When the Sixers first met the Pistons, they were a helpless 0-8 on the season with more questions than answers. Rudderless, perhaps. On that night, nearly a month ago, the Sixers came out lifeless and got their doors blown off. Tonight, they will attempt to exact their revenge against a much more cohesive Detroit unit.
Tonight's game means more than your typical December contest against an 8-15 team. The next month is going to be extremely difficult, no matter what Andrew Bynum's MRI reveals on the 20th. 12 of their next 17 are on the road. Only three of the games are against truly bad teams. The Ice Capades trip is right there in the middle of it. On top of the looming schedule, you've got the somewhat distant memory of the embarrassing loss to the winless Pistons and the more recent offensive struggles against the Celtics. The Sixers are scrapping for every inch, because they have to. At this point, they can't afford to overlook teams. They really can't afford to play up or down to their competition, because the fact is the matter, there aren't a whole lot of teams they can play down to. They need to be executing on both ends of the floor to beat everyone.
The Pistons have seemingly found a nice inside-outside combo since the teams last met (or perhaps they found in the win over the Sixers). Greg Monroe remains an inside presence, though maybe a bit underutilized. Andre Drummond has had some extremely productive games and remains an efficient weapon on the offensive end despite shooting 39.1% from the free throw line. They've got multiple guys shooting the lights out from three: Knight (43.5%), Prince (45.8%), Singler (42.6%) and Charlie V (40%). They're weakest link has been Rodney Stuckey who's shooting a dreadful 37% from the floor and 24.6% from three.
Stopping the Pistons is really the least of the Sixers problems, though. First, they need to get their offense back on track and that starts with Jrue and Turner. Over the past three games, Jrue has hit only 16 of 44 from the floor (36.4%) and 1 of 8 from three (12.5%). Over the last four, Turner is shooting 38% on 79 attempts, though he has hit 45.4% from deep (5/11). This team can't win if Jrue and Turner are combining for 35+ shots and not scoring efficiently. Of course, they probably can't win if they're passing up a ton of those shots, either, so it's a double-edged sword.
The ship needs to get righted, and quickly. They should have plenty of motivation tonight at the WFC. We're going to have to wait and see, I suppose. The goal remains to be four game over .500 before heading out for their murderous road trip, that means 5-2 over the next seven, which is pretty unlikely with a win tonight. With a loss. Impossible.
The tip is at 7pm. Use this as your game thread. It'd be nice to see some fresh legs and an attacking mentality.
Game is on NBATV tonight
Yeah, just realized that when I called my wife to set the DVR.
Headed to south america for a month. Anyone have a good link to pick up the games down there?
http://www.thefirstrow.eu/
the pop-up adds are a pain but if you can deal with it, its a decent site
I think adblock might take care of that.
I wonder if the Lakers will make the playoffs this year. I was completely wrong about how the seasons for LA, Denver, NYK, and Indiana would play out this year.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/52245/jrue-holiday-emerging-as-elite-point-guard
Holiday has been sub-all star level the last 3 games, and in about 7 out of 20 overall in my view. Does that make an all-star these days? You tell me. (C'mon Doc, don't parrot your buddy; we don't need another fake all-star selection this winter.) Maybe Thorn - if he's still on duty at the quill - can sign Jrue's brother to cover his assignments at the defensive end of the court for better comprehensive results... Patty & Kathy Duke 'em, so to speak.
On the entirely commendable side, Jrue HAS cut down on serving Spalding sandwiches to unsuspecting courtside spectators the last 3 wks. As a result, the organization is saving on emergency first aid accessories.
I think 7/20 is probably a pretty accurate number. Might even be low. I'm just not sure what percentage of games a legit all star would play below all star level.
I'd rather he didn't make the All Star game this season, even if he plays great between now and then. Get the extra rest, and maybe develop a chip on your shoulder to play some F YOU hoops down the stretch.
12 assists to 3 turnovers in 84 minutes against the type of pressure the Celtics were putting on him the entire time was impressive. Not much else was on the offensive end from those two games, but he did a great job of taking care of the ball.
43 assists to 10 turnovers in the last 5 games, actually.
Michael Wallace who covers the Heat for ESPN, took an 'MVP' question today - and listed his top 5 right now.
