Every stat will tell you the Sixers have been one of the best teams in the league to this point, if not the single best. They've been murdering teams, dominating with their defense and pummeling with their offense. Their detractors will ask, "Who have they played?" Well, tonight they have a chance to take down a playoff team from last season in the Pacers. A team that's 6-2 and sports some impressive defensive stats of their own.
Offensively, the Pacers have been a nightmare, and they've been dragged down by the abysmal shooting of Danny Granger. Granger is shooting 30.7% from the floor, but he certainly isn't cutting down on his attempts (16.5 FGA/36 min). When I see numbers like that from a guy who's been a pretty good shooter for his entire career, it actually worries me. I always think they're going to break out against the Sixers. I'm hoping Doug Collins will glue Iguodala to Granger all night, just to make sure that doesn't happen.
Up front, Roy Hibbert is off to a solid start (though it's unbelievable how rarely he gets to the line), while David West is not. Tyler Hansbrough has one of the most amazing stats I've ever seen. He's played 222 minutes, attempted 87 shots and has zero assists. That's completely unbelievable to me. You'd think you can take advantage of that aversion to passing somehow, maybe by doubling him, but you really don't need to. Let the Pacers give the ball to the black hole and let him shoot, he's hitting only 39% of his shots.
Unless someone bucks their early season trend, the defensive game plan is pretty simple. Double Hibbert, get the ball out of his hands, and make sure you don't leave Paul George or Darren Collison open for threes. No matter who winds up taking the shots, the Sixers need to be extra diligent in controlling the defensive glass. Hansbrough, Hibbert, West, Amundson and Foster are all excellent on the offensive glass (and they get plenty of opportunities with all the shots their team misses). If anything is going to submarine the Sixers' D, it's going to be rebounding.
If Indy's starting lineup gives the Sixers problems, I'd expect to see Turner in there sooner rather than later. Paul George has a big size mismatch with Jodie on him, and they're going to need Jrue's defense on Collison. Turner can man up on Paul and take away the advantage.
On the offensive end, Jrue's got a big size advantage on Collison, and he needs to exploit it. He bullied Calderon a couple of times in the Toronto game, whenever there's a lull on the offensive end, they should go to Jrue. West is a guy who Brand can do work against, go at that as well.
This is the last game where the Sixers will really be rested for the next week. They need to come out strong against the Pacers and press every advantage they can create. I'd also hope they play this game without an eye toward the next two. If you have enough of a lead, go ahead and rest the guys, but until the game is decided, use your normal rotations. Three games in three nights is nothing to toy with, but it's not worth sacrificing a game at this point. They'll probably have a better opportunity to regulate the minutes against Sacramento, just make sure you get this win.
The tip is at 7pm. Game thread will be up in the late afternoon. The early line was Sixers -4.5. What do you think?
Gonna be a really tough game, especially if we get off to a slow start again.
And yes, I share the fear of Danny Granger suddenly finding his range and hitting everything. That kinda thing always happens against the Sixers.
I'd say it'll be tough but a good team will win most of its home games. I'll be happy with any kind of win seriously.
It will be a good match-up between Jrue and Collison.
This is a scary game. The Pacers are a decent team this season (even though i think they are massively overrated at this point). They also have a big and physical frontcourt in Hibbert, West and Hansbrough. Basically, they are the kind of team that can cause a lot of problems for the Sixers. Another thing of note is that the Pacers have a solid defensively oriented bench in Hill, Hansbrough, D.Jones and Foster/ This is gonna be a major test for the team. The good thing is they are not a good offensive team and their ball movement is bad. This game has to be won with defense again. Looking forward to an ugly game. Hopefully, the sixers can come out on top.
Prediction: 85 - 80 Sixers win
I think the Pacers are a bit more talented and better balanced than the Sixers, but coaching could balance that. Overall these next three games should tell us a lot about those team. The Pacers and Knicks are the types of teams the Sixers have to try and separate themselves from.
I think the Pacers are a bit more talented and better balanced than the Sixers, but coaching could balance that. Overall these next three games should tell us a lot about those team. The Pacers and Knicks are the types of teams the Sixers have to try and separate themselves from.
I think the Pacers are only more talented at one position- center. But they are more balanced.
I agree Hibbert is better than anything we have at the five, but I'm not really sold on him being a plus center. He started off like this last season, as well, then faded. His season numbers were pretty bad. Need to see him sustain production for an entire season.
Disagree about Indy having more talent. In the starting five, they have an advantage at the five and probably the two, Brand/West is a wash at this point, Iguodala is better than Granger, Lou is better than Collison. I'll take Lou, Thad, Turner over Hill, Hansbrough, Foster, and it's not really that close.
