I feel kind of bad for writing a headline like that about the Sixers, because they're honestly the furthest thing from a one-man-show in the NBA today. But Lou Williams absolutely put this game away and he deserves a ton of credit for stepping up and carrying the Sixers down the stretch. This win over the Lakers was amazing on so many different levels, I don't even know where to begin. (
Here's your rotation chart. Note the bad stretch in the fourth (this was due almost entirely to Spencer Hawes' pitiful play on the glass) and then the sprint to the finish later in the quarter (which featured Lou and Kobe taking a bunch of shots, with only one of them making them):
Kobe Bryant his about seven terrible shots and scored 24 points in the blink of an eye in the first half. The Sixers never trailed by more than seven-points (9-2, with 8:18 left in the first quarter). The Lakers dominated the offensive glass like I've never seen before the entire first half. The Sixers were only down by 4 at the break. In the first half, the Sixers took possession of the ball in the following ways: After a made LA hoop: 18 times. After a made LA free throw: 6 times. Out of bounds to start the second quarter: 1 time. Defensive rebounds: 9 times. Turnover: 8 times. The Lakers scored on 24 of their 41 possession and hit 5 three-pointers. The Sixers were never in danger of getting blown out.
Time and time again throughout this game it looked like the Lakers delivered a knockout blow. Even when the Sixers played excellent defense to force tough shots, the Lakers would grab one, two or three offensive rebounds to keep the possession alive. Every one of those o-boards could've broken the Sixers back. None of them did.
This is not how you want to play a game. You never want to get dominated in a crucial area of the game. But this is a great way to
win a game. To perform that poorly and never let it affect the other areas of the game is something to marvel at. Each time the Sixers blew an opportunity to hang an empty possession on the Lakers, they came down on the other end and methodically ran their offense, spread the shots around and never, ever coughed it up. Four turnovers to 27 assists is beyond ridiculous. Early in the first quarter I was updating the rotation chart when Jrue committed a turnover. I missed it. I'd only get a chance to see three more the entire game (going from memory, you had Hawes trying to post up Kobe and getting the ball stolen, Lou trying to thread the needle to Vucevic in traffic and a bad pass by Turner). I shouldn't be able to recall every turnover without looking it up.
The Sixers never panicked, they never pressed, they just played their game. They turned up the heat on defense in the third quarter (led by Jrue, who had three steals in the quarter) and they seemingly turned a blind eye to the pitiful effort Hawes and others were putting forth on the defensive glass. Actually, that's not true. They just picked their teammates up, which is what a team should do.
A few bullets for your pleasure:
- Kobe's first-half explosion seemed to be almost entirely fueled by his chase of Shaq for fifth all time on the scoring list. Class move by Doug Collins to call the timeout afterward to allow Kobe to celebrate with his teammates. Also a good move by the Sixers to no acknowledge the accomplishment on the jumbotron. Kobe isn't a Sixer, screw him. The Sixers had a game to win.
- I thought Collins went a bit overboard with the doubles on Kobe in the second half. More often than not, they led to dunks or open looks for the Lakers. The defense on Kobe was good all night, he just hit a bunch of really bad shots in the first half for pretty much all of his points. When Iguodala was left on an island with Kobe in the second half, he pretty much didn't get a single good look. He hit two shots, one on a broken play where Iguodala almost got the steal, and the other on a baseline drive where he had to go under the hoop to avoid Thad and spin it home on the other side. 2/12 for 4 points after the break, 28 points on 26 FGA and 4 FTA to go along with 5 turnovers. Kobe's hero mode down the stretch where he kept jacking bad shots and ignoring his big men, who were much more efficient.
- Speaking of the bigs, the Sixers really didn't do too bad of a job on Bynum when he caught the ball on the blocks, provided he wasn't like a foot away from the hoop. Bynum didn't seem to know where the double was coming from and the Sixers did a good job of not just disrupting him, but actually stealing the ball from him when he put the it on the floor.
- I mentioned it above, but it needs to repeated. Spencer Hawes should be absolutely ashamed of his work on the boards tonight. Even when he had position, he just stood there an watched Bynum go up for boards. The rest of the time, he just didn't hold his ground and let Bynum push him right under the hoop. His five assists don't make up for the 3 defensive boards in 32 minutes and 3/10 from the floor.
