Win the ones you're supposed to win. To be successful in this league, that's the first step. Last night, the Sixers did just that. They used the first quarter to build a lead, then spent the rest of the night keeping Cleveland at arm's length until they delivered the fatal blow in the fourth. Exactly how you draw it up.
Thoughts
- I couldn't give him the player of the game because Thad played out of his mind tonight, but Spencer Hawes was excellent tonight. He wasn't forcing his shot (4/6 from the floor), he was dominant on the glass (12 boards, 11 defensive), he protected the rim (3 blocks) and he didn't turn the ball over a single time. If Hawes could play this role, to this effect, every night, the Sixers would be in very good shape.
- Thad Young played 28 minutes, hit 11 of 12 shots, scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds. He also chipped in 2 steals and didn't turn the ball over a single time. Apparently Doug Collins' "electric fence" philosophy is working for Thad. Spectacular game, and whenever the Sixers needed a hoop all night, Thad was the one who supplied it.
- Tough shooting night for Iguodala and Jrue from the floor (5/26, combined), but they more than made up for it in other areas: 13/14 from the line, 11 boards, 14 assists, 3 steals, 1 block and only 3 turnovers between them.
- Lou's game is becoming more and more boring to me. It seems like whenever he's in the game, he dominates the ball and the offense grinds to a halt. Tonight, he was getting to the line and hitting 50% of his shots, so it was effective, but still. I just hate watching him dribble the air out of the ball and get into bad situations, looking for a bailout call or a difficult shot to drop. He did have a very nice assist to Thad on the break, though. He took the ball right at the defender, clearing the baseline for Thad to fill, then got him the ball at precisely the right time. Thad did the rest with the flush.
- Collins is inching closer and closer to a playoff rotation with this team. Tonight, in a 20-point win, he only used nine players, and Nocioni only saw the floor for one stretch in the first half. Speights and Battie never even entered the game. Iguodala, Jrue, Brand, Meeks, Hawes, Thad, Lou and Turner. That seems like the eight he's comfortable with right now, and when he's got a rested team, I expect them to see pretty much all of the minutes.
- Turner's time on the floor was essentially a waste tonight. He didn't play a single minute without Lou on the floor with him, and he rarely had the ball in his hands. He only took three shots, one of which he created for himself, and hit. Another was a bad jumper in transition from about 20 feet and the third was a wing mid-range shot created by penetration by Iguodala. He was short on it. At this point, I think Collins needs to make a decision. His stated reason for moving Turner out of the starting lineup was to put him in a situation where he could have the ball in his hands, so he could gain some confidence/feel more comfortable with the NBA game, then the transition to off-the-ball would be easier. That hasn't happened, at all. Instead, he's just been standing around watching Lou dribble the air out of the ball. If you're going to put the ball in the kid's hands, do it. Don't just pay lip service. And if you really want to give the kid a chance, maybe give him some minutes at the point with Meeks at the two, instead of Lou. Give Turner the benefit of a shooter to spread the floor, maybe that gives Turner more room to work. Either way, it's clear some kind of adjustment needs to be made. Turner is just wallowing right now.
- Meeks hit four big threes and didn't do much else. I'm not quite sure if he needs to do much else to be effective, I need to see more of the starting lineup with him in it.
- Brand was active if not super efficient. He only had five boards, but he got his hands on a ton of balls on the offensive end, keeping several possessions alive. He also put on a scoring clinic toward the end of the third quarter, helping the Sixers stretch their lead.
Charts
Player of The Game: Thad. His scoring was tremendous, but 11 boards in 28 minutes - 9 on the defensive end - that's just stellar. Probably Thad's best game as a pro.
Team Record: 7-14
Up Next: vs. Boston, on TNT, Thursday night.
Game Capsule
I don't want to tank. Tanking brings Evan Turner. Not saying he's a bust, but he lacks explosion and his jumper is broken.
huh ?
I rather make the playoffs.
Forgot to mention in the recap, the defense was pretty bad tonight, especially considering Cleveland is the second-worst offensive team in the league, but is it really worth nitpicking a 20-point win?
From there it didn't look as much like it was bad defense as it was Cleveland making contested circus shots. The rotations looked good and the energy seemed to be there.