My top five right now, at the quarter point of the season, would be LeBron, Durant, Chris Paul, Zach Randolph and Jrue Holiday.
Heh. I'd put Tyson Chandler and Melo both above Jrue to this point. And you know how I feel about Melo.
I think part of it is perception - The Knicks are finally doing what they're 'supposed to do' (and we all know carmelo is better when amare is hurt) and Jrue is performing 'without' the guy who was supposed to make it easier.
His gist on the MVP was really that Lebron deserves it almost every year but voters don't wanna keep giving it to him
I guess Mike Woodson should be considered as a candidate for coach of the year. For this year, I'd love to see Gregg Popavich get it.
Oh dolla dolla bill, there's a reason I begin to smile in anticipation when I light upon one of your ever artful offering...today, "if he's still on duty at the quill" pleased me no end. I feel like we must be distant cousins or something
"Do is to don't, as go is to gon't. Gon't even do there." - Jarod Kintz
Wordplay is free, and sometimes expanding. Sounds like you're cheap too. :)
22 year old kid still maturing, he's doing fine, he is missing one of the most important pieces on his team, still has a restrictive coach who over reacts to mistakes and is in love with mediocre gunners.
He's doing fine, with more talent around him he'd probably get more props and have less bad games - sometimes when a guy has to try and carry the team - he's not ready to do it
Kobe keeps trying to carry the lakers - but he can't - cause they aren't sitting dwight in the fourth yet
Howard's underachieved in every way this season, including defensively, but he also happens to be one of only two quality active players on the team, with the possible exception of Jordan Hill.
Some observations:
The Sixers have the 27th ranked offense in the league (fueled by their 25th ranked offensive rebounding rate, 28th ranked FTA to FGA ratio, and 26th ranked eFG%, which in turn, of course, is fueled by some of the league's worst shot selection - 5th in the league in long twos taken, but just 19th in threes in spite of all of our "shooters," and 29th in attempts at the rim).
They have only the 10th best defense.
Together, you get a team that's 20th in the league in scoring margin...
But that's not the worst of it, as so far we've played the second softest schedule in basketball, by basketball reference's rankings.
So my prediction, in light of all of this, is near-total collapse. I don't expect us to lose our next 11 games, but I think 2-9 is perfectly possible.
Yeah, I think it's going to get pretty bad. I had them going 2-6 on the Ice Capades trip, and I wasn't firm w/ 2 wins. That's why I keep saying 4 games over heading into it, so they're at .500 coming home. Going to be really tough for them to do that, though.
They're just not that good right now. I love some of the changes Jrue has made. Think he's playing a great game right now as a PG, but when they need him to do all the distributing (and really, Turner isn't distributing at all, when he's on the ball, he's just driving with his head down 90% of the time), and carry the scoring load w/ a +25% USG, and him being the defensive focus of the other team, it's just not going to work. Don't think any PG in the league could succeed when asked to do all of that, and the best PGs have much better players around them than Jrue does.
I think tonight is the first game this season I would call an important win [too early to be a must win]. They need to show us something tonight.
Brian, I couldn't agree more on your comments re: Jrue's All Star status. Let's have him ready to prove something come the playoffs.
The most shocking thing about the last meeting was the Sixers winning the turnover battle 4 - 17 and getting blown out. While the bigs match up is not favorable, this needs to be a game where the Sixers rise up and assert themselves ... taking control over the game in the first half and building from there.
nick young back tonight
@ChrisVito: Andrew Bynum, 12/20 appt: "Worst-case scenario, it's another month. Best-case scenario, I can wrap it up."
His worst-case scenario was pretty much what I was considering a best-case scenario.
I think he said "ramp it up" meaning he can move on to the next stage of rehab. Which makes more sense to me.
I just don't see them winning this game tonight. Of course, that is taking into account the abomination of a performance the last time the Pistons stepped into the Wells Fargo Center. But even not taking that game into account, the more game tape that keeps coming available exposing our warts on both ends of the floor and some of these opposing coaches finally waking up and seeing our bigs are trash, should begin to show itself in sharper game planning by the opponents.
Trap/double Jrue and wall off/pack the lane when we're on offense, and put our bigs into pick and rolls when on defense and it really is rather simple when it boils down to it.
This isn't really like me, but I feel like it's a miracle whenever they pick up a win over anyone. Like, I was totally giddy after the Boston game. Feels like stealing.
