It's hard to fathom exactly how the Bobcats are 7-7 this season. Their offense is terrible, their defense is below average. Their shot distribution is just crazy. Tonight, the Sixers need to attack this team and make them look like the team that lost by 45 points to the Thunder.
On the defensive end, I think the best idea might be to just stay out of the Bobcats' way. If you look at their point guard rotation's per-game numbers, they seem daunting. Kemba Walker and Ramon Sessions are averaging 33 points and 9.9 assists per game, combined. The problem is they're taking 28.7 shots and 11.5 free throws to get those 33 points. Just keep them off the line and let them shoot. Walker is shooting 22.5% from three on 2.9 attempts/game, Sessions is at 20.6% on 2.4 attempts. Go under every screen, dare these guys to shoot from the outside and they'll sink the offense.
Up front, the Bobcats starting center is out of the Hawes mold. BJ Mullens likes to shoot from the outside, and he's not very good at it. It's hard to believe there's a starting center in the league playing almost 33 minutes/game while shooting 38% from the floor.
On the offensive end, the Sixers are going to have at least one tremendous size advantage in the back court at all times. Among the starters, Jrue needs to work on Kemba in the post mercilessly. Let him back him down to the blocks with his dribble, don't send the needless pick, if they double, kick out for a three, if they don't take the eight-footer right over him. The second unit features Ben Gordon and Sessions. Turner has inches and heft on both of those guys. Put him at the point, stay big elsewhere (Nick Young and Dorrel at the 2/3 works well) and put Turner in the post.
This team has no interior presence among its bigs. When an opportunity like this presents itself, you have to take advantage. Put these guys on the blocks, it'll lead to easy shots inside, trips to the line, and kick outs for wide-open threes.
Defensive keys: Keep the PGs off the line, don't give Ben Gordon open threes.
The tip is at 7pm. This is your game thread. Enjoy!
Henderson's hurt/out a lot in 3+ yrs - 43, 68, 55, 2. Good athlete. Brittle, or just bad luck?
Hakim will be in Washington soon. He hasn't played for them yet.
Head Coach's comments on Kidd-Gilchrist are very favorable. Sounds like he'll be a fixture in Charlotte. Like Gerald Wallace.
Wallace is probably a decent comparison based on what I've heard of him.
I wonder if Rod Thorn regrets not taking BJ Mullens. They had him in for a late workout. He would've fit right in.
Spence & BJ - Swiss cheese D, "The Yodeling Bros."
Sessions - probing, pesky. Walker - quick, daring. Gordon - swish. Could pose problems.
I would not underestimate Sessions. I know at some point in the past Brian cased him out, and I myself have been watching him since Milwaukee. He didn't acquit himself well with the Lakers, but he's going to be a tougher cover than Kemba, in my opinion.
I like Sessions, or used to at least, but he's not a shooter. His numbers are atrocious, mostly due to taking way too many jumpers, I think. Kemba's just pretty bad w/out good play in his past. Get both of them to settle for jumpers and you're golden.
I don't underestimate him. Have seen him play well a couple of times. Another guy that's hard to keep track of. Wonder why he moves so much. Understand his last move; pointing for Kobe is an acquired taste... Charlotte probably feels like Honolulu.
Very old pal Danny "Lebo" Leibovitz is one of the assistant coaches for the Bobs, so it'll be difficult to wish for a blowout. Danny is a Philly kid - well, mainline. But he did coach at Temple, under Don Cheney, and then later at Penn under Jerome Allen. Either way, it makes tonite's game more interesting for me, and i hope it adds another dimension for y'all.
Agree that Jrue and Turner need some post touches tonight but I'm not confident it'll happen. They both have good points per possession numbers in the post but their touches have been limited thus far this year. If Turner can keep hitting that corner three and if Doug would draw up some post-up plays for him, I actually think he could turn himself into a somewhat efficient offensive player.
The corner three is going to be more important if he's going to play the three. Not going to have huge size advantages very often. If he's the backup PG, though, then it's a viable option.
Yea, I don't want Turner in the post against most SF's but when he has the size advantage against a PG or SG, they need to take advantage of it more often. The Bucks game comes to mind when Jrue and Evan should have posted up Jennings and Monta a lot more than they did.
Damn. Poppovich was fined 250k
The season is too damn long, so I don't blame him for resting his vets this early on.
