 Sixers Have No Answer For A.I. I'm assuming every newspaper, Web site and blog out there will have some derivation of the headline I chose for this post after Allen Iverson dropped 38 on the Sixers tonight, leading the Nuggets over Philly 109-96. Iverson really did win this game for the Nuggets.After being up by as many as 14 in the second quarter, the Sixers came back and tied the game at 62 mid-way through the third. Shockingly, it was the Sixers starters, for the most part, who orchestrated the comeback. Led mostly by Andre Iguodala. Once the score was knotted at 62, however, A.I. took over. He hit back-to-back three to pus the lead back up to six, then found Nene under the hoop for another. The Sixers never really challenged after that point. Thad Young had another impressive game. The roook saw 25 minutes of action and finished with 11 points (including the first three-pointer of his young career), 8 boards (4 offensive) and 3 steals. I love the minutes and I love the fact that Thad asserted himself on both sides of the floor. I'm not too happy about Andre Miller's night. Miller took 21 shots, 10 more than Iguodala. That should never happen. He seemed to force the action several times, and must've had about 5 of his shots blocked when he tried to force one up. Sam Dalembert played a spirited game, redeeming himself for Friday night's clunker against the Lakers. The Sensation finished with 10 points, 15 boards and 2 blocks. I noticed something that I'm afraid is going to become a theme tonight. The Nuggets played zone for long stretches, and the Sixers really don't have a way to punish teams for doing so anymore. Giricek got 5 wide-open looks at threes, he was 1/5. Without Kyle Korver, I think teams are going to fall back into zones, pack the lane and make the Sixers beat them with jumpers. If Iguodala's mid-range games keeps improving, he could force them out of it, but the Nuggets did a good job of keeping tabs on him tonight. It really looked like the Sixers were just trying to run their normal offense into the zone, and it wasn't working. Too much dribbling, not enough passing, bad spacing. The West Coast trip ends at 2-4, exactly where you'd expect it to end with the Sixers taking games from Sacramento and Seattle, and dropping them to Portland, Utah, LA and Denver. The Sixers have a travel day tomorrow, then play host to the Bucks on Tuesday before heading back on the road for a back-to-back in Toronto on Wednesday. They have to secure their home court against Milwaukee if they're going to survive this tough stretch of schedule with their heads only slightly below water. Player of The Game: Thad Young Team Record: 14-20 
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Perhaps Miller took more shots in an effort to prove himself against his old team. When you see a game like this one, it reminds you of how much of a bargain Denver got when they traded for Iverson. It also is a painful reminder that the Sixers will be a lottery team again this year.
JJ,
You're probably right about Miller. I haven't seen him force shots like that since he came to Philly. As for the lottery, I'm not ready to write the season off just yet. Thad Young is a player and as soon as he gets into the starting lineup, or at least averages 20+ minutes/game, this team is going to be much improved.
great point by JJ, that's the reason. Anyway Miller played a sub par game, I don't care about his points (btw, I like Miller a lot)
Brian, the sad thing about Sixers' offense is that right now we lack both low post scoring AND outside shooting.
I would like to make a specific post about that (feel free to do the same if you want because I don't know if and when I will) but anyway the fact is that with Korver gone we are even weaker at shooting threes, Giricek is not nearly the shooter KK was and the others are players that can occasionaly hit one but with low pctgs (Green, Iguodala, even Thad). LW has nice stats from behind the arc but he's more a slasher and he likes to drive, which is the thing he's best at
As for low post scoring, well, we never had it, no need to explain why.
So for defenses it's a win-win situation
All in all, I think the Sixers would be better off being a lottery team again this year. It will give them a chance to build young talent and really make some noise next year.
And it's not as if they don't have bright spots. I'd just rather see them sink like a stone this season and perhaps get a higher pick than struggle and still not make the playoffs.
I do like Andre Miller and hope they hold onto him, at least for the season. That is unless someone is willing to overpay for him. Suckers should always be accomodated, especially if it involves the possibility of a high draft pick.
JJ,
I'm leaning in the other direction. I don't think there's any chance they'll be bad enough to get into the top 5 of the draft, so I'd like to see them make a run at the playoffs. I think the difference between the #16 pick and the #12 pick in this draft isn't going to be that great, and the difference it would make to the city if they made the playoffs would be huge.
Who knows, they may even fill up the Wach on occasion if they played some meaningful games down the stretch.