The All Star break couldn't have come at a worse time for the Sixers. Tonight was the icing on the cake of a dominant 5-game home stand. The Sixers are as hot as any team in the East, and don't look now, but they're tied for the 7 spot in the Eastern conference with the Nets. Unfortunately, they're going to have to find a way to stay hot without game action for the next six days.
Tonight's
102-88 win over the Grizzlies was yet another clinic on pushing the ball, locking down on defense, and refusing to settle for low percentage shots.
Andre Iguodala flirted with a triple and turned in a truly dominating performance, finishing with 29 points, 8 boards and 8 assists. Thad Young continued his inspired play in the starting lineup (12 points on 6/10 from the floor, 8 boards, 3 steals). Andre Miller had a quiet double-double.
One guy, in particular deserves a lot of credit for tonight's game, and that's Samuel Dalembert. Lost amid the winning streak, and downright excellent play by the Sixers has been Dalembert's limited role. His touches on the offensive end have been down, as has his overall production. He looked a bit lost against the Mavs the other night, but tonight he came out and made a statement. His final line, 16 points, 12 boards and 4 blocks, is reminiscent of his play earlier this season and it's a good sign. The big man is desperately needed.
Throughout the game, one thought kept popping into my head, "Thank God the Sixers didn't sign Darko." That guy is just horrible, in every imaginable way. A couple other things made me smile, like Rudy Gay taunting the Sixers bench after a dunk with his team down by about 15 and his man (Iguodala) absolutely lighting him up. Finally, there was a defensive possession that made me chuckle. The Sixers were in a zone, and somehow Lou Williams got caught down on the blocks with Mike Miller. The Griz found the mismatch right away. The next time down the floor, the Sixers played the same D and Lou wound up in exactly the same position. Iguodala saw this from the wing, immediately went down to the block to cover Miller and literally grabbed Lou's jersey and pulled him into his former spot out on the wing, shoring up the defense and correcting the mismatch before Memphis could find it. Say what you want about his body language and the look on his face, Iguodala has become a leader and a true veteran for this team.
Player of The Game: Andre Iguodala
Team Record: 23-30
Its funny you mention Iguodala's body language because it is the one thing that I am starting to dislike about him. He complains to the refs too frequently and the stupid look on his face with his palms up pisses me off. You didn't get the call, deal with it and stay in the game. You can bitch to the refs when there is a stop in play.
I missed the most of the second half, so you are probably talking about a different dunk, but Gay's dunk on Dalembert was incredible. Sammy shouldn't have backed off though, that was disappointing.
The thing about Iguodala is that he's probably got a legitimate gripe on most of those calls he's complaining about, but until he gets under control on his drives, they aren't going to reward him w/ a trip to the line. He goes in there at 100 MPH and just heaves up a shot too often, looking for the foul. He needs to go in there and worry about putting the ball in the hoop, rather than drawing the foul.
Sammy has stayed out of foul trouble by not challenging as many shots. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes it isn't. I would've liked to see him block that one, but I think Gay was in the air too quickly for him to even react.
I
Miller, Thad, Andre, Sammy are all legit NBA starters. Good team.
And Gay took at least 4 steps on his dunk. What a Joke. During the Warriors game Van Gundy had a great quote essentially saying... "You got guys like Rudy Gay asking for dunks on Youtube. I just want the guy to get in a proper defensive stance."
Oh and what happened to Rodney Carney? Not that I miss the old one at all.
I heard Van Gundy say that, I was cracking up and thinking to myself "Van Gundy really doesn't want to coach in Memphis."
Mo stuck with Thad for extended minutes, at Carney's expense. I can't argue with that move, although I have been extremely happy with the effort Carney has turned in over the past five games or so.
I think Carney got a T early in the game, Mo may have cut his minutes to punish him for that.
good stretch but I would like to see Jason Smith more, I don't know why he sits so much in the second halves of the games
he should get 15 MPG minimum