Who has the advantage when it comes to Turner vs. George?
I think George has more room to grow and can be a more traditional wing, but Turner is better at the moment as a player. That can change though. George is one of those guys that i was low on but continues to surprise me in a positive way.
I don't see how Turner's better than George at the moment as a player. As scorers they're about the same, except George has a devastating three-point shot and Turner doesn't have a three-point shot at all. I'd say that staying connected to him is one of the more important things we have to do tonight.
Louis Amundson- I honestly didn't think that he would be in the league for this long.
My latest from SB Nation Philly, on how the Sixers are relentless in their attack.
granger and hill are game time decisions tonight
https://twitter.com/#!/MikeWellsNBA/status/156396520558690305
I got Granger on my fantasy team but i'll take a no show against the Sixers :). No Granger and Hill would be a huge help for the Sixers.
also,Roy Hibbert (ankle) will be a game-time decision for Monday's game at Philadelphia
This should be an interesting game. The Pacers (like the Sixers) are an up-and-coming team without a true superstar trying to contend with a bunch of above average, but no truly great, pieces. Similar to the Sixers, they are trying to use depth and young legs to take advantage of the shortened season and make a splash in the playoffs.
Opening line for the game is at -4.5 for the Sixers. A little high in my opinion as the Pacers could certainly win this outright and it should be a close game. However, Vegas has to adjust for the fact that Philly has been consistently covering spreads to start the season.
Hopefully, Granger stays in his shooting funk and West continues to struggle getting back into game shape. As mentioned in the post, I expect to see a lot of Turner in this one to contend with their size on the wings.
Let's pull this one out boys!
"We play smashmouth basketball." - Frank Vogel, after Pacers beat Celtics 87-74 Friday night.
"We play wheel-chair basketball," Doc Rivers, after Celtics lost to Pacers 87-74 Friday night.
Funny. But be certain, readers, first quote is accurate, second is fiction.
By number of lopsided scores so far, the league is chock full of handicapped teams, night by night.
To the loose balls go the spoils. To that end, Sixers usually have advantages ... long athleticism and sheer will, as strongly transfused by Doug and staff. Tonight will be interesting in that regard: televised "King of the Hill."
Any word on Hawes' back?
As far as i know he will play.
from twitter:
@preston76: Coach Collins tells media that Hawes told him "he's ready to go tonight."
It might be a benefit for us if Granger ends up playing because Iguodala has done so well against him in the past.
Game is really won on the defensive glass tonight. That has been sort of their one weakness (they are league average for the year, 17th among 30) and if they do even a decent job there, I really think that they should win this game. Even though the Pacers have been pretty impressive so far, the Sixers have been more impressive. Should be a good one though.
For as good as Hawes has been, Vucevic's per minute numbers have been just as good if not better.
I really don't understand the people saying that our season would be over if Hawes goes down.
Hawes has bailed us out with his jump shooting. I don't think Vucevic could replace that production
I don't think the season would be over, but it would be really tough to man the minutes at the five w/out Hawes. And Vucevic has played 59 minutes to this point, about 50 of them have been with the Sixers up by 20+ points.
I have been a Hawes detractor, but I think he has been the biggest difference between this year and last. Having a serviceable center is a big asset that most teams do not have, and Hawes has been better than serviceable. Especially his rebound numbers.
Antoine Walker actually plays in the D-League? With Randy Livingston as his coach? Both guys drafted in '96, weird seeing that.
this is unrelated but figured a good place to ask. i live out of market and the nba league pass free trial is over. im debating getting the nba league pass, but also want to consider the nba broadband pass as an alternative option. i subscribe to the mlb equivalent, and absolutely love it. does anyone here have the nba broadband pass? if so, are you happy with it, or should i spend more and get the tv channels instead.
also, i have a computer attached to my tv, so the setup is fine for broadband, if the quality is there.
thanks and go sixers!
You get the broadband package included w/ your league pass purchase through your cable company. That's the route I take (and they also added LP to the Roku player, which I hook up to my TV, which is awesome for watching replays. In fact, I may wind up going w/ the Roku player for watching actual games, since they're in HD). Not sure if any of that helps.
If it's cheaper for broadband only, maybe go with that. I like having all the games available on my TV, though.
thank you.
An idea...
http://www.philebrity.com/2012/01/09/readers-write-a-modest-proposition-regarding-black-moses-and-your-philadelphia-76ers/
4 out 5 "experts" in ESPN's 5on5 have the Sixers as the 5th best team in the NBA right now.
Finally, some credit where credit's due.