indiana played out of their minds and we played an little below average. That is not the same thing.
"Aside from kicking their ass for about 17 minutes this game, we got killed."
It doesn't work that way, discounting good stretches of basketball where the team looked comfortable in killing them does not get swept to the side. Miami, despite all of their talent, is a bipolar team. That's because they have three guys that are good players.
It's not like I expect to win this series, but they should get a lot more credit than you gave them. They didn't play well, had below average officiating, the Heat's role players stepped up in big spots, and they still were in it on the road. Throw in the fact that Doug Collins is sitting in a Miami hotel room right now obsessing over what he can do differently, and it's not a stretch to say that they should be ready to play.
BTW, I hate the term "scrappy" that Wade and those guys kept using. Fine, they might not be as talented, and yeah they play hard, but that's a borderline insult. They kicked your ass for a quarter and a half, they aren't rec league players.
Bosh was more considerate - he said "They are gifted players"
Wade made it seem like a monumental fluke that the sixers rallied.
Great game thread in my absence, guys. Made me proud. I'll be here on Monday night.