Such bs. Come on. Riley got in trouble for this a long time ago - held out players just before the playoffs. Coaches should be able to play whom they want to play. I realize it's entertainment, but coaches coach and commissioners, uh, meddle.
The Popovich thing is an absolute travesty to the sanctity and integrity of the game. Stern suddenly believes he has turned himself into 'the' Dr. James Naismith. It's no longer about the game itself, it's become all about the performance.
Heaven forbid he even comes close to getting away this. Clear lame duck power stroke by him; such a disrespectful one too.
lavoy tip in
thanks Lavoy!
Lavoy follow.
Just a nice dish in-close by Jrue. wow
Nice stepback from Walker there. Jrue was just shook. Nothing you can do about those on defense sometimes.
jrue in the post
thats there all night
Jrue you better get out on him, Walker, he will pull those 3's.
Jrue answers...
Ugh Jrue, you should have scoopted it up there, not passed it. (tried)
JRich...
thad
Lavoy block, Lavoy causes a travel. Good job there.
Thad.
nice pass jrue
Ohhhhh Jrue to Thad!! damn!!!!!!!!
That shit was left-handed off the dribble, ZOOM! heh
The above posts all to do with Jrue, and nothing to do with Thad.
Damn Jrue, another beauty, heh. nice quick touch pass to Thad again.... wow
*above two
Jrue stays lazy off a screen, and leaves Walker for another from deep.
JRich...
Come on Lavoy, BRICK, don't even shoot that man if it's gonna be that bad. And bad thing was he took mucho time to load the damn thing up.
oof nice dunk by...whatever bobcat that was DAMMIT HAWES
I so wish Hawes would stop pulling the quick trigger on those clanked jumpers.
thad
sixer bigs need to slip the screen more often, mix it up a little
Nice play there. Evan gave the ball inside to Thad, rubbed by Thad with his man following, and Thad just followed them, for a window for a good look he converted.
swaggy!
ET with that opposite-side turnaround.
Nick for 3.
this lineup will struggle
An ok quarter, nothing special collectively, though Jrue was individually. 'Cats intensity is higher than theirs at the moment. Defense is a bit relaxed, more nastyness on that end would be good.
And ol Maalik ins't shy or hesitant at all about shooting the ball, heh...
Wayns rains! ^right after saying that
Doug must tell him to gun like Lou or Iverson when he gets his run. Just to switch up the tempo on them or something.
Nick!
Gordon answers.
d3!
Bismack sissy hook over Hawes is even no good.
Nick was out of bounds on that one. Nice.
This is a good competitive game so far. Not that they all aren't or something, but this one just feels stepped up in a weird way. The level of play is turned up early here it seems.
Wayns is a shooting mutha...
nice lavoy
Dorell with a bullet pass right by Hawes, ugh
Timeout Doug.
Defense is too damn porous at times. It's so penetrable, and shouldn't be because that's what help is for. But it often never comes.
Expected Dorrell Wright to be much better than this, he's been terrible all year.
et +1
ET with the nice conversion earning the trip...made it.
nice ET, show MJ your inner attack the basket and drawing fouls and you might actually have a chance at this game
JRich steal... ugh bad JRich pass ... double ugh they get a 3
thad
Jrue way long on a 3..
Mullens missed 3.
Thad floater rolls in...
lavoy tip dunk
The Bobcats are getting some good looks at the basket... luckily they're not making all of them.
Lavoy follow-dunk! off Thad's trickling shot
lavoy tip in
wow Lavoy showing some game hmm
Like that Gordon missed layup..
Lavoy follow again... heh
If somebody on the Sixers can guard Ben Gordon, please put whomever that is on him. He's the only thing killing us, practically single-handedly.
30 of the Bobcats current 44 points have come from their backcourt. That speaks volumes to our lack of help defense.
They need to close this last 1:53 out hard here.
Thad foul. come on they're going to the line. ugh not a good start.
Hawes in for Thad, who has 2 fouls. Great start again on this last 2 min w/ SuperHawes out there...
evan jumper
ET probe, and deposit.
He got air, hung up there, and steadied before the release at his highest point. Beautiful.
Apt description.
Lavoy hands in the cookie jar.
nice cut from evan
Giving them freebies is not what we want to do in the last two minutes of a quarter.
ET flashes, Jrue delivers, ET makes.
sissy dunk
Oh my freaking Goodness!! Jrue with the awesome sauce pass to none other than Spencer for an actual motherfucking SLAM!
