Guys, I am at the game again so use this post as an open thread to discuss game 2 against the Knicks. I will write something up when I get home.
Definitely looking for the Sixers to shoot the ball better against some softer defense. And hopefully see less confusion on offense. One thing is for sure, the transition offense will be there tonight. Should be high scoring.
Game Notes
The Sixers did what they are supposed to do, beat the crap out of bad teams. A 116-87 victory of the Knicks certainly qualifies for that.
Good
- Rebounding - 61 boards vs. 43 for the Knicks. The Sixers dominated the glass again, and right now this looks like the first identifiable and sustainable strength for this team. 6 players had 6 rebounds or more in the game so it’s a complete team effort. Rebounding is one of the 4 factors, and the Sixers look like they could be the best rebounding team in the NBA. They went up against two very good rebounding front courts and made them look like little boys.
- Shooting, whew – After the first game I know many people were thinking this season could be more of the same for the Sixers from the perimeter. But tonight they shot 59% from the field. Granted we must take this with a grain of salt because this came against the Knicks who look like they are the front runners for worst defensive team in the league after two games. But Elton Brand’s touch was there tonight, flawless from 15 feet. Willie was hot and taking good shots, and Andre Miller was simply unstoppable. More importantly 2-5 from three point range. This team won’t win a lot of games putting up 20 three-point shots a night.
- Elton Brand – Dominating from the first minute. The Sixers did a much better job of establishing Brand inside and getting him more touches in scoring positions. He finished with 24 points, 14 boards and 3 blocks. That is exactly why we brought him here. For me, more than anything, I am impressed with his overall defense. He defends pick-and-rolls well, is good in help defense and individual post defense. Once he gets his game body fully back and his wind (he is often bending over and holding his shorts), I think he will actually be more involved in the transition game and be even better at what he is already doing well.
- Perimeter defense – I thought the Sixers perimeter defense and rotations on the perimeter were horrible in the first game. Tonight was going to be a test going against Duhon, Robinson and Crawford, three guys that like to penetrate. Tonight guys did a much better job of fighting over ball screens, contesting shots and keeping guys in front. Although the Knicks shot extremely poorly on their own, I thought the constant contesting of shots had a lot to do with that.
Bad
- Free throw shooting – This is a really big concern for me. Good teams lose games against other good teams because of poor free throw shooting. Tonight the Sixers were 10-19 from the line – 52%. That can’t happen against better teams if they expect to compete with the big dogs in the league.
- Turnovers – 19 turnovers tonight and 17 turnovers in the first game. To be honest I really am hoping this is early season mistakes and learning to play with each other and not a sign of things to come. The Sixers were middle of the pack last season at 14 per game, and I actually am hoping they bring that number down to 12, but that may not be possible considering their style of play (fast breaking, passes while playing at a faster pace and lots of lobs.) Either way we can’t see 17+ turnover games against better teams – period.
- Not forcing enough turnovers – On the flip side the Sixers haven’t been forcing enough turnovers. Only 10 for the Knicks today with 4 coming from steals. Wednesday night it was 9 with 3 steals. Both those numbers need to go up in order to create more fast break opportunities. This was a strength for the Sixers last year, and it’s necessary for them to do this well in order to play the offensive style they want to play.
Moving forward
What is Andre Iguodala’s offensive role? Right now he doesn’t look aggressive trying to score the ball or create for other people. This may or may not become an issue. Andre Miller is a point guard that needs the ball to be effective, and quite frankly I think we all want him to have the ball a lot. He is clearly our best decision maker and passer. Brand showed tonight exactly why he needs to be constantly involved in pick-and-rolls to get open 15 footers. He also showed the post offense we desperate needed to add stability to the half-court offense. Where does Iguodala fit in there? I honestly am not sure right now, and I think Cheeks, the rest of the coaches and Iguodala himself are still trying to figure this out as well.
The three plays I’ve seen that are Iguodala-focused so far are pick-and-rolls, pin-down screens and post-ups. Just looking at those three options and considering what we know about Iguodala’s game (not a great jump shooter and not a polished post player), I am not sure he can thrive on offense with that to work with. This is not a big concern for me right now but certainly something to keep an eye on as the season goes on.
On to Atlanta tomorrow night.
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with about 4:10 lest in the first, sammie took a horrendous elbow jumper that missed, then while getting back on defense, he proceeded to allow jamal crawford to drive for an easy layup when he could have easily stepped in front (layup was with 3:59 left). chandler ended up getting a basket interference.
gotta love how the sixers are attacking the basket. what a way to end the half with the olley oop to sammy. but they should be up by a lot more. the knicks are missing a lot of wide open shots. we have made a bunch of good defensive plays but the Knicks have not made us pay for a bunch of defensive mistakes.
L.Will. played very selfishly tonight. Looks like we will hammer teams on the boards this year. Thought Chandler brought some physicalness to Knicks when he was out there. A.Miller seemed to get 20 pts. with less effort than last year.Iggy seems to be trying to find his niche but could become the 4th option when Thad starts hitting his stride.
Couldn’t catch the game tonight…from the box score it looks like we handed them a good, old school thrashing. Did we play as well as the box score suggests? The stat that immediately stood out to me was the 24 assists…if we keep that up, we’ll win a lot more then we’ll lose. Getting 60 rebounds doesn’t hurt either, of course!
Dave T., went to Elton early and often, 14 first quarter points, he said Mo told him to stop trying to fit in and attack.
Iguodala’s role on this team was probably the second biggest question mark before the season began. Now? It might be the first. I mean, we are paying this guy 80 million to be… what exactly? Defends other team’s best player and fastbreak finisher. Oh and highlight dunks, which are nice but…
I know this vibe I’m getting is incredibly premature but you have to wonder how compatible Iguodala and Brand’s game are. Anyone else wonder about this?
On a side note, I cannot wait for the Boston matchup. I Brand vs. KG matchup should be awesome.
Raro, after the first 2 games I would have to agree with you. I can!t help but think a guy that defends and could catch and shoot, rather than dribble and attack, would be a better fit, but hopefully they make it work.
By the way, A.Miller seems to be playing off of Elton well and his value is rising by the game. He is the second best player thus far, wouldn!t you guys agree?
Suede, I agree. Miller looks very sharp. He can get his own when he sees it (like in the 3rd quarter) or when we need it and he’s distributing well. We definitely want the ball in his hands a lot. Also, as you said, he is definitely playing well off Elton. I like how Miller is finding him trailing on the break (Once in the 3rd quarter, Brand cut down the middle of the lane and got right to the rim).
I look at last night’s game as a kind of get right, establish some things on the court, feel good game. Now we need to continue solidifying what we did well and improve in the areas that are slow coming around while we settle in with each other on the floor.
Tonight will be interesting. We will get to see the guy we wanted (Josh Smith) go up against the guy we really wanted (Brand). I expect Horford, Johnson, Bibby, and the rest to be a much tougher test than the Knicks, that’s for sure. After tonight we will know how much of our success last night was due to the Knicks and how much was due to us.
Okay, what do you want to say about the Sixer-Hawks game? This will be incredible for our first road game– IN HIGH DEFINITION on Comcast. I’m glad Comcast is finally putting the road game on HD.
The Hawks walloped the Magic in Orlando last Wednesday. I warned you guys about them– they could get that 8th seed when it is all said and done because they basically have the same starting lineup.
GO SIXERS!