The 2009-2010 Philadelphia 76ers will finish with a worse record than the 2008-2009 squad. I'm glad they got this one out of the way, the suspense was killing me. Rotation chart and brief wrap after the jump.
Believe it or not, the Sixers aren't sitting in the #9 spot anymore. The Detroit Pistons beat the Pacers last night, so if the season ended today, the Sixers have the 8th-worst record in the league (I believe the Pistons hold the tiebreaker, if tiebreakers work in a bad way as well). Unfortunately, none of the other teams the Sixers are "chasing" cooperated.
If you missed the game, I feel bad for you. This was one of the most enjoyable to watch of the season. Elton Brand came to play, using a variety of "old man moves" (Rich gets the credit for that one from the game thread) to drop 24 points. The first time in over a month he's broken the 20-point barrier. Andre Iguodala had a massive chip on shoulder, dropping 16 emphatic points in the first quarter and finishing with 30 on the game. Anyone want a really depressing stat?
This was only the second time all season both Brand and Iguodala have scored 20 or more points in a game. Two out of 65.
Eddie Jordan went with a big lineup for a large portion of the third quarter, which may have been the best defensive quarter the Sixers have played this season, considering the competition. They outscored Cleveland 22-17 and actually held the lead after three.
Here's your rotation chart:
As much as I know they needed this loss. As happy as I am that we're finally moving down the standings, I just can't help but lament how the game was lost. The Sixers had a couple of possessions down by three with under a minute to go that ended on turnovers. On one play, Iguodala and Brand ran a sort of two-man game, with Iguodala taking the ball down the middle of the lane, drawing three defenders. He tried to get the ball to Brand rolling to the hoop on the right side of the lane, but the pass was batted up in the air. Good thought, bad execution. The next time the Sixers had the ball, again down by three, Jrue got the ball in the corner, didn't have enough room to get the shot off, so he drove by his man on the baseline, drew the weakside defender and at the last second tried to sneak the ball along the baseline to Brand who was all alone on the opposite side of the hoop. Unfortunately, the pass was bad and went out of bounds untouched. When Jrue was asked after the game about the play, he said he saw Brand, then saw Lou open in the opposite corner for a game-tying three and sort of passed in between both of them. Indecision will kill you every time.
In the end, though, a loss is exactly what the doctor ordered. We were treated to an excellent effort from basically everyone who stepped on the floor for the Sixers, except maybe Willie Green. You know, it's odd. Everyone always talks about what a leader Willie is, and how he's such a character guy, but can you ever remember Willie diving for a loose ball? Or giving extra effort? Or even just going after a defensive rebound? It's funny, this team has been lifeless for the better part of a month, and Willie just keeps on playing his game and fits right in.
Player of The Game: Iguodala
Team Record: 23-42
Up Next: @ Miami, 6pm on Sunday.
Oh, almost forgot to mention it, but LeBron James is decent basketball player. At least if he goes to the Knicks or the Nets we'll get to see him play 4 times/year.
"This was only the second time all season both Brand and Iguodala have scored 20 or more points in a game. Two out of 65."
In a nutshell, this may be the big reason that we are a bad team. Who knows, maybe their games don't mesh, but that's really depressing. I don't know how to feel about Brand anymore. On the one hand, I really want him to succeed on the Sixers, even more than I want other stars. On the Phillies, I want Ryan Howard to play well, but I just want the team to win. It's kind of different with EB because every time he misses a shot I think "Damnit, that's a missed opportunity Elton" like I'm his dad or something. He plays team basketball and is a great locker room guy, basically a leader. I say old man moves affectionately and it's sort of a backhanded compliment.
On the bigger scale, this guy is just not as good as the money we are paying him. He is actually playing an old man's game. His contract kills our spending options and weHe doesn't grab any defensive boards anymore and he doesn't have the explosiveness to go with his physicality. I also see him dog it once in awhile (more than that lately) and I realize that we probably won't be able to trade his contract, so I get back to rooting for him really hard knowing that we are stuck with him. He's kind of one of the most underrated polarizing figures IMO, but nobody in Philly cares about the Sixers.
"LeBron James is decent basketball player."
You're overrating him.I think he's a good role player but not more.Yeah,he goes crazy some nights but that's it.A solid role player.
I enjoyed lat night's game asmuch as any I've attended this year. The Sixers played pretty well but not great and hung with the Cavs almost to the end. Then, after entertaining us, managed to fall short (with AI9 taking 3 pointers at the end) to lose a close game for the ping pong balls.
I didn't understand AI9 taking the final shot since he was 1 for 5 at that point, but maybe it was part of the tanking strategy. I still have hopes that they will get down to 5th or 6th and the possibility still is there to get to 4th.
I missed the game, but looking at the rotation chart it looked like the big lineup with smith, brand, young, iggy and holiday played well. How did the lineup actually look? I always wanted to see that kinda lineup since smith can spread the floor for brand on the block but is that how they used him?
What a good time it was to have that feeling that "your" team was giving it their all and just going out there to do what they're supposed to do - just play a game and try to win it, but passionately. Joyful night indeed.
Now reality. How fitting the loss was, but even more fitting was the fashion it ended in - Iguodala straight bricking a three off the backboard on his first attempt and getting a second chance at another three on the same possession and he clanked that one off the rim. And on a lesser scale the turnover by Jrue was fitting too but it's usually Iguodala committing it at that point in the game. Different game, different opponent, but it felt like I had all seen it before. Go Sixers!
Oh yeah, did we draft Greg Monroe already?
Like the back-to-back 7 assist games ?
Certainly. He's like this oversized guard or something yet has post game. His repertoire is stacked. I just can't get over his handle and how he uses it to get where he wants for that size. But what I really like lately is how he is playing with so much more verve and esprit. As with most young players he tended to drift some throughout games but now he seems so much more sharp with his focus.
Drifting was one of his major problems last year, particularly on the defensive glass. It's one of the reasons I didn't trust his improvement to start the season. He's won me over.
IIRC he didn't have his last growth spurt until 9th grade, so that could help explain his guard-like handle.
If Princeton were actually going to be here, Monroe would be a great fit. Thank god he's not, but my interest in Monroe still stands.
Here's the link to my Cavs-Sixers game story, which was posted late due to system difficulties:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/126/2010/march/13/james-return-too-much-for-sixers-1.html