- John Kuester completely sold out to get this win. Kobe sat out 4:07 in the beginning of the second quarter (the Sixers outscored them 8-4 with Kobe on the bench), then didn't sit another second the rest of the game. Bynum played 37 minutes, including the entire 4th quarter. Gasol played the entire third and logged 36 on the game. Kuester pushed all of his big players and it still wasn't enough.
- Iguodala's 1/5 from the line is just unacceptable. Luckily, the pair he missed at the end wound up being meaningless.
- Jrue wasn't a star in this one, but he really had a nice game. 13 points on 12 shots, 3 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals and only 1 turnover. In this stretch of five games against playoff teams, Jrue has 25 assists to only 5 turnovers.
Player of The Game: Lou. What can I say? The Sixers stayed right there the entire game, and Lou brought it home with a scoring flurry down the stretch. When he gets hot, he can do that, and it's something this team is going to need when the playoffs come around. Just a great job by Lou in the fourth. It's easy to say he and Kobe were both gunning, but Lou wasn't taking bad shots. He was using his dribble to create space. Kobe was using his dribble but couldn't create an inch of space with Iguodala on him. I also thought the Sixers did a great job of running Lou off screens early for a series of catch-and-shoot jumpers. I wish they'd do more of that for him, he's the best they've got at it.
Team Record: 18-7, four games up in the Atlantic
Up Next: vs. the Spurs, Wednesday night.
Comment of the Game Thread: by Lavoy Allen's Motor: "
Let me be the first to say...the Lakers were missing Magic Johnson, so this win doesn't count."
btw, check out the game capsule for the craziest four factors I've ever seen in a win.
Great great win by a team that's growing with each game...and Brian, you have really raised your game this season too which is awesome...as much as there is to complain about from this game, they're now 4-1 on the hell stretch and it looks like the confetti budget will have to just keep going up!
The juxtaposition of Kobe's and Lou's 4th quarter runs was just too much. Lou made his, and he's a hero. Kobe made his, and he's a goat. This is the downside of such an isolation heavy offense. I don't think Lou's looks were appreciable better shots (although it helps being defended by Derek Fisher instead of Andre Iguodala), but Lou made his, meanwhile Kobe killed his teams chances. I'd like to think Lou wouldn't have kept looking for his offense if he were missing like Kobe, but I'm not sure the ending was much more than one playing being unconsciously hot and the other being ice cold.
The turnovers at this point are downright silly. The Sixers committed 1 turnover in the final 23 minutes of game time.
But in Lou's defense, no else was really having a good offensive game. Kobe had two big men that were giving the Sixers match up problems and could do pretty anything they wanted. Also, Lou had some separation between the defender and the plays were run for him. Kobe barely had room, didn't call for the screen, ran iso plays and jacked up shots 10 seconds into the shot clock. I really don't think Lou would have continued to jack up shots late in the game he had been missing the way Kobe was.
Eh. If Lou's first shot in that string doesn't fall, they go to someone else. Last night was Lou's night, because of the matchup and because his first shot(s) fell in the run. I'm not crazy about the isolations at all, but this team is also all about riding the hot hand (or at least riding Lou when he's hot). The shots Lou took were much, much better than the shots Kobe was taking, and Kobe probably had the worst matchup on the floor for the Lakers, but he kept shooting.
They hung in there and put themselves in a position where if someone got hot, they could put the game away. That's really more than you can ask for, considering the play of the front court.
I am still confused as to how Collins lets Meeks play the whole third quarter regardless of how he is playing. Even when he is making shots there are countless minutes where he is just a non-factor. If on offence or defense it's like they are playing 4 on 5 when he is in the game. I don't even think its an issue of him spreading the floor anymore because most of his shots are relatively wide open. It's like the defense forgets he is on the court.
I think Meeks has been playing pretty well. He is asked by the coaches to nail open threes, and he does it at 44.3%. His defense is adequate. 23 minutes is the right amount for him, IMO.
Do u guys think Elton would have made a factor in this game.
It doesn't matter. He got some much needed rest and they won the game. Couldn't have been better.
I think he would have done a better job boxing out than any of our bigs that played.
I think so. Brand is the best defensive rebounder on this team.
I think he's mediocre IMO. I actually think our best rebounding big man is Battie.
He doesn't put up the numbers, but you can tell by watching him how good he is at clearing out the lane with his box outs. When he got full minutes last year he led the team in defensive rebounding.
