The defense wasn't there in the first half. They seemed a bit sluggish at times, and they were settling for too many jumpers. Houston couldn't miss a shot. After the break, though, the Sixers put their foot on the Rockets' throat and never let up. A nice, tidy double-digit win at home over a surging Western Conference foe. Good work.
Charts
Thoughts
- Pretty much a team effort tonight for this win. The Sixers got solid-to-very good games from all 7 of their regulars, and Andres Nocioni's damage didn't amount to a whole lot in his 14 minutes of action.
- Evan Turner earned his first DNPCD since December 22nd, and I think he really did earn it with his play on Monday. He was simply lost against the Bulls. I'm hoping this one DNP was a result of that game, and it's not going to result in him being lost for the rest of the season.
- Though the whole roster contributed, there were two stars who stood out. Thad Young backed up his magnificent game against the Bulls with another dominant performance off the bench. 11/19 from the floor, 9 boards and 22 points in 33 minutes of action. And Jrue, who was simply the best player on the floor tonight. 8/12 from the floor, 1/3 from three, 7/7 from the line, 2 boards, 12 assists and 24 points. He would've been your clear-cut POTG if not for the five turnovers. He still gets the award, but it was a close call. You can really see Collins' trust in Jrue growing as we near the playoffs. Jrue had four turnovers early, and they were mostly of the sloppy variety. Instead of freezing him out, though, Collins kept the ball in Jrue's hands and it paid dividends. This has really been a strong stretch for the kid, 59% from the floor, 50% from three, 94% from the line (on 5.3 FTA/game), 5 boards, 8.3 assists, 3 turnovers, 21.3 points. This has been Jrue's best stretch since Iguodala become the "point-forward" and it couldn't have come at a better time.
- This game played out exactly how I thought the Chicago game would have. The difference being, the Sixers have a spine and the Rockets have, well, Kevin Martin. After the solid first half, the Sixers stiffened in the third, made things hard for the Rockets, and they wilted under the pressure in the fourth. Thad and Lou had a lot to do with that. Lou looked pretty bad in the first half, but caught fire late in the third. Thad was a ball of energy all night, and looked like he shook off the after effects of the groin pull in a couple of minutes on the floor.
- The Knicks pulled out a nail-biter over the Nets a couple of minutes ago. They feel proud of themselves for giving Deron Williams a chance to tie the game. This is the same Nets team that lost to the Rockets by 25 the night before.
- Had the Cavs held on against the Bobcats, the Sixers would've clinched a playoff appearance tonight. I'd much prefer the Sixers lock it down with a win, though, they can get the job done on Friday night, at home, against the Nets.
- One other player to mention, Hawes. He started off really hot, and looked like the productive player we've seen over the past couple of games. Then the old (standard?) Hawes reappeared in the second half. He had about a 5-minute stretch where he was single-handedly keeping the Rockets in the game, and negating Jrue's offensive explosion. He went to the bench, came back in and hit a couple of big jumpers, so maybe we haven't seen the end of productive Spence.
Player of The Game: Jrue Holiday
Team Record: 39-36
Up Next: vs. NJN, Friday night.
Game capsule
Also, the
schedule is fully updated now, you can check out all the pertinent info there, then click on game numbers or dates to see the rotation/advanced stats charts from every game, along with all DF coverage. Check it out.
Big game tomorrow night for the Celts at SA. Could flip flop the 2/3 seeds for the time being...in our favor.
Video: Brand on Sixers' victory over Rockets:
http://ow.ly/4q1Gl
Tom any word from Doug on Turners DNP?
Willie Green had one of the dunks of the year tonight (a put back slam). I had no idea he could still do that.
Sixers move one win from playoffs:
http://ow.ly/4q2q7
More rapping from Lou. The song apparently came out in November, but the video came out today. It's a collaboration with a pretty big-name Philly rapper. Lou comments on his disinterest in secondary/higher education and standardized testing.
http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshh7tEGC77a2M0kNN61
hehe.
I'm kinda happy for him. It must be a dream of his to rap and even though he sucks, he's doing it.
But rappers need to stop wearing sunshades indoors.
that's probably the worst song I've heard today
Yes, it's not very good.