Yeah, I kind of feel the same way. Was thinking throughout the workday today that, is this how the Raptors fans have felt all these years (just a team as an example)? Like, you know your team blows and feel dirty if you even expect them to win a game against anyone. If they do win one, you're like all fuzzy inside just because you feel it wasn't worthy (as you say stealing).
The thing that bugged me this morning when thinking about the Toronto example was, I almost would rather be them. I mean, they're what you could call worse than mediocre and that is one of the few ways to actually get better in this league. Rather than being mired in that low-playoff seed/low lottery pick range like the Sixers. I guess it's like some have mentioned before on here including myself, they're not bad enough to get good but not good enough to amount to anything. This treading water year after year makes you want someone to tie a cinderblock to 'em so they'll finally sink.
Where I differ from you is, when I think/talk about the Sixers I don't even shudder one thought to Bynum and what he could offer this team. It's almost like I'm numb to them even acquiring him. I guess it's best to chalk it up to apathy stemming from the whole beginning of him only being out for training camp and the downhill continued bad news slant from there. That, and Jeff Ruland hauntings factor in too I'm sure.
I'm following tom Moore on twitter and based on the quotes from Bynum in pre-game, I think there's a possibility he's done for the year. Swelling is still present in one knee and doesn't seem to be in a hurry to come back.
Eh. Think you're reading into the comments, but whatever. It is what it is until he suits up, whenever that is.
So when do u think he comes back?
Annnnnd there you go. Apathy at its finest. heh (didn't see that until after i posted the above)
jrue to j-rich
Jrue steal.
Kickout. JRich money!
Bad shot Jrue. Too forced.
he gets it back and forces another questionable one. Makes it.
Who the hell was Evan throwing that inbounds pass to?
bad shot evan
the hits a corner 3
Turner with a bad shot, in jack-mode.
Got it back, Jrue to ET for corner 3.
Jrue jacks a three after a side pick and roll w/ Thad that never materialized.
thad blows the bunny
Did ET block that?
Ugh, Thad doesn't finish ET's nice pass.
Prince on other end.
Jrue gets blocked by Maxiell.
on that Prince bucket, ET was lazy on defense challenging his drive.
and even worse on that backdoor layup
ET overplays Prince, Prince goes backdoor for layup. Prince gave him a little trouble last game I think.
Thad cleans up a bad pass by ET.
please leave thad on monroe
ET guns one for two. Him and Jrue sure aren't shy tonight. heh
who else is gonna shoot? they've gotta
I don't disagree at all. Just like to see more ball movement before they shoot, hopefully creating better looks.
thad putback
Spencer friggin' Hawes. Continuing to fuck up my viewing experience.
And he fucks it up three more times. Monroe abuses him. THen he missed two point blank whatever the fuck kind of shots he shoots.
this game is really depressing right now, not sure if it's because of the Bynum comments, or Swaggy P back gliding around the court in some kind of good weed haze, or Hawes being here at 6.5 mil, but ugh.
6.5 per takes the cake I'm afraid.
thad jumper
Hawes lucks into rebounds and occasional defenses stands just because he's a large person
Yep did it twice just a min ago
what happened to Jrue shooting from the 3 pt line? Thought that was the best improvement he made last year, wanted him to shoot that a lot more this year.
well in his defense, most of the time our big man's defender is brought out to the arc enticing a double. Secondly, he seems to want to drive and kick more this year. And lastly, he appears to be in love with starting an attack and pulling up for a long two a lot of the time. Granted, he does accomplish his share of drives all the way to the hoop.
But really, he or Evan are either jacking up a quick contested shot that he never has a chance to motion thru any offense or sets to get the ball back after getting free for a look from deep.
Dorell sure has a funky shooting motion. Right off the front of his forehead.
Hawes, you rock man. Totally rock.
6.5 per
That wasn't a travel was it?
sissy jumper
ET Hawes two man game. The big jelly knocks down a J.
6.5 per jacks a 3 way early in clock. Yeah Fuck you Hawes.
Bad thing is a minute ago I was getting ready to say why doesn't DC put Moultrie in instead of Hawes. Go figure, he then actually inserts Arnett in the game with Hawes which I'm sure makes Moultrie's chances of success increase tenfold.