Maybe the best win of the season for the Sixers. It wasnt a back to back for the lakers, none of their key guys were missing. And the Sixers were down in the 4th quarter with an elite scoring option on the other team. Usually the Sixers lose these games. Not tonight. Lou did play the role of Elite scorer for the Sixers and you can see just how important that is to have on your team. Unfortunately "bad lou" comes out just as often as good Lou, But Ill take it for tonight. Great crowd-great game.
On a side note, does Bynam have the longest arms in the world ? Yeesh
I was at the game, and there were far too many Lakers fans, and they were pretty loud when Kobe scored. But, as the game went on, and those front runners realized that the Lakers weren’t going to run away with it, they were drowned out by the home crowd and the really, really loud “Beat LA” chants. I was also able to taunt some Fakers fans who left early. Great atmosphere. Proud to be a Sixers fan.
Those fakers were also highlighted by the TV crew. Can't wait for the Celts to come into town. Same deal.
Does anyone think we can beat a healthy Boston team in a 7 game series? They also have a pretty underrated bench with Brandon Bass, Mickael Pietrus, Keyon Dooling , Avery Bradleym, Chris Wilcox and Greg Stiemsma.
Boston really doesn't concern me right now. They've had an easier schedule than the Sixers to this point. And yeah, I think the Sixers can handle them in a playoff series. Their time has passed.
Not really true, the celtics SOS is slightly higher than the sixers and the sixers have one more home game than the celtics, not saying the celtics worry than me, but they've had a 'harder' schedule so far. In the end it all comes close to balancing out usually, not sure how balanced the 66 games schedule is
SOS doesn't take days off into account. Celtics have only had 4 back-to-backs and zero back-to-back-to-backs. They've got a much harder road ahead of them, they've had it easier to this point, and they're not built to withstand it when the schedule gets harder.
You're getting trapped into a pointless GoSixers debate. Get out while you can.
LOL
Are they really debates when they're pointless?
It's the internet - all debates are pointless
ANd the sixers probably have a much harder road against them due to their current home/road balance (2 to 1) in terms of games...I'm not saying the sixers aren't better, I think they are, I just don't think agree that the Celtics have had it that much easier than the sixers
Don't reply Brian. Just.Walk.Away.
If you have something productive to add that counteracts my statement go right ahead, otherwise, find someone else to poke, troll
The Sixers have 17 left at home, 24 on the road.
The Celts have 18 left at home, 25 on the road.
how does that home/road split favor the celts?
Didn't say it did did I? I said that more road than home games might make it tougher for the sixers down the road, plus I know they have at least one more triple back right?
The celtics are 'league favorites' so they do get the benefit of more days off often...
I'm pretty sure I didn't say that the celtics schedule was 'easier' than the sixers going forward, but I don't think the sixers is going to be that much eaiser either, they both have tough schedules ahead of them...
Thanks though for buying into Stan's taunts, appreciate that.
Audi
I'm not sure how I bought into anyone's taunts, but whatever.
"ANd the sixers probably have a much harder road against them due to their current home/road balance"
I took that as you saying they have a harder road against them than the Celts do, which is a pretty logical conclusion given the entire point of the conversation was comparing the schedules of the two teams.
Doesn't matter anyway. My point was the Celts have had a pretty cake schedule in terms of back-to-backs, home/road and time off. They've had 4 back-to-backs to this point, they have 11 on the rest of their schedule, plus a back-to-back-to-back and a stretch of 7 games in 9 days. Their schedule is much harder than the Sixers from this point forward.
Nope, only referring to the sixers themselves, their schedule is what matters to me...but dont' worry about it
Seriously, you've gotten awfully testy recently when ever anyone contradicts your sixer colored glasses...which is fine, but not fun.
Or is it the Sixers contradicting your daily skeptic glasses?
Hmm....let's see. I said they could win in the first round, but I don't think if all players on both rosters were healthy they could beat the heat or bulls in a 7 game series, so I'm not sure why that makes me skeptical.
I'm sorry if all the 'we love blue collar players' hysteria blinds people to the fact that the goal is an nba championship, but that's all i really care about, whether or not this team can contend for a championship this year, and I don't think they can.
And I think people are over valuing a win over the lakers thinking that they are the LAKERS, not just another mediocre aging team with a crappy road record.
