Another slow start, followed by a big second quarter, a decent third and then a slow-play to the finish line. The Sixers could've played better tonight, but a 13-point win on the second night of a back-to-back is something you have to be happy with. (
game capsule)
Here's your rotation chart. Note the big run in the second quarter as well as the letdown in the fourth. The starters were unspectacular to start the game, again:
Before we get into this game, I just want to note the Sixers are now 4-0 on the second night of back-to-backs (including the middle game of the back-to-back-to-back) and in those games, they've outscored their opponents 419-316 in those games. They also just finished off a stretch of seven games in nine days with a 6-1 record, outscoring their opponents 703-570 over the stretch. I don't care who the opponents are, those are amazing results.
OK, tonight's game wasn't particularly pretty. Jrue shot the ball just terribly, and he shot it too frequently as well. He's definitely in a rut. Everything looks rushed for him, and that's not his game. He needs to slow things own, stop trying to force his shots up and let the game come to him. He's too good to keep playing like this, on the offensive end. The Sixrs did a terrible job on the offensive glass in the first half (52% DREB rate), but cleaned that up after the half. The biggest problem I had with them in the second half was their shoddy defense on John Wall. You can point your finger directly at Doug Collins for that one, since he insisted on keeping Lou Williams on him instead of Jrue. All things considered, though, not a whole lot to complain about.
The game really wasn't as close as the final score. The Sixers pushed their lead into the twenties in the fourth quarter, then relaxed a little, but there was no way the Wizards were coming back.
A few bullets to hold you over:
- Lou was uber-efficient tonight, scoring 24 points on only 12 shots, but I thought he dominated the ball a bit too much. He's been much better at keeping his teammates involved this season, and tonight he was scoring so well it really didn't matter, but it's worth keeping an eye on.
- Turner went down with an injury and never really got a decent run after that. Hope everything is OK there. We'll have to wait and see.
- Thad is such a dynamic player, I feel like he impacts almost every play when he's on the floor. So much energy and athleticism. He finished the night 6/13 from the floor, 6/6 from the line for 18 points to go along with 4 boards (3 offensive), 2 steals, 2 blocks and zero turnovers in 31 minutes of work.
- Jodie followed up his scorching 10/11 on Friday night with an ice cold 1/5 from the floor tonight.
- Brand, Hawes, Vucevic and Battie combined for 10 defensive rebounds in 64 minutes, that's not going to cut it.
Player of The Game: Iguodala. 23 points on 9/16 from the floor and 4/6 from the line to go along with 7 board, 5 dimes, 5 steals and 2 turnovers. Iguodala was unreal in the first half, he cooled in the second but spread the ball around and played his usual menacing defense.
Team Record: 9-3
Up Next: vs. MIL on Monday, at 2pm. Hopefully, Jrue will stop with the Iman Shumpert impersonations after a day of rest.
I'm thinking we'll have a Pressing Questions tomorrow, get your questions ready for a noon landing.
Brian, out of curiosity what do you think of Iggy having a negative +/- for the night? He was -2, EB was -5. The rest of the team was positive. Seems like a fluke, but was wondering if you had a way to explain it.
They were both out there for that garbage time run which was -7, and they missed the two big + rotations in the 2nd and 3rd.
Yep, sounds like a fluke.
I think Lou was dominating the ball because he got caught up with a personal scorers battle with Nick Young. As Zumoff would say both had it going on and both got theirs. Led to some ugly basketball from a team perspective.
I thought the game was closer than the actual score. But I'm also still worried about this team giving up 15 to 20 point leads. So I guess my impression is biased. ;-)
BTW: 7 total turnovers for the game! That's awesome!
Yeah, they really did a great job taking care of the ball. You really felt like the game was closer? I didn't think it was ever in doubt after the second quarter.
I was driving past the stadium complex last night. I only saw one billboard for the Sixers. The slogan and a big pic of Bases.Hawes. Odd choice- do they rotate it frequently (I hope.)
I posted this comment over at Philadunkia, but I'm noticing more die-hards seem to comment over at this site and wanted to get your guys' overall feel of Holiday's early play. Maybe it's too early to make rash judgements, but decision making, court awareness, and learning appropriate role aren't things that are instantaneously figured out over night.
: Really disappointed in Holiday’s early play. I wouldn’t mind the 17 shots if he was attacking the game and shooting open jumpers as a result of a play, but that isn’t the case. His decision making is very below average for an NBA point guard. He shoots stupid shots early in the shot clock, does not know the meaning of “facilitator” and chucks up the worst heat-check shots that have as much a chance of going in as a step back long 2 Iguodala jumper. Really thought this would be the year that he makes the leap to becoming a top 10 point guard, and I know he’s only 21 but he just doesn’t seem to possess those point guard instincts. He seems to think that “making the leap” and becoming the “leader” means that he has the flexibility to take more dumb shots. For me he’s the most frustrating Sixer to watch because he clearly has the most talent and highest ceiling on the team. Thoughts?
I don't think Jrue takes that many bad shots. It looks like he spent the off-season working on his driving ability. Probably he felt like he wasn't getting to the line enough. So, he has a lot of new moves and scoring options and is having trouble incorporating them. Too many options screwing up the decision-making process. It's awkward now, for sure. But I believe this is a problem that will work itself out fairly quickly.
I think Jrue's been fine this year. He's always made some poor decisions in games during his career here. That's just what you get from one of the youngest starting point guard's in the league. But the scoring and playmaking ability is still there.
I am worried about his game so far too, but i think he will figure it out. I think he has put too much pressure on himself and he's gonna need some time to get into the flow of the season and forget about the other stuff. He will never be an elite passer, but he is better than half starting point guards in the league in court awareness and passing IMO. At least he was last season. And defensively and scoring wise i think he is as versatile as it gets. I think he will be fine, even though there are some worrying signs this year. I predict he will be a top 10 PG by the end of the season.