Annnnnd of course, he pulls Moultrie and leaves Mr. Wonderful out there.
Evan needs to shut up. That's just a clever move my Maggette. It was clearly a foul.
ET w/ a quick J after a Hawes screen.
missed J
Fucking shot clock violation.
Poor Jrue, they're really really lost without you. He goes out of the game, we go poop.
Dorrell needs to get his head out of his ass, he's a step slow on everything right now
sissy putback
Good anticipation Thad on the steal.
Hawes cleans up a JRich miss.
Jrue back in, Dorell out. Spencer still stays in though. ugh
Spence limp wrist runs all the way down the floor. lol that's funny as hell to watch
sissy block!
Heh, Spencer swats away a drive attempt by Knight. And then pimps hard all the way over to the bench. His Repub buddies all frown at his strut I bet.
Jrue guns an early one. Misses after getting in the lane.
jrue to thad
What was Jrue bitching at Evan about there after that Thad bucket?
Dammit Jrue, don't jump before trying to pass like that.
learned it from andre
Jrue w/ a come from behind block on Monroe.
Thad spin move bucket.
Prince eating ET's lunch on the up-fake.
ET wants it back, but Prince stuffs it.
Singler J on other end.
Lavoy starting a foundation on his new house. heh
Jrue steal and layup!
What happened to Jerebko? He was an energy that seemed to give up fits. Is he hurt? And Will Bynum too gave us trouble? What's up with him?
You might want to run out and contest the 3 there Maalik. That was pitiful.
Hawes has put up 10 shots in 12 mins.
Earn your fucking inflated paycheck, boy.
malik wayns is total garbage
We have a chance for a two for one w/ the clock stopped and DET shooting free throws. And Doug keeps Wayns and Hawes in the game and runs a two man game which ends in a bad pass for a should-be Wayns turnover. No Jrue or ET inserted.
DET 3 on other end b/c of Wayns inability to stop penetration.
Of course, Wayns makes an and-one.
^^heh was saying the same thing at the same time just typing more to say it
how is he listed at 6 2, no way
Sixers story (with Bynum video): Bynum: Not playing at all this season 'obviously a possibility'
http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/sixers/moore_sixers/bynum-not-playing-at-all-obviously-a-possibility/article_fdc42ee1-3aa0-543d-b5ba-2cd8fca0e8f7.html
"If this was the Finals, I’m going to play because I think that’s a serious time and you want to be a part of that."
I just don't know what to say/think when he says shit like this. Leads me to believe he only cares about himself and his back pocket, he doesn't have any allegiance or give a shit about this team. You don't get to the Finals when you're out lolly-gagging around bowling with one knee already messed up causing the other one to get almost as messed up while your teammates are getting their asses handed to them accumulating losses.
He just says it so nonchalantly, like one can just say "Viola!" and end up in the Finals, ignoring all the hard work and long path it takes to get there.
jrue needs to get rid on the ball quicker on the pick and roll
of*
Lavoy is so reluctant to try to drive when he has an open lane, very willing to take a long jumper. It may be best that he doesn't try to put the ball on the floor, but still.
ET kickout to Jrue 4 3!
Good steal Thad. Thad all the way annnnnd to the line for two.
evan that's not how you run the break...
what did he do? missed it
he didn't fill the lane correctly, he was actually running towards Thad trying to get him to give up the ball, just bad spacing. Get that he wants the ball but not correct play
COme on Jrue, you made that a hard shot.
Thanks Lavoy, your 4th foul, bringing the Big Nasty back in earlier than usual.
is it bad i laughed at hawes there?
if it is, then i'm guilty too
Spencer THUDS to the floor. He got up.
Evan bitches outloud a lot.
Almost every NBA player bitches out loud a lot
TiVO using Tim Tebow to sell their hardware - must be desperate to not go out of business
nice move thad
Fuck me. Hawes tried to throw the ball off the glass to go and hopefully get the o-board and the damn thing banked in.
Hawes stuffed mightily. Try throwing it up high off the board next time big fellah, that seems to work better.
jrue jumper
Thad gets a facial from Maxiell. Let Jason get position that time.
Hawes blows a layup. He's the shit just bowling over people out there.
