82 of 82. The Sixers will put a bow on the regular season tonight against the Detroit Pistons. Will they use this last game as a tune up for their first round playoff series with the Miami Heat? Will they play their regulars knowing they'll have at least two off days before that series begins? Will they actually show some appreciation for the fans on fan appreciation night by defending their home court one last time? Your guess is as good as mine.
There are definitely a couple of reasons for the Sixers to play to win this game. A win would give them a winning record on the season. A loss would give them consecutive losses at home for the first time since November. Maybe getting the taste of winning back in their mouths heading into Miami would be a positive. I'll let you decide how valid those reasons when weighed against getting the starters some extra rest. Personally, I don't want to risk anything when nothing is really on the line. If rust is a concern, play the starters for a couple of six minute stretches together. Then get the key guys on the bench.
I haven't read anything today about Collins' plans for tonight's game, but I know he made finishing with a winning record an important goal for the team, and he's preached all season about not losing two in a row at home, so my guess is that he's going to play to win this game.
If he does use his regulars for heavy minutes, it would be great to see them get back to doing the things they've done so well in the past. Mainly, what I want to see is better shooting from the guards and better team defense. If Iguodala plays, I'm hoping we'll see a little more spring in his step. Hopefully, the rest will have done him some good.
Elton Brand and Thad Young are the only guys who have been clicking over the past few game, I'd like to see them stay hot. I'd love to see some aggression from Evan Turner, though I don't think it's going to make much of a difference in terms of his role in the playoffs.
Honestly, I'm not expecting a whole lot out of this game. Even if Iguodala is back and Collins plays his regular rotations to get the W, I don't expect the team's focus to be on Detroit. Look at it from your own perspective, have you spent even a second thinking about anything but Miami since they were locked into the #7 seed and their opponent was determined? You have to assume the same thing is going on in the Sixers locker room.
If Collins goes all out for this game, it's probably going to be an uphill battle to keep his guys focused. In terms of winning and losing, this game will probably come down to the Sixers outclassing the Pistons, rather than out-producing them, or winning on effort. The good news is that the Pistons checked out about two months ago, they're playing their last game under a coach they seem to loathe and they aren't exactly loaded with character guys. The Sixers may have one eye on the Heat and playoffs, but the Pistons have one foot on the golf course. Even their "B" team should be able to take down the Pistons.
Prediction: PHI 97, DET 90
The tip is at
7pm 8pm. Game thread will land 90 minutes prior.
UPDATE: Actually, I just saw word that Iguodala would miss the game.
According to deepsixer, Nocioni will be starting over Turner tonight. It said Collin's reason is that in the playoffs Turner will be coming off the bench and he wants him acclimated to this role. Does this mean he will be playing over Nocioni in the playoffs? One can only hope so.
Nocioni played 36 minutes the other night against the Magic, and that was about 36 minutes too many for a guy who was literally killing the team in the third quarter.
And by literally I mean figuratively.
he wants him acclimated in that role? - so has Turner not been coming off the bench all season?; ha! That's an excellent excuse, if I heard one, believe Turner's ass will be glued to the bench. Plus Nocioni I believe has good stats against the Heat (a pre-playoff article even dared to call him the "Heat Killer"). No way DC will resist that opportunity to unleash that toughness against the big 3.
Got a preview of the upcoming playoff series already: http://bit.ly/gkO07j
FYI, tip off's at 8.
NBA wants all games to end around same time. Doesn't matter this year because all eight Eastern Conference spots were determined by Monday night.
Sixers-Heat is only Eastern ABC game Saturday or Sunday.
With Game 1 Saturday at 3:30 in Miami, Game 2 would likely be Monday or Tuesday. Since Flyers are playing a week from Friday, Sixers would likely play Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Saturday (or Sunday).
The sixers 'benefit' from their first round opponent. NBA/ESPN/TNT is going to want the Heat in prime coverage as much as possible I bet.
i hope game 2 is on tuesday, im going to the phils game on monday
Hope The Sixers will win to celebrate a very positive, all considering, year.
For those who care, mysynergysports.com which has not been allowing new sign ups all year (at least not when I went to the site) even though previous year subscribers could use it is finally up and alive for new registrants at mysynergysports.com
lol, just in time for the end of the season!
They want to get subscribers before the lock-out :)
Or they might not allow new subscribers until the end of the season - this is around the time they launched it last year too.
For those who don't know, Synergy is the greatest thing since sliced bread, although the fan version the second greatest thing since sliced bread (with the full version being the first).
Still only NBA ?
I'm presuming so. I didn't actually sign up - just did my weekly check. If I signed up I'll get all absorbed and I have a pressing contract job I'm supposed to be working on after work for the next few days to get launched ;)