Either the Sixers are beginning to figure this whole close game thing out, or the law of averages is doing its work. Either way, the Sixers picked up another close win over a bad team and somehow claimed a stranglehold on the coveted #7 seed in the Eastern Conference (by percentage points over Indy).
Charts
Thoughts
- The good news is this game didn't follow the alarming trend of playing no defense against bad teams and somehow executing just enough on the offensive end to pull out a win. Instead, this was a pretty good defensive game, statistically speaking, and the offense was poor. Personally, I find this type of performance more heartening because it's in line with the direction I believe the team should be headed, but we are talking about the Bobcats here, so take it with a grain of salt.
- It seems pretty clear to me that Doug Collins is nearing the end of his rope. Spencer Hawes played exactly 42 seconds in the second half before Collins had seen enough. Hawes was sent to the bench after what was a pitiful effort, something that is far from rare these days. Collins then sent Lou Williams into the game for Jrue after Jrue lost D.J. Augustin on a give-and-go play. Jrue was only on the bench for 49 seconds, that time, but he clearly spent the rest of the game in Collins doghouse. So much so, that Jrue didn't start the overtime period, and didn't get off the bench until the final 37 seconds of OT for defensive purposes. I have to say, I absolutely hate the way Jrue is being marginalized in end-of-game and end-of-quarter situations. Hate it with a passion. It's tough to muster a specific argument for this game, considering it was one of Jrue's worst shooting performances of the season (3/14 on the game), but I don't like the way this Lou/Jrue situation is trending one bit.
- Excellent overall game for Iguodala. 16 points on 10 shots, 10 boards, 6 dimes, 2 steals and only 1 turnover. Iguodala's jumper was on and he hit a big jumper late in OT.
- Evan Turner was all over the glass and very, very effective on the defensive end. Without the Nocioni crutch, Collins was forced to go with actual defense instead of imagined toughness when the team needed a stop. Turner provided that. His shot was way off, though. It was big of him to step up and hit those 4 free throws in OT to ice the game. Great to see.
- The one sub that really shocked me in the fourth quarter came with 9:39 remaining. Speights hit a jumper and grabbed an o-board for a putback over the first couple of possessions in the fourth, and seemed active on both ends. Collins yanked him after less than three minutes in the fourth and we never saw him again. Considering the trouble Thad was having offensively (4/16 from the floor, with about 10 missed layups) and defensively (Diaw had a triple-double, thanks in large part to Thad's "defense" on him), I thought Collins should've rewarded Speights for the effort and maybe gone with a bigger lineup w/ Speights at the five and Brand at the four, at least for a couple of minutes in the fourth. No such luck, though.
- Lou was very, very good Lou in the second half tonight. He was scoring at will, in a variety of ways, and he wasn't really killing the ball movement, either. His work on the defensive end is another matter, but that's not news.
- Elton Brand was clearly the leading POTG candidate at the half, having already gone for a double-double, but his production tailed off dramatically. He finished with 13 pts, 13 boards and 5 blocks in 46 tough minutes. Brand's biggest contribution in the second half was his fouls, though. Collins must've made it clear to his guys that free layups weren't going to be allowed anymore. Brand gave three very hard fouls on the interior, including one that led to a six-point possession for the Bobcats. Their interior defense was reminiscent of earlier parts of this season where they used fouls in lieu of a weakside shotblocker. I'm hoping they get back to that mentality, mainly because I'm sick of seeing guys get to the rim unmolested against this porous interior.
- Overall, a win they had to have and they got it on the back of their defense. The three Lou hit to send the game to overtime was a well-designed play and great execution by Lou (thank God Augustin bit on the pump fake, huh?). That's much, much different than the prayer three he hit against MIL when he dribbled the air out of the ball and hit a tough shot that had about a 10% chance of dropping.
Player of The Game: Lou Williams. 23 points (all in the second half) on 8/15 from the floor, 6/7 from the line.
Team Record: 17-23
Up Next: @ Orlando, Wednesday night.
Game capsule
Williams is averaging 36 points per 48 minutes in the last six games.
and how many rebounds and how many assists
I'm tired of seeing lines from lou where the assists/rebounds total is less than 4
Lou Williams - top 20 usage rate - WOO HOO
Hawes on what he told Turner with 7 minutes left in fourth quarter Friday: "It’s something you’ve got to get used to, especially for a guy like him who’s so creative and so talented. Being able to take a good shot and turn it into a great shot is something you learn as a young player. If you get the shot and you’re ready, shoot it."
First time I ever saw a 6 point play.
Impressive, huh?
cousins with an inefficient 20 and 8 against the hawks.
That's two bad games for Jrue in a row. Iguodala wasn't holding anyone back either, he scored his points with about as little time with the ball in his hands as possible.
Pretty much all of his shots looked forced to me today. Like, "well, I can get one up so I better. Might not get another chance."
Overall, he's off the ball way too much for my liking.
Hey - Doug Collins is a great coach - he knows what he's doing
I had mixed feelings about this game, but I wasn't as down on the team and the coach as most of you seemed to be. This was an unlikely win, as the Sixers survived dry spells in both the 4th quarter and OT to pull it out. They were lucky Charlotte was limited, with only two of their players playing well, but the Sixers themselves had only two players playing well by the end.
Some thoughts about the game:
* Collins had a poor substitution sequence in the 4th, but I thought his subs in the 3rd saved the game. Last year, it would have been a 20-point deficit by the end of the quarter. Bringing Lou and Speights in for Meeks and Hawes paid immediate dividend (of course, it's on Collins for continuing to start the latter two).
* I like that Collins has rested Iguodala for brief periods in the middle of quarters, because it gives Iguodala a chance to slow down and process the game. It hurt the team in the 4th, though, because Charlotte scored 5 points in the blink of an eye when Iguodala sat. Iguodala, by the way, is now 6th in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio, a remarkable number for someone who isn't a point guard.