Lavoy gets pulled w/ 4 fouls. Spencer keeps playing w/ 4. ugh
Jrue Makes Knight his bitch
but man - has jrue been wearing those ugly orange shoes all year? Isn't there some sort of 'matching shoe' thing in the NBA?
While the offense has looked better this quarter, the defense has been rather porous and shitty.
Well, Lavoy and Spencer both get to play together with four fouls each.
bad shot jrue
Bad shot Jrue from three, even if it was a two for one opportunity. He had more time to get a better look.
4 on jrue
sissy jumper
If Wayans had a big man who could jump - he could have done an alley oop there
Hawes at the buzzer. Hot stuff baby!
Wayns can't stay in front of anyone, def not Knight
sissy putback
Spencer follow. Earn that money boy.
There's a backlog of money that Spencer has to earn - I think right now he's earning his 4th years salary
Get Wayns out of the game! OK, ET now back in.
And did you ever think you'd be glad turner was coming back into the game
Nick Young - don't dribble please
Don't get ahead of yourself, while I wanted Wayns out that doesn't equate to being 'glad' Evan came back in. Though he is having a good game on the offensive end, he's given just as much back on the defensive end.
ET bad shot, o-board though.
et from the post
ET postup.
j-rich 3!
JRich money!
When you have half a foot on a guy - who is the 'heart' of the team - you don't think maybe driving at him instead of the turn around fade away is a better plan?
ET contested J.
jrue jumper
Jrue spin move!!! Nice.
Spencer stands flat-footed to contest a Charlie V drive and finish. Great.
Stuckey straight through the swiss cheese defense. Isn't much more that pisses me off than that.
Ill probably catch a lot of hate for this comment, but Turner is just as valuable to this team as Jrue is.
If he did it more consistently and stopped waving his hand like his calling for a taxi I might agree with you
Aside from the first few games of the season I'd say he's been pretty consistently solid. His defense has definitely been lazy at times and doesn't compare to Jrue's, but his rebounding and aggressiveness on the offensive end are invaluable to the team.
Willie Green plays offensive aggressive - Nick Young plays offensive aggressive. "Aggressive offense" without good shooting or drawing fouls is a detriment in my opinion
That being said Jrue is killing it right now!
That was terrible Jrue, and selfish. Too much one-on-one.
Oh come on spencer - why the HELL are you on the elbow posting and throwing the ball away
Oh good - offensive foul
No one believes that was a pass Thad - Jrue just was in the right place
Thad w/ his 4th steal!! Awww, break foiled.
Hawes fouled. After Evan walked a mile and didn't finish.
Thad, high ball screen. Jrue pullup. Up 5 with under two to play.
they are free
Jrue finally getting his first trip to the line tonight. Gee. And he misses the first one, damn. And the fucking second one, guess that's what happens when you haven't been there the whole night.
That shot makes up for it a little bit though right?
I really hate the free throw deferential that the sixers seem to suffer during home games - it's just ridiculous
Jrue ........... DAGGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!
jrue jumper goes, not a fan of the iso
It's a part of the game - doug collins loves them
At least it ain't Lou Williams
Iso and hero-ball at it's best!!
free!!!!!!!!!
Evan gives up an o-board then says to the ball "I'm gonna get you sucka!!" 11th board. A man's one.
eddies, i gotta hand it to you-0you really meant it last year when you said you'd be thrilled if et proved your doubts wrong....you're a good man, sir, and a terrific sixers fanif i miss all or part of z game i've come to rely on checking your game thread comments to get a sense of how different guys played...you're my kinda sixers fan in the only ways that matter
Sixers are 11-0 when leading after the 3rd quarter this year.
Yeah, I want to believe too, I really do.
Turner's shot selection is not nearly as terrible as Willie Green or Swaggy and while he's had some inefficient games, he's also carried the team to wins in several games in this young season where the team needed his scoring and aggressiveness. He also may be the best rebounding guard in the entire league and a line of 15/4/7 per game is nothing to sneeze at.
some are just butthurt that he's replaced Iguodala's production at a more reasonable price.
He also may be the best rebounding guard in the entire league and a line of 15/4/7 per game is nothing to sneeze at.
Iguodala could average numbers like that and be deridden in Philadelphia, Turner is praised for it.
Let's seem him put together a full season before we get excited.