Brian is crowing that the sixers are much better than the celtics, for a variety of reasons, the lakers aren't exactly the cock of the walk in the west, and they suck on the road.
It's one game against what's been a mediocre team this year, and it was one of the worst rebounding performances all season
Many seem to think it's a statement...I suppose it is, the sixers front court is terrible against quality big men, and if Kobe knew how to pass in the fourth quarter to those big men, the sixers might not have won.
I get it - everyone hates the lakers - so it means more than it actually means (the sixers SOS in the last 10 went down after the lakers game) - look behind, instead of ahead, go right ahead
I still see nothing that says they'll beat the bulls or heat in a 7 game series, let alone win an nba title.
Which is what matters
Just ask the 9-7 giants if it matters that they were 9-7 in the regular season while the patriots were 13-3
The Bulls and Heat in May?
Savor the journey, this meritorious bunch does the soul good.
Pause and smell the roses along the peregrination.
It's kind of telling that you consider it "getting testy" when I refute something you say with a measured counter argument and nothing attacking you at all. You made a point, I made a counter. That's how humans usually discuss things. If I was being testy I would've said something like, "Any moron can just go to ESPN and look SOS, but it doesn't tell the whole story."
Celts are over the hill. If we can stay home against Allen, I think Iggy will stop Pierce. The Jrue-Rondo matchup is a big advantage for us. I love the Sixers in a 7 game series, especially with what they've shown us in the last five games. Disclaimer: I really hate the Celtics.
I woudn't call Jrue-Rondo a big advantage for us.
Not answering off an emotional high, but yes, we'll stone them in a series. We were close to having their number last year, but we just didn't know how to finish games. This year, a whole different story.
None of thosse guys has really earned Doc's trust yet. All but Bradley are new to the team. From what I've heard him say, he seems to like Dooling as a floor leader and he likes Bradley as a defender but doesn't trust him to run the show - Pierce was the de facto pg when Rondo was out. Wilcox has done nothing.
Getting caught up in all the hoopla it's easy to forget but,
Doug Collins is THE MAN!
Along with his staff. Much credit for pulling together what was once thought of as a team of mismatched pieces. Before any X's and O's, scheme, or gameplanning you have to be able to motivate men and get them to believe in what you're trying to do. He has certainly surpassed even the most outlandish expectations.
Again, he is a very, very good coach and I'm thankful to have him as coach of my favorite team as he exudes as much passion for this franchise as us fans do in rooting for them. Those early '80's feelings are starting to rear their head, and that's NEVER a bad thing. Kudos!
After he wins a championship, you'll be calling him a great coach.
He's handling Lou brilliantly. I think he realizes that some of Lou's isos are poorly executed, that he takes bad shots, that he doesn't see open players or at least doesn't always pass to them. In my opinion, he thinks Lou is the one guy on this team who can be what he was last night on a consistent basis. He thought so last year and it looked like he was wrong. He was willing to live with the mistakes and bad decisions because he thought Lou would eventually grow into the role, and he has.
Listening to the experts on NBA TV, TNT (?) and ESPN, I never hear anything negative about Lou. Everybody seems to love his game and think he's a legitimate end-of-game option.
Well, to be fair all most of the national people care about is scoring points, and he leads the team in PPG. Doesn't mean he hasn't been good, but it's not really shocking that the national media loves his game.
Sure he frustrates me at times (as do others), but I like his game and think it is such a critical element to our team (mainly because we don't have a plethora of guys who can get their own shot consistently). This team's bug-a-boo appears to be a lack of getting to the line, and he's the only one who sort of does it with any regularity.
I'm of the belief that if he opts out and they aren't able to re-sign him, this team is going to take a big step backwards. At that point, fans will then realize how important what he brings to the team is. His warts can be overshadowed by his offensive gifts, just like many other players in this league.
It's often thrown around that other not-named guys could step up into Lou's role, and I just don't see that happening. It's difficult to still be able to do what he does (from time to time) when the defense knows that's exactly what he's going/trying to do. That's nothing to sneeze at.
I've always liked the guy and his game, but he's really grown on me with this leadership role he took on in the offseason, and how he's spoken during the season to this point. Not to mention how the other players speak positively about him.
