 Hawks Even The Score
Let's call this one a let down and move on. There's plenty of blame to go around for the Sixers 92-85 loss to Atlanta tonight, and no you can't really point the finger directly at Willie Green. Only Iguodala had a good game, Dalembert was nonexistent, Miller wasn't Miller, Thad's minutes were back down, Lou couldn't hit a shot to save his life.
From the beginning, this seemed to be the Hawks night. Actually, to be fair, from the start the Hawks just seemed to want this one more, especially Josh Smith and Joe Johnson. The Sixers were beaten badly on the boards and the defensive intensity just wasn't there. The Hawks took advantage of mismatches all night long in the half court (usually involving Willie Green). The Sixers half court game was stagnant. It's time to turn the page. Three off days before Detroit comes into the Wach for a huge game. The Sixers need to forget about this one. Tonight, I decided to use a clip which should make you feel a little better about having Willie Green play close to 20 minutes/night for your team, and it should also infuriate you because it proves he is capable of playing defense when he wants to. Video after the jump.
Player of The Game: Andre Iguodala (25 points, 9 boards, 2 assists) Team Record: 39-38 Playoff Race: The Sixers are all alone in 6th place, 1 game ahead of Toronto (who lost to New Jersey tonight), 3 games ahead of Atlanta, 1 game behind Washington (who killed the Bulls) and 3 games behind Cleveland (who lost to Orlando). They still control their own fate for the #5 seed. 
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Always hard to put a loss on one player, so I guess I agree, but if he had gone 5-11 instead of 1-11, we would've won, right?
Possibly. He was horrible, as usual, but it wasn't only his fault. If Dalembert hits his average we probably win. If Dalembert and Evans don't drop 4 passes right in their hands at point blank range, it's probably a win. If Mo goes big and puts either Thad or Iguodala on Marvin Williams in the first quarter it's probably a win.
Willie was only -3 on the night, by my count. He's done far worse than that. He actually helped the comeback in the 3rd quarter, which almost never happens.
I'm wondering what Mo is going to do against Detroit. He went with the big lineup for the Sixers' win @ Detroit, but that was because Willie was hurt. I think he has to go with it again. We'll see.
Well, plus-minus in any one game probably means even less than PER. There's no control for how everyone else was playing in those 20 minutes (or who was playing).
I haven't watched the game yet. I don't think I will.
Some interesting reading on Willie... [link]