For the record, I loved and miss the hell out of iggy (especially on the defensive end), but unlike Turner, he was frequently timid in taking the ball to the rack. While Turner's finishing around the rim is suspect at times and needs improvement, I would rather him attack the rim than settle for outside jumpers (something that he also does more often than I'd like). That being said, this is only his 3rd year and he has plenty of room to improve. He also comes at a bargain only making 5 mil this year (Less than Hawes).
Like it or not, you're not going to go entire games without shooting outside jumpers.
Sixers MADE amends. Thank you for coming.
bulls up next, get ready for an ugly one
I fucking love this team.
POTG is a tie between Holiday and Turner.
Turner 8/13 from the field. Fantastic.
Thad waves his hand in the air for potg consid
What is this Dei update on Bynum they were teasing?
his right knee doesn't hurt, still has pain in the left but he thinks it's coming along more quickly than the other one. Pretty sure he just talks sometimes and you have to take whatever he says with a grain of salt though.
Seriously - you're talking to Jrue Holiday about his christmas shopping? WTF
i mean when they try to talk about basketball it's usually wrong, so they might as well go to another topic.
At least when they talk about basketball it's interesting - Jrue needs to hire some folk in the off season and work on his interviews - he's not good at it
that's the truth. dude has all the charisma of flourescent lighting. he brought the phony with him from la but forgot to pack the oily charm...seems like a blank slate. et has had his struggles to be sure, but i can relate to ev's highs and his lows more than i can relate to jrue's mechanical desire to play how coach tells him and talk how his agent tells him.
basketball players are so exposed on the court and et is so much easier to cast in your lot with from up in the grandstands...his heart his on his sleeve and he so obviously feeds off crowd energy...fans are gonna fall for that every time, especially in philly. hopefully after some more time here jrue will ditch the front but for now he is far too guarded to command the room...doesn't connect...like a olitician whose mind is on all the focus group research rather than the voters in front of him...that's why et is the people's choice and jrue's most devoted fanboys seem to live in disproportionate numbers outside of the phl metro
http://www.csnphilly.com/sportsnetPhiladelphia/search/v/67874224/andrew-bynum-gives-an-update-on-his-injury.htm?pageid=560726
can't imagine someone giving off more of an "i don't give a fuck" vibe
Heh. That was the most innocuous interview ever.
Going w/ Turner for POTG just because of that board he grabbed at the end.
Man, I'm literally salivating thinking about what Jrue could do if it was Bynum setting the screen for him in the pick-and-roll. All I want for Christmas...
Funny stat. Lavoy, +16 in 17 minutes tonight. Hawes, -8 in 32. But man, was he active!
Tells you all you need to know about efficacy of +/-. Without "Sissy" contributions, Sixers lose last night's game.
"When the nostrils flare, you best beware."
"I am the god of hellfire! And I bring you - fire!!"
Or maybe they win the game easily if not for his earlier negative contributions, of which there were many.
7 straight points by Greg Monroe immediately following Hawes entering the game in the third might be one such example.
How 'bout the 1st half negative contributions of "hero" Jrue? You failed to mention that. A balanced recap is in order, but your Haweshate precludes it. 00 deserves some credit for last night's W.
2/7, 4 points, 4 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover.
That was Jrue's first half. And he was +8 on the game.
+/- isn't always accurate, in this case, it was. Hawes was less than 00 last night. He had some highlights. The block on Knight, I think it was, comes to mind. But his overall effect was a big negative. His worst play of the night was actually a hoop he scored. He had the ball at the foul line with Jrue standing wide open at the three-point line. Instead of passing it out, instead he tries to throw himself an alley-oop off the backboard, which accidentally goes in. There was no way in hell that play was going to work.
Pistons, 49-46. And when the ball is in Jrue's hands 75% of the time, with friendly home town bookkeeper, with 'itchy fingers' Turner, Young & Richardson by his side, he'd be remiss NOT to notch 4 assists, an inherent aspect of his duty. Brandon Knight, small, certainly no defensive ace - and 22 pts.
Hawes: solid competitive spirit, 15 pts, 8 rbs, 2 a, 3 blks in 31:36 - I'll take that 61 more times. His alert, opportunistic follow of Richardson stray left side J - ordinary basketball play, effective. Mistake hoop, funny but deserving on this particular night - by George, karma IS a chameleon.