Not at all - I'm really shocked that he's even being talked about as a possible All-Star but I guess I shouldn't be. Sixth Man I can see. Except for Bobby Jones, the first winner, that award always goes to scorers. (Did Rodman win it?)
So the coaches' votes apparently have to be in today for the All Star reserves. Any chance Lou gets in after last night's game? Any chance he gets in and Iguodala doesn't?
I've thought that Lou would make it before Iguodala even before last night's game. Scoring kind of trumps (no pun intended) everything, and that's what Lou does. Leading the 2nd best team in the East in scoring. But it's other coaches' votes so who knows?
Iggy in, Lou out, IMO.
Has there ever been an all-star player who doesn't start for his team?
Yeah, I'm sure. Manu is the one that pops to mind.
Bobby Jones in '83.
No way. Lou is a one trick pony. Shouldn't be even in an allstar discussion. Coaches should recognize that. Too much looking at the scoring column of the boxscore. AI9 deserves the accolades for his unselfish play and contributions.
It would be a travesty for Lou to make it over Iguodala.
There is some things I don't like about his substitution patterns, but man, has he dont a great job otherwise! Love that he reaches out to fans in his press conferences and actually gives some juice, love that his players seem to want to play for him, love that players have improved under his direction.
Surprised we haven't heard from Dollar Bill about how Iguodala failed on Kobe last night because he scored 28 points.
Is that what he usually talks about? I don't know, I can't tell.
yeah, usually they're just strange ramblings in haiku form, with a few obscure references tossed in.
I'm sorry that you don't see the honeycomb for the bees.
Bear down.
Dirty Stan rides again!
It's more of a criticism of me than it is of you. I'm not an english major for a reason. Your writing is too sophisticated and at many of times I fail to grasp your references.
I come to praise Andre Iguodala's new shot: the Ray Charles reverse somersault. (It's a direct descendant of his Ray Charles free throw.) I look forward to his future variations on the theme of haywire prayers and 15 ft. of hypertension.
Can't comment with authority on Iguodala's defensive work of last night as I missed the first 2 1/2 Qs when Kobe torched someone, perhaps even our tattooed local blacksmith at times.
And there it is!
Let's just use your Carmelo argument.
When the game was decided, Iguodala was on Kobe and he shot 1/10. What else did you need to see?
yeah but iggy still didn't score 20 points so he's not an all-star, we would've won by more if carmelo was in his place! hahaha dollar bill must be chums with eddie jordan,"just gotta put the ball in the hoop if you wanna win games"
Are you auditioning for "stooge" work?
I'm good.
Iguodala, along with double teams and human nature (re-entry to earth in 2nd half from homecoming, record-aiming adrenaline high of 1st half), did a nice job on Kobe when I viewed, outside of getting beat baseline once.
Yep, 1/10 concentrate on the one. Pretty typical. Must sting to see your villain tame your hero in the guts of the game, huh?
He's a strong defender but you overblow his defensive play. Next time you point out any of his lapses will be your first time. Good utility man. Cookie Rojas of basketball. Thinks he's Willie Mays.
Young Kobe, my hero? Doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground - like Jeff.
My heroes are all dead but, happily, not gone.
Can you explain why he takes so few shots if he thinks he's Willie Mays?
He can't. Nor can he support any of his statements with objective, statistical data. Trolls are quite adept at saying so much, yet so little.
Because just as Durocher pointed Willie to centerfield, Collins is pointing his pal "Dre" to more individually compatible and team beneficial work. Just as Willie didn't stop on the mound and pick up the resin bag to warm-up, Andre, this year, is playing away from weakness (shooting, overhandling) and to his strengths (defense, running the court, creating/dishing, helping on boards).
Excepting foul shooting and setting aside numbers, his performance has been strong overall, thanks to Collins' role definition and his apparent acceptance. Boos of home crowd may serve as shooting aversion therapy in instances when the old twitch returns.
Doesn't sound very "I think I'm Kobe"-ish to be sacrificing shots for the good of the team, now does it. Funny, he's being doing that his entire career. Never had a usage rate anywhere near 25%, even before Collins put the horse collar on him.
You keep quoting that. Did I ever actually say that? Please cite thread, day & time.
Based on what I've read and seen, I do believe Kobe and Lebron are his style role models. And I give him credit for reaching for the stars.