............(yes he did jam it believe it or not wow
lol at Hawes dunking an assist what a rarity
When bigs finish, Jrue gets 10 assists by halftime.
That was the best display of soft basketball ever. Somehow Hawes falls down guarding Mullens, just kinda sits on the ground while BJ gets the ball, Mullens takes advantage of his man being on his ass by...shooting a fadeaway 18 footer?
It doesn't get any softer than that.
Look, that 1st half Jrue only has 2 pts and they are up by 4. Take that for what you will...
Ten dimes at the half equals a Dollar.
Thad gets straight blown by. He should be embarrassed, bend down some kid... shit
turner corner 3!
woah maybe they should leave ET that wide open more often
ET 3!
He almost threw one away right before he sunk that one. He's showing some consistency at that particular shot lately.
That Turner corner 3 looked good all the way. It is extremely encouraging.
Zumoff has declared the left corner "Turnersville"
ET, he walked though I think....
jrue
I liked Jeffrey Taylor way more than I did Harkless. Just did.
Jrue.
Lavoy is so fucking lazy on D. He is so non-effort like. It's fucking pitiful.
nice jrue
j-rich from the post
Jrue lay-in.
Lavoy causes himself to be in bad position and gives up an o-board.
JRich.
J Rich with the postup on Kemba, we need to exploit that more
Haywood dunk. Lavoy's man again
Jrue ducking backdoor. Thad on-point delivery. wow
et tip in
ET follow!
ET with the offensive board for a change!
cmon guys, just keep playing keepaway and stay ahead of these losers....why no Kwame so far though?
had a cameo in the first half, lavoy has been decent tonight
Jrue earns one!! up 10
Jrue went left, back right quick, then back left again for the nice open look.
Lavoy put in his effort for the week in the first half, he needs a nap now
Like Lavoy on that play, he just watches the basket, never pursuing the ball or trying to judge an angle when it was going to carom off the rim. He just looks so lost on that one play there.
Lavoy provided some offense in the first half. But Haywood parking himself in the lane and Lavoy not able to do anything about it. Damn I have to say it, would like to see Kwame out there a few minutes to see how he does against Haywood.
Forced shot Jrue, off them though.
Nick blocked, ugh...bad awareness.
Bismack layin on ET, Brian potentially smiles.
Jrue wasn't it?
not that he couldn't so the same on ET, size advantage either way
Shit, they get a cheapie o-board, Taylor 3.
nice pass nick
Man, damn backcourt turnover. Unacceptable.
How many freaking turnovers are we gonna make. Ugh.
Mullens with another bullshit "swing" shot to force a foul call.
Hawes Biyombo. Funny just to think.
Extend this lead here the last minute.
ET in your mouth. heh he's on fucking fire
Good foul
If Turner can shoot anywhere like that regularly.. wow.
ET and Thad - 14 for 19.
terrible possession
Wayns guns a 3. He's got to stop that mess.
Hawes abused.
Only up 3. Long way to go.
Haha when Wayns threw it to Turner I was like, surely he can't make this one
Not a bad use of 6 or 7 seconds by Wanys. Good look at a poor shooter, but a good look nonetheless.
Who's gonna step up in this 4th quarter? It's probably going to be Jrue, Evan, or Thad. Hope it ends in one for the home team. Let's go!
And One x Two
cmon ET just crash right into those dudes and put that up
Turner wow. Bailout shot. ANd-1.
ET being so patient, earning another trip to the line. Good ass job kid.
Kwame in there defending on Biyombo. Stark contrast?
Maalik blown by... terrible layup for them.
Wayns guns one for the answer.
Turner with his second must-foul on Biyombo. Right moves, but both times there was no big nearby. Biyo is quick.
Biyombo has no concept whatsoever of how to shoot a basketball. Just saying
WHAT no call on ET...er, Wayns drawing that charge?
Flop
Kwame is 7' and 280 lbs and short-arms that shit.. .he's so soft.
Wow Kwame just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't think it was possible but he's doing worse than Lavoy. I'm sorry for thinking it was worth a try.
Jrue lucky with that ball management... lucky in that it supposedly went off Mullens
Jrue hasn't been on point with his drives tonight. Not totally focused, but I think he turns it around.
Let's get Turner and Thad bring us through this W. Come on.