* For the Iguodala critics who say he never comes through in the clutch, mark down the two plays in this game: drive and two important foul shots in the 4th, jumper in OT.
* I was left wondering if Meeks was trying to break the record for most lay-ups without hitting the rim.
* I also wondered whether Turner's sequence vs. Diaw set the record for worst-looking-play-while-having-consecutive-shots-blocked, but then Dominic McGuire broke that record vs. Brand just a few minutes later.
* Some of Hawes' plays were just indescribably bad. The one where he found himself under the rim and threw it into a sea of Bobcats left me speechless, mouth agape.
* The Sixers are worst in the league in "free throw defense" -- teams hit over 79% against them. It's easy to see why when people like Kwame Brown (56% this year) go 5-5. It's kind of like how no one ever misses field goals vs. the Eagles.
* Regarding the Lou/Jrue sub pattern, I wouldn't read into it too much beyond this game. Lou was playing extremely well, Augustin was shooting poorly all game (so Lou's defense wasn't hurting the team), and the team needed a bigger off guard to prevent Jackson from posting up (Turner). Jrue was hot and cold with his defense throughout the game, but I thought he played excellent defense for the stretch in the 3rd when the team caught up.
* Turner made one great move in the lane to free himself up for a 10-footer, but it was too bad he missed the shot. I liked his defense for the most part (and he did it without fouling), and his rebounding was important. His contribution to the game was Iguodala-like, and I've always thought it's not a bad thing to have more players like Iguodala.
* I liked Speights' play (much more than Hawes' for sure), but it was disturbing that he couldn't finish that one time he got the ball close to the basket. I wonder if his knee still isn't 100%, because he would have dunked that in his rookie season.
* Thad was off all game, and I thought he rushed some of his shots. It reminded me of how he played last year. Hopefully he'll get back to the smooth play we've seen most of the year.
I'll be interested to see if the long hoped-for personnel changes come about soon. I'd love to see an Iguodala-Brand-Speights-Holiday-Turner starting lineup vs. Orlando.
* Some of Hawes' plays were just indescribably bad. The one where he found himself under the rim and threw it into a sea of Bobcats left me speechless, mouth agape.
If this is the play where Hawes attempted to back down Gerald Wallace, where wallace showed how incredibly weak Hawes really is, and ended up behind the back board with 2 seconds on shot clock left resulting in him throwing it out to the 3 point line, then I too noticed how bad this was. Hawes looked very weak out there, got pushed around like a ragdoll.
"Sixers survived dry spells in both the 4th quarter and OT to pull it out"
Can we stop calling it dry spells, and correctly call it horribly ran offense? Happens in every game, come fourth quarter our team shuts down.
Hawes on what he told Turner Friday: "It’s something you’ve got to get used to, especially for a guy like him who’s so creative and so talented. Being able to take a good shot and turn it into a great shot is something you learn as a young player. If you get the shot and you’re ready, shoot it."
One thing that is most depressing about the sixers is their consistency (or lack thereof)
It is clear from watching this LaL/OKC game, that Phil has no interest in regular season games. He's had luke walton defending durant. He doesn't call a time out as he watches his team give up a 15 point lead.
Also, I think Luke Walton is the only player i can honestly say that Hawes is better than.
Final thoughts from this game. Bulls are much better than the thunder. OKC is still far from being a contender.
I know the Walton on Durant mismatch won't happen when barnse comes back, but I think the Lakers really miss Jordan Farmar, Russell Westbrook vs Steve blake (as well as fisher) is a major mismatch. Blake simply cannot handle Westbrook physically and if OKC are to ever beat the lakers in a playoff series i think it would come off the back of Westbrook and not Durant.
Just wanted to mention that, while I was made fun of earlier in the season for saying that the Clippers were an exemplar of rebuilding, they're now 7-3 in their last 10, beat the Heat and Lakers, and got 47 and 14 from Griffin tonight. My new favorite rookie, Ed Davis, had 11 and 12 with 2 blocks on 5-8 shooting. And Monroe had 16 and 9 tonight against Dallas - on the month, he's averaging 12 and 9, very efficiently.
Well, when you make bold statements like, "every rookie except the one the Sixers got is my total favorite" you're probably going to be able to point some crap out every night, no?
Did you happen to see how the Kings game ended?
The Clippers have been under .500 in 17 of the past 18 years. They've had 9 coaches over that span. They've had 13 top 10 picks, 7 of them top 5. They've had 4 top 3 picks. It's about time they lucked into a "can't miss #1 prospect".
They get no props from me for drafting Blake Griffin. He was the result of nearly 2 decades of ineptitude, a decision so obvious even they couldn't screw it up.
I don't care what Greg Monroe did over an 8 game stretch on a team play .366 ball. It doesn't change my long term evaluation of him. Nor do I care what Ed Davis did over a 2 game stretch, on a team that has lost 11 of its last 14.
Anybody changing their opinion substantially, good or bad, is making a mistake. Anybody trying to prove they were right or wrong less than half a season into a rookie season is wasting their time.
As well as they've been playing, aren't you the one who discredited five or six game win streaks when the Sixers had them? They really are the same thing as winning 7 out of 10.
As well as they've been playing, aren't you the one who discredited five or six game win streaks when the Sixers had them? They really are the same thing as winning 7 out of 10.
While eating my breakfast this morning, the last play and the overtime was on replay on league pass this morning.
I must say, if I didn't know they won the game, you wouldn't get the feeling they were going to. Jacksons clean look at the end of regulation and the awful rebounding and offensive sets in overtime. The Bobcats just weren't hitting much.
Turner was doing his best on Diaw from what I saw but just couldn't handle him for some reason