I could be wrong. I was often distracted with the fact that the only time the 2,000 in attendance were ever excited was when a free t-shirt was thrown their way.
Man, that was a sad crowd. It's funny, the Sixers have actually been a good home team, too. Maybe they play better in silence.
Good recap. At one point, I was waiting for Nocioni to walk over and punch Lou in the mouth..."hey - how about giving the ball up once in a while, yo?" For all of the grief that the guy gets about what he does to team "chemistry", he spent 6-7 minutes on the floor in the 2nd quarter, and NOBODY looked to give him the ball in a place where he could get his shot (I didn't blame him for taking that 3...and I was glad he hit it).
Looks like your worst nightmare might happen if Hawes keeps playing like this (meaning they might re-sign him)...although there is no question that the guy has improved pretty dramatically over the course of these first 20 games). Given the lineup/issues that come with both Thad and Brand needing 30ish minutes a game, 22-25 minutes from Hawes is just about right...and if he plays like he has over the past few games, this is a playoff team.
With Meeks emergence, I want Lou traded so bad it's not funny.
I didn't see much of the game, but I did catch Collins post game - that guy is locked in, the energy in his voice and the attention to detail are refreshing.
I think it's pretty clear at this point that Lou should never be running the point. If I'm Collins, I'm asking Thorn to find me a backup PG who can play alongside Turner in the second unit. OKC's Royal Ivey or Eric Maynor would be nice.
Also, while I like the idea of having a playoff rotation set, is anyone worried about our starters burning out? Both the Bobcats and Cavs emptied their benches against us, but nothing of the like from Collins? Why did Jrue have to play 40 minutes last night?
Other than that, very happy with Collins' work with this team.
I think he just wants to win games. With the way the team has lost games after having a significant lead, I think he has to stay with what has been working. Not taking any chances is how I see it.
Yeah. IMO Collins wants them to learn how to finish strong. And last night was a low pressure chance to work on closing out properly.
I don't have a problem with the shortened rotation in this game. They were well-rested coming in, with a day off after the game. He's going to be forced to expand the rotation on the trip with the back-to-backs, but using a playoff rotation to get a win is fine by me under these circumstances, and Jrue can handle 40 minutes. He can probably handle 100 minutes. 20-year-olds can run through a brick wall and not feel it. I miss being 20.
I think that it is important for Collins to establish the way that he wants them to play. If he needs to shorten the rotation in order to get the product that he wants, I'm fine with that. Once he has them doing things the way that he wants he can get some guys rest.
Funny moment on the Philly broadcast: After Meeks hit his second three in the first quarter, the camera did a close-up on Speights mouthing very clearly "what the fuck?" with a genuine look of disbelief on his face.
The problem is once this team finishes the Disney on Ice road trip (or whatever it is) we're going to be so far back of the playoffs, and confidence will probably be shot. I really hate this road trip. It can suck all the life out of a season.
It's so unfair that we have to play road games against actually good NBA teams. If not for these unfair road trips, we'd be an exciting 8th seed every year.
Thing is with Williams is he's still probably the best on the team at creating his own shot and he's not turning the ball over. He would be better playing off the ball with Holiday running the team.
I really love Iguodala going to the rim but he is still trying to figure out when and where to attack.
Turner had s mismatch all night being guarded by Gibson or Williams but only touched the ball twice in the post.
Is it a coincidence Hawes is playing better and so is the team on defense?
The team really hasn't been good on defense the past two games, their offense has just been stellar.
They were solid defensively against Charlotte, they just got hit on the offensive glass.
Yeah, I consider that part of the defense. DFR was 105.43, which isn't bad, but it's better than CHA's average (104 and change).
and by better, I mean worse.
God, Jodie's shooting has done wonders for this team. I think you lose a little defensively when he's in there, but he opens up the floor for other guys, including Iguodala who attacked pretty well last night but couldn't finish. Thad needs to play with Meeks on the wing too, and be told one thing: Blow by your man or give the ball to Jodie if his guy helps.
http://philly.sbnation.com/philadelphia-76ers/2010/12/8/1863996/where-do-the-sixers-go-from-here
This writer agrees with the sentiment that the Sixers should try to make the playoffs rather than have another miserable season of rebuliding. I agree because I don't like the iddea of hoping for a lottery pick to pan out.