...their unis say CATS really?
GREAT D by J-Rich. Really made Mullens looks small.
nice thad
Thad.
j-rich 3!
Bismack! Career high 14....
JRich MONEY!
*is 14
MKG abusing
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
j-rich again!
BJ looking like SH out there launching.
o-board...thad fumbles it.\\
JRich MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
great find.
Also, Kwame is gonna get beat on a lob if he doesn't start tracking Biyombo back down the floor.
BB ties his career high.
damn this Biyumbo fellow looks like a decent bball player
Make these Thad.
5 min to glory...
Good trap. Only 6 on the clock for them...
Credit to J-Rich, he is a pesky defender. A step slow, but effective.
woohoo JRICH!!!
j-rich 3
JRich MONEY!!!! Good ball movement...
nice move evan
Obligatory Turner supporter comment:
Proving the doubters wrong!!!
ET w/ the holllldddd-it, scoooooop it!!! yeah!!!!!!!!!!
ET showing off the YMCA moves, kid plays with a nice old mans game when he's confident
check
lol, that is actually the perfect way to describe his game
Biyombo having a good game proves how horrible the Sixers interior defense is. Biyombo stinks like 2 day old baby shit!!
Still up 6 w/ just under 4 to go....dig deep guys long way still to go
wow this JRich fellow appears to be decent, how'd we get him again?
5 on evan
Turner, play making, ev-ficcient, killing it. Other than the five fouls.
I think that was an Evan o-board, pass to Thad, Thad pass to JRich and 8 pt lead...?
competent work by Lavoy underneath there too no?
Jrue forces a bad shot. Our ball...
Rick Brunson sighting on Charlotte's bench
Close this guys. COme on...
this JRich fellow wow...he may be totally gassed tomorrow but sell out for the W while you can i guess...and just like that Sessions plows right through...AND A THREE!!!
And that's how Sessions has a 40 point game under his belt.
J-Rich is the player of the game, 4 monster threes
Jrue w/ another forced-ass shot, JRich o-board.
ET rims out. Ramon... shit
stop holding the ball, run something
j-rich 3!!!
Turner with the pissed off rip down. Sure wanted to give Biyombo an elbow.
JRich is so clutch. He really is.
man oh man not quite punishing bc this is way too close but still a solid W and a man's rebound by Jrue at the end!
Jrue... nope. His own tip-in?.... Dagger
And Kemba with the stat padding.
Jrue with a mans 15 dimes tonight.
ET as efficient as ever. That was a collectively good ass effort, Lavoy withstanding. The best win I've seen since the Jazz game.
ben gordon
15 points in the 1st half
4 in the 2nd half
Jrue and Evan both with double-doubles. Thad with a typical line. J-Rich being the key between Holiday and Turner. Lavoy... with a double-double, but horrid defense all night.
It's nice to see Turner playing with confidence these past few games. He's also sulking less when he makes a mistakes. Hopefully he can continue to progress. Hawes is so annoying. Not a speck of athletic ability.
Team defense-wise this was a terrible night. Nobody played well.
Not sulking after mistakes is a direct result of Collins not yanking him for every mistake. The ET supporters said since Day 1 that Collins instant yanking of him was the main reason for his lack of production.
Sorry..I like ET but he's had every opportunity to produce. You can't just blame Collins for Turner's poor play over the past couple seasons. Remember he was billed as "the most NBA-ready player in the draft." I love what he is doing now and I hope he keeps it up. This team needs him.
In my opinion he would have done this his rookie year had he been given the minutes he has been given this season. For example, in tonight's game, in which he rocked again, he started 0 for 2. That would have resulted in a benching in his first 2 seasons, and everyone would have said "another 2 bricks this kid can't shoot."
He's the same body, the difference this year is that he actually is allowed to stay in the game even if he misses some shots.
I disagree. Turner can be his own worst enemy. The coach has had to reign him in. Push & Prod to get him to play the proper way with his teammates. Hopefully, this Turner we've been seeing recently is the real deal. I think so. The team was turned over to Jrue & Evan this year and they are really responding positively. Now if Collins can get Hawes to play to his potential we'll have something. Also, if he can get that bowler on the court..............
10 down....40 to go :)
Huge game for Turner. I'd like for him not to play w/ his head down so much, but when he's hitting his shots, it doesn't matter. Great work on the glass, too.