Well, I think you intentionally use obscure, and mostly irrelevant, correlations to say whatever it is you have to say, but just last night you said he's a Cookie Rojas who thinks he's Willie Mays. I guess now you're saying you never actually said he thinks he's Kobe, so apparently Kobe isn't the Willie Mays of baseball, or at least he isn't when your bullshit metaphor paints you into a corner.
I suppose you dont know the difference between good defense forcing a guy to take bad shots that he just so happens to make (ie contested 28 ft threes) and bad defense letting a guy take easy shots.
All that brain power going in the wrong direction. You must feel lost.
Plus many of Kobe's points in the first quarter and a half came with someone other than Igoudala-most often Turner, Jrue a couple times-guarding him. I believe he scored his first 9 guarded by Turner
Is there any way to track points made after a timeout is called? Sixers used to be *terrible* at this, but we've really done a good job of it this year.
I think it's a mixed bag, actually. Probably pretty much in line w/ how they score on normal possessions. There have been plenty of times where they've gotten terrible looks, like a play wasn't even called.
Managing Lou's minutes must be really tough. If it were up to me I would have pulled Lou out of the game halfway through the 4th quarter. I think Collin's way of knowing when to take Lou out the game is a huge difference between lat year and this year.
Hmm...this isn't a popular opinion here but I think GoSixers is dead on. Sixers arent ready for a championship-and probably couldn't beat the Bulls or Heat in a 7 game series. However I disagree that last nights win wasn't huge. No they arent the lakers of old--but this was a close game, where we were down in the 4th and the opposing team had all its top guns. Including one of the best closers in the sport. You have to give the Sixers credit for gutting it out.
Two things you cant account for as far as how far the sixers can go. The two rookies and the improved play of Turner and Iguodola. Turner I think has shown a ton of improvement and this may be Iggys best year ever. Its been a fun season so far, and I think a lot of that fun is questioning "how good can this sixers team be". It may not be their year yet but its a fun season anyway.
Hawes and Brand seem to be "questionable" for tomorrow...all rookie starting front court? UGH.
allen at PF and Battie at Center would be my guess
Yeah that's what they are saying now. And Hawes has been downgraded to doubtful. My guess is he's screwed for rest of season. Good news is maybe we can re-sign him for extra cheap now.
Actually, I rather just let him walk injury ridden or not.
@BobCooney76
Bob Cooney Hawes doubtful for tomorrow as he gets an MRI on his lower back to see if it is connected to Achilles' problem.
I'm Shocked. David Thorpe over at ESPN is chatting right now and just answered 5 straight questions about the Sixers. I love the attention we are getting but I also have to knock Thorpe down a notch as an analyst...he says Lou Will is our best player. Lou Will is our best offensive weapon, no doubts, but he is not the best player on this team. Also says the Bulls would beat us in 5 which I very much disagree with.
Heres some questions from the chat:
Walter (Scranton, PA)
So, Lou Williams had a 'good night' last night, but in the grand scheme of things he has as many bad nights as good nights, the sixers should maximize his trade value now.
David Thorpe (12:04 PM)
He's their best player Walter.
Jumpin' (Atlanta)
Believing in the 76ers yet?
David Thorpe (12:27 PM)
Not as a playoff team. Their bench is amazing, but their opponents will play the starters more in May.
John (Santa Barbara, CA)
Does the sixers depth (10 deep really) give them a shot in a 7 game series against the bulls / heat - or will the absence of 'star calls' cost them?
David Thorpe (12:27 PM)
I'd pick either of them in 5 games.
Brice (NN)
When I see Evan Turner, I see Scottie Pippen. Would he not look great next to D Rose in CHicago?
David Thorpe (12:28 PM)
I have no idea what you are talking about.
Xander (Philly)
I love Lou Will, but gotta take issue with the "best player" label. Hugs Collins has turned Iggy into a machine. Helped him realize he doesnt need to score 20 a game to be the teams best player. Dude can do it all.
David Thorpe (12:28 PM)
That's great, but Sixers would not be a top 10 offense without Lou.
I doubt David has watched all of our games. If he had even watched the Lakers game last night he would have seen the Lakers play their big 3 all 35-40 minutes and still lose.
You can tell by the tone of his responses that he really isn't paying close attention...I will listen to guys like Zach Lowe of SI - a national guy who IS paying attention and has been pretty balanced in his thoughts.