It's better than Rebecca Black's "Friday"...
16 year old girl gets gift from parents, has fun, puts video on youtube, and is internationally derided because as a non professional singer she's not a good singer.
It's really pathetic the people who insult this girl
DF derived stat: In games where Lou Williams ends up the player of the game, Sixers are 1-4. hehe
Jrue played really good D on Lowry who happened to be hot tonight. Combine that with his 12 assists and his offensive aggressiveness. But I felt Thad hitting open jumpers and crashing the boards was the key for us.
Lou was running around screens today. dare I say, one of the best defensive efforts I have seen from him so far.
Hawes was able to recover after Scola owned him in the 1st half.
Meeks with a quiet game tonight, is slowly becoming my favorite player. Even if he got abused early on by Budinger? Speaking of; "DC, please don't play Nocioni on Friday"
and his offensive aggressiveness
One thing I love about Jrue's recent play is his "bump and run" shot where he drives into the lane right at his defender, draws contact and a foul, and still scores. That's a very hard play for most opposing PGs to defend.
chapter 2 in 'The making of a Star player' - how to get to the line and finish with contact.
he'd better keep reading.
Yeah, Jrue and Andre Miller both have that YMCA move where you lean in, barely jump and take the shot on the way down. Its a good move because you sort of slow down and the defenders momentum causes contact- and as you slow down it helps you get you balance under you for the shot. It's lie a strong man's teardrop- and it draws fouls.
I wonder if that stat is more of a reflection of lou's play or DF's bias.
Probably the latter. He's been in the running in plenty of wins, when there's a question, I usually go with the guys who impact more of the game over guys who just score.
Noce only played 14 minutes, but he had about 5 "man that guy stinks" moments. Hard to imagine how he earned Collins trust, Especially since he makes "rookie mistakes" like fouling jump shooters and reaching on drivers.
Again, he was out of the rotation on Monday, then Turner probably played his worst game of the season. Maybe after tonight's game, it's Turner's turn on Friday.
I think Collins is really struggling with who will be the 8th man when we get to the playoffs. I don't see him going 9 deep unless there's foul trouble or something.
The fact that he's struggling hurts his credibility when he claims a commitment to defense. Neither Nocioni nor Turner is going to put it in the rock much with Lou and Thad taking nearly every shot when they're on the floor, so the decision should come down to defense.
And that's Turner, hands down.
Yep, I agree. Problem is, Turner's mistakes on Monday night weren't just on the offensive end. He was lost on defense as well.
Brian, I'm worried about you. You went to the Chicago game and you have come back and are being borderline intentionally obtuse with your Noc/Turner assessments:) You really are starting to sound like me, which can't be a good thing :0
Maybe he honestly thinks he's tough. And gritty. I think Collins is a lot smarter than that, but smart coaches can have their blind spots.
I don't see it in any way as Noc earning Collins trust, I see it as Turner failing to earn it - countless times. Turner's given credit around here for being a good defender or say, better defender than Noc (which isn't saying much when you consider), but the guy really doesn't have team defensive principles understood yet, for whatever unknown reason. It's inexcusable for him not to know those things after 70 games.
Oh, and in really random basketball news, J.J. Barea is dating a recent Miss Universe, and Dominique Wilkins was attacked after tonight's game by a former NBA referee because Wilkins owed him money for... suits.
1. Thad took 7 more shots than any other Sixer. He definitely knows how to get his scoring chances and he's never been shy about attacking. Is this a good thing or not? I guess if he stays over 50% its hard to complain.
2. Oddest comment by E Snow: Expects Meeks to be a guy who scores 20 pts per game once the team starts really running plays for him.
So in 2 years who will be the Sixers leading scorer? I can make an argument for Jrue, Lou, Thad, Iguodala and Turner. And Snow might say Meeks.
That's a tough call. I think it could be any one of them, I guess the real question is what does it mean if each guy is the team's leading scorer? Like, if Jrue's the team's leading scorer, is that necessarily a good thing for the team? You can make a case that it isn't. If Turner is the leading scorer, that would probably be the best indicator that the team has moved up the ranks in the East. If Thad is the team's leading scorer, then you'd have to think his game has really evolved, otherwise he probably wouldn't be getting enough minutes.