In the end, Jrue & Evan had the brag stat lines, Thad & Spencer were the key spirit warriors throughout... worked, shoveled coal to teammates' fire. Good win; could've tipped the other way but didn't.
I thought you might bring up Brandon Knight. Here are his splits:
with Jrue on the floor: 4/14, 12 points
with Jrue on the bench: 4/4, 10 points
You can look it up.
Are you sure about that? "Munchkin" Wayns only played 3:49 - did Knight go 4-4 for 10 in that short span? Who else covered him? Where do you go for mano-mano splits?
Knights smile & chin stroke after gettin' smoked: If I'm a teammmate, I'm annoyed at that ego crap. "Just get up and play the game. You're not the first to trip, and won't be the last. Let your 'embarrassment' fuel better D-#."
Whoops, correct, 4/5 for 10 points w/ Jrue on the bench, 4/13, 12 points w/ Jrue in the game. Check the play-by-play:
Jrue on the bench from end of 1st to 6:43 to go in the second Q. Knight 1/1, 2 points in that stretch.
Jrue on the bench for the final 2:29 of the second Q. Knight 1/1, 3 points in that stretch.
Jrue on the bench beginning of the 4th to 8:59 left in the game. Knight 2/3, 5 points in that stretch (missed a missed layup in there)
Thanks.
You've substantiated Jrue's substance substantially (yet sometimes it's just bad shooting and sometimes misses are a product of strong help ... the tape would give the full dope). I don't see him as a stopper though. Often uses picks as opportunities to pause and have a Coke. Decent, most of the time, but certainly not a great defender.
Out of curiosity, can you name a great defender at the PG position currently playing? Or just someone who's clearly better than Jrue?
I can't offhand, Brian, but when I have time I'll give it some consideration and get back to you.
Yeah, there aren't a ton to choose from. Westbrook makes some spectacular defensive plays, as did D. Rose, but neither is particularly consistent on that end of the floor. Personally, I like Brandon Jennings on the defensive end. Does a great job of keeping his man in front of him, even if he doesn't make particularly spectacular plays on that end of the floor. I think Rondo's defense is overrated. He's a gambler. Conley's a good defender.
Jrue's consistency isn't great, it probably should be better than it is, but if I'm picking a PG to defend on a do-or-die possession, I go w/ Jrue.
Rose, Conley, Teague, Rondo, Evans, Paul, Westbrook, Jennings, Ridnour (don't laugh), Shumpert (throw-in), Jrue - all have their moments. None are Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Al "The Destroyer" Attles, Jerry "Red Meat" Sloan, Mike "Overbrook HS" Gale, Phil Smith or prime Jason "Parole Officer" Kidd). My favorites among the current: a healthy Rose, Rondo.
A lot of D-effectiveness is contingent on match-ups. Who do you want to stop on do-or-die possession? If it's a quick guard who penetrates well, I don't want Jrue.
If we're talking isolation, then yeah, I want Jrue. Quick feet and size to cut off the lane and challenge. If we're talking about fighting through a pick, or going under it, someone else. If we're talking about the pick-and-roll, though, I'd like a big with a pulse helping him defend it.
Re isolation: his "quick feet" haven't stopped Westbrook, Jennings and Rondo from blowin' him up. Good instincts, good fight (majority of nights) - I'll give him.
Agree, slug bigs are hindrance to stoppage cause but that's another matter.
Yeah, he's up and down. But one stop, I think his top end is the top in the league in isolation. The pick-and-roll defense is bad, mostly because of the bad bigs, but he needs to do a better job as well, even if he isn't getting help. Indecision is a problem, sometimes. Need to be decisive when you're deciding whether to go over or under.
Enjoyed the chat. Palms to the floor. Slide. Slide. Slide. Pick right. Through. No reach. Close. Check out. Phew! Hard work. Time out.
Sixers story: Hot Holiday second half keys close victory over Pistons:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/sixers/moore_sixers/holiday-finds-range-keys-victory/article_d24743e4-8d7b-583a-b375-74fa1accf652.html
Tom, what's your feeling about Bynum. Mainly, how does the rest of the team seem to be reacting to the drama? Do they seem behind him? Is he an afterthought? Are they sick of hearing about it? Just keeping focused on playing right now w/out him?