And I still don't get why the Bulls are this PARTHENON of NBA basketball. They are VERY good...but the Sixers have three straight double-digit wins against them...so why do all of these "experts" just say "Bulls in 5"?
Agreed. We have beaten the bulls 3 games in a row with a few of those wins coming in convincing fashion. While the Bulls should be considered the better team based on what their doing this year in addition to the fact that they made it to the ECF last year, they should be taken seriously. BUT, we seem to play them well and there is no reason we cant't beat them in a series, or at least win multiple games. Jrue can neutralize Rose as much as possible and Iggy can D up on Deng. While Noah is a bruiser, he does not really scare me because of his lack of an offensive game. We CAN beat the bulls in a series.
As for Zack Lowe, I really respect what he has been doing. For a national media guy, he really knows his stuff about the Sixers. I know he has been to many games and watches the games also, as evidenced by his twitter feed and his knowledgable blog posts. He is definitely one of the few national media guys who knows what he's talking about when it comes to the sixers.
Lous the best scorer, and our most clutch player. But not the best overall...but he fills an important role on this team. Hes pretty inconsistent though. I guess Aldridge equated best scorer to best player. Typical national media BS..
Yep. Just like when the best player line was qestioned he backed it up with an incorrect reference to offensive production.
Pretty interesting, the Sixers haven't had a ton of "crunch time" minutes, but Lou's been good in them, Iguodala hasn't, and Jrue's been the best of the three, but doesn't really take a lot of shots.
There has been a lot of debate on these threads about whether Turner should start (or even Lou) and whether Meeks' minutes should be cut. When I look at our roster, I do agree that Turner and Lou should get more minutes, but I also don't want to see Meeks or Jrue's minutes reduced.
Meeks is currently getting 25 mpg - ok maybe that can be reduced to 20 mpg - and I'm ok with Jrue getting 35 mpg, which is where he is currently. Basically, we have been blessed with a glut of talented guards, and my question is should we try to package one of them with Hawes or another big in order to upgrade our front court? Meeks probably doesn't have much trade value, but feeling out what kind of front court player we could get for Turner or Lou (or even Jrue and then insert Turner at the point) and one of our mediocre bigs may be something to look into.
Thoughts?
A different approach to the allstar rookie/soph game.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sixerville/Barkley-to-serve-as-GM-for-revised-Rookie-Challenge.html
btw, I've held my tongue on this new guy at the Inquirer to this point, but he's increasingly looking like a complete zero. It's like they're paying a troll on a message board to cover the Sixers.
Totally agree. And wasn't that he who Doug called out on postgame last night?
Didn't see the post game.
That was him. Stupid question that Doug already touched on it before. And it's also a little hard to understand the dude when he talks.
He is awful, Narducci covers the blog and column way more than he does. I'm not sure why they didn't just officially give it back to Narducci, he certainly works harder at it.
Yea, he's really pretty awful. I know anybody following Kate would have act to follow, but man, could this guy be any worse? No analysis, boring game recaps, no insightfulness or thoughtfulness, and he asks really bad questions at the postgame. He's a zero. Could they really not find anyone else? It's tough to believe. The Deep Sixer Blog is no longer "active" as the only posts are to update injuries or a two sentence post on something that is old news. I'm really bummed out about their coverage after years of being a big time follower of their coverage.
I haven't seen anything of substance yet from John Mitchell - I read more informed opinions on several blogs/boards daily.
btw, if you saw the video of Javale McGee last night, the most shocking thing about it was that he was actually running back on defense.
Saw it. Funny! Then he asks for an alley oop! Classic.
Tuesday practice video: Holiday, Collins on Sixers taking care of the ball so well. They lead NBA by 3.1 turnovers with just 10.7 per game:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/sixers/sixers-holiday-collins/youtube_549f4f49-901d-5ecb-bb1b-cc805c99ca86.html
hey Brian, the new commenting system has been awesome during games, but is there any way to have the comment submitted page automatically redirect to the game thread? Was trying to post from phone last night and had some double posting issues from going back into the thread vs hitting the new comment counter...is that anything you can control?
If you hit "return to comment thread" from the comment submission page it should take you right back to the thread where you were.
Crazy. Portland would be out of the playoffs if they started today.
Hawes doubtful for tomorrow night...MRI scheduled for his lower back.
Sweet.