I'd pay any amount of money to wake up in the morning and suddenly find out the Sixers had Biyombo instead of Hawes.
Jrue's shot was way off tonight, but 15 dimes to 3 assists. That's huge.
Big, big shots by Richardson. Toss up for POTG between Richardson and Turner, going with Turner mostly for that disgusting up and under from 12 feet that he hit underhand.
Straight paused that shit. Fucking filthy. heh
so they call turnovers "assists" now eh?
Jrues TO's are assists left unanswered.
Really impressive how Jrue has stepped up in several games to be like Rondo when his shot is off like Rondo. Shows a nice maturity to his game. I'm starting to think he has a bit more of a ceiling than I thought.
As for ET, fingers crossed that we have not just witnessed "his 3 games where he goes off." Keep it up.
My man ET is bringing it, and I never had any doubts!
really??
Really. Never once did I waiver from saying ET would be a star. The talent was always there, the minutes weren't. Now the minutes are there (as long as Collins doesn't revert to his old ways, which is always a possibility lying out there like a vulcher).
Hmm... I've always been a Turner backer, but kind of uneasy about it. You have to admit he's played pretty poorly for stretches in his 1st 3 years, ineptly enough to justify being yanked by even the most forgiving coach. Brian's right to point out his head-down tendency - it's almost always a sign of a below-average player - but he seems to be getting over it slowly. He seems like a flake, but his court sense is very good and he has a solid floor game - that's almost always the sign of a good player.
Well everyone plays poorly for stretches, including Jrue and Iggy, the heroes of the Sixer blogosphere.
Evan's points and rebound averages, considering his minutes and number of shots, were fairly solid his first two years. He just didn't play or shoot much.
As much of a proponent of Turner that I've been the last couple of years, even I know that he couldn't produce at his current level without making tremendous strides in certain areas of his game. My estimation this past summer for him to become an efficient scorer, and thus his other contributions become more appreciable, were that he had to get to the line four times on 12 shots and hit the three at his position average. He couldn't do those things prior to this season, he wasn't there yet mentally or physically.
the fact that he's taking and making threes is mind-blowing and does great things for his efficiency, our floor spacing, and his ability to get by defenders who now have to play up on him
I keep doing that. Some kind of mental block or something.
Weird - I didn't even notice.
Think I'll watch NBA tv until I see that disgusting underhand shot a 2nd time.
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sportsweek/20121130_Turners_comfort_zone_is_growing_larger_all_the_time.html
At the 00:26 mark or thereabout.
Meeks 5/5 from 3 tonight for the Lakers and not even halftime. He still sucks.
What was that word that Doug used earlier in the year (may have been the preseason?) to describe what he wanted Turner to do/become? Was it "unlocked" or "get comfortable"? I forget what it was but Tom Moore had an article on it.
In saying that, I don't know which way the 60%/40% credit should go, to Doug or Evan. In favor of Doug for appearing to get through to the kid mentally, or in favor of Evan for actually settling into his role and finding his niche and not pressing and sulking so much when little things don't go well.
Maybe it's just 50/50. But this recent stretch of consistency from Evan harkens me back to when Doug made that comment (word) that I can't remember exactly.
Seems to me that Turner's career arc is following along exactly as many who knew of his history predicted.
Coach Matta at Ohio State said that high school Evan was terrible as a freshman and sophomore and gradually improved into a star as he got more comfortable. Same progression at OSU. Now in his third year in the league, he seems to be settling in, knowing he "belongs" at this level.
I guess it's difficult to gauge how long it might take someone to find their way in the NBA. Many never do. For the Sixers sake I'm really glad to see him looking like he's turned the corner.
While last night's game was a really fun one to watch, with tonight being an on-the-road back-to-back, they better clean up their team defense tenfold if they even want to have a chance tonight. They played really really bad on that end of the floor.
And I can't even bring myself to allude to any positive accolades about Lavoy for his double-double as I can't get past how lazy he was on defense all night and the extremely piss-poor effort he put forth. It was excruciating to watch.
That is not to take away from the ineptitude of the rest of the guys on that end of the floor collectively though. Be interesting to see how they perform on that end tonight with the sure-to-be weary legs. Meaning if they looked as they did last night with fresh legs off of three days rest then tonight should be a doozy. Just something to keep an eye on because they should have to work even harder on the offensive end to get looks against Thib's defense.