If I had to bet right now, I'd put my money on Jrue (he's second this season, right? And he was challenging Brand until Iguodala came back from injury).
Jrue. Like you said, Thad might be the teams best per minute scorer, but I'm not sure his overall game ever gets his starters minutes. Same with Lou (and Speights, for that matter).
I do feel that when Jrue is attacking this team is a ton better. But partly that is breaking down the defense in order to create for others. I'm not in love with some of his early jumpers.
Jrue has stretches of 5-10 minutes where he is on the attack. he often clusters big numbers across the board in those short bursts. Do you think he has the talent and mentality to play like that consistently at some point? And will Collins want him to be that ball dominant?
In terms of ball dominance i think Jrue's future will be directly determined by who is playing next to him on the perimeter. If he is paired with Iguodala and/or Turner i don't think Jrue will or should be extremely ball dominant. That would make the team worse. But the way i see i don't have a problem with him being fairly ball dominant as long as they acquire the proper personnel to play alongside him. Long term that might actually be the best solution and Iguodala and/or Turner should be used to acquire a better player to play alongside Jrue as well as a legit C.
Jrue is only the sixth player in NBA history to record 24 points and 12 assists in a game before his 21st birthday. Stephon Marbury, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Tyreke Evans and John Wall are the others. Not too shabby, especially after 15+ years of 18 year old early entries.
Did you guys catch Collin's postgame interview; on Hawes," he is a big part of this teams future". And he went on to talk about Hawes taking better care of his body because he needs him "bouncy" out there. You can see some games he looks quicker than others.
As long as they resign him on a very limited contract i'm fine with Hawes. He can be useful for 10-15 minutes per game. But Thad should be the focus this offseason, not Hawes.
I don't know if i can do another year of hawes starting.
I'm hoping he's 'great play' encourages someone to have more interest in him than necessary and he's flipped in a S&T deal for more desirable pieces (contingent on a new CBA of course)
Hard to dislike Hawes after the past few games... the problem with him is that his youth may be confused with potential. Realistically, how much better can he get?
Like you said a S&T is the best case scenario but those odds are slim
I think odds are Hawes is back on his Qualifying offer.
I think he's 7 feet tall and GM's tend to over state small sample size near the end of season and playoffs (the march madness effect let's call it) and he'll get a long term offer from somewhere.
Yeah, Hawes is 22 but his knees are more like 40. he might get smarter, but I'm not sure he'll get any quicker or stronger. But you can't coach tall.
and you can't cure slow.
Hard to dislike Hawes after the past few games..
No it's not. You just remember the concept of small sample size, look at his entire career, and until proven otherwise, this is the aberration, not the standard.
:)
Plus every time he takes a 3 i want to break my TV
Story: First playoff race is a blast for Hawes:
http://ow.ly/4qieO
Game story: Sixers on verge of playoffs:
http://ow.ly/4qivu
Does anyone here think the Sixers should do everything they can to play the Celts in the first round? IE if it looks like the heat will pass the Celts, then we should keep playing our guys and lock up the 6 seed. If it becomes obvious the Celts are keeping the 2 seed, we rest iggy, brand, and whoever else is even slightly hurt. Of course the problem with this is that the seedings might not be determined until the last game of the year.
I think playing to position for the playoffs is silly, and pointless. Play your best ball and get who you get.
I'm not arguing against playing your best ball, I'm arguing for resting players to get the team more healthy; if in fact it can be advantageous for 2 separate reasons (health, and matchup).
That's different than positioning for a match up.
The sixers are going to lose (in 6 max in my opinion) to whomever they play in the first round. If guys are injured (Andre) rest em, maybe reduce Brand minutes a bit, but sitting guys just doesn't work Ask the colts
Since the top 3 are bunched together, whomever slips to 3rd will at least be comparatively slumping heading into the playoffs.
Not if they all win every remaining game, right? They could all go in red hot and just wind up in this order.
These look kind of odd...but also kind of cool, Sixers jerseys for the Phils starting rotation:
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sixerville/Phillies-starting-5-as-Sixers1.html