Damn, hope it's nothing serious, even though he played like a hurt guy. Don't want to speculate too much, but is it possible Hawes has a very small pain threshold? Maybe that's last night's game being fresh in my memory.
Simmons had Bird on his podcast today, and they talked at length about Bird playing through pain. Good listen.
Brian....for whatever reason when I come back to the blog sometimes, all of the comments are collapsed. Even when I haven't read them. Can u add a expand/collapse ALL at the top of the page ?
It's always on the left side of the page in that black tab. Just click "expand" and it'll expand all of them. Toggle will expand the collapsed and collapse the expanded.
I was in the building last night and it was absolutely thrilling. Electric atmosphere down the stretch, the presence of more than a few Lakers fans seemed to juice the home crowd up. Really a great time, best hoops atmosphere in this town in many years
Hawes was absolutely pathetic...makes sense that the injury s still bothering him because it looked like he was afraid to make the effort on the glass...just stood and watch Bynum dominate, it was really bad. That said, I like his passing-5 assists last night-and I hope he gets himself healthy but I am not tremendously optimistic
Lou made a believer out of me last night. And Igoudala was just tremendous on Kobe. I have a 10 game plan, and the people on either side of me have the same thing so I see them every game. One guy, nice guy, actually booed Igoudala when he was announced...I had to let him know that was bs, told him to watch how he shut down Kobe tonight...Iggy made my point in the second half
Is it just me, or does a Evan Turner for Derrick Williams swap make sense for both teams/players?
Don't see Turner and Rubio as a good fit, to be honest. Williams fits pretty well w/ them if he can play the three (assuming he can play at all). I like Williams, I'd take him, but not sure where he'd get his minutes.
He'd be your Brand replacement post-amnesty.
Turner and Rubio probably wouldn't be a perfect pairing, but it seems Williams is blocked behind Love.
I was thinking that a Turner for Favors swap would be more beneficial for both us and Utah. We need a true big man. Not another 3/4 hybrid.
That deal (Turner/Favors) would definitely "fit", but I'd imagine that Utah would be more interested in dealing Jefferson or Milsap to clear playing time for their young bigs.
I wouldn't trade Turner for Milsap.
Yeah, Turner to the Jazz would be all about where teams perceive themselves to be. If the Sixers were making a trade for now because they're off to an 18-7 start, they'd probably prefer Millsap. If the Jazz think they have a legit shot at making the playoffs, they might prefer Turner for Favors. Personally, I'd rather have Favors. Either way, I don't think it happens, though.
I don't think Thorn is going to do anything to mess around w/ the core of the team unless he has a chance to make a major move.
Any chance that our three no contributing players (Nocioni, Brackins, Elson) get traded for a veteran or someone with upside? I know that their only value is that they are expiring contracts but I wonder if team like CHA could give us Diaw or a team like Houston could give us Thabeet.
Brackins to the D-League, by the way.
Is it me or does Spencer Hawes look like he has limited strength in his legs & zero "ups" last night? I wonder how healthy his Achilles/lower back really are at this point.
Hawes has horrible low body strength for a big man. That's always been the biggest problem in his game and it limits him in many aspects.
ESPN Insider (Thorpe and Carroll) rates Thad and Jarue in top 25 NBA players under 25:
"22. Thaddeus Young, PF, 23 years old
Despite not having a truly defined position, Young makes the most of his playing time coming off the bench, enabling his team to enjoy a huge advantage with their second unit. He's a terrific finisher, attacks the rim and plays within his talent level, rather than launching too many shots or making drives that would likely end poorly. He's only 23, but Young us in the midst of his 5th NBA season. And even though the totals have dipped a bit (in part due to a stronger lineup around him) there's still some upside. Similar to: Antawn Jamison
24. Jrue Holiday, PG, 21 years old
Holiday has not made any big jumps forward, but he's a key starter on a very likely playoff team. His team is far worse when he's not in the game. He has the talent to be a much better defender and finisher at the rim, but he's already a dynamite perimeter shooter and a willing ball mover. Another UCLA player that is showing more in the NBA than he did in college, but also that he came into the league having learned how to play defense. Similar to: Danny Ainge"
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7532399/nba-top-25-players-25-kevin-durant-edges-derrick-rose-nba
Similar to Antawn Jamison? I don't think I could think of two more polar opposite players. Thad hustles while Jamison doesn't.
Jamison is also more of a shooter