At this point in the season every game gets harder and harder to write for. We are playing the Bobcats for 4th time behind in the series 2-1. This is a bounce back game after the terrible performance in New Jersey and a revenge game having lost to the Bobcats in the last meeting.
If you are watching the game stay here and chat it up in the comments. It will probably make the game that much more interesting.
Salmi is the worst. He just said “I like when Dalembert is aggressive early.” Who in their right mind would like to see Sammy rebound the ball, put it on the floor in the middle of 2 defenders, jack up a horrible shot, and draw an offensive foul. Aggressive defensively yes, but after that play he should be put on the bench.
Offense is really a problem without Thad. The Sixers aren’t a high assist team. They rely heavily on guys to get their own shot. Well they lost a key guy that does that.
If we had shooters you could lean more on shot creation for teammates vs. individual shot creation.
Drive and kick out to Reggie Evans for a 20 foot jumper to end the quarter. Ugh.
2nd time in a row I come home excited to flip back and forth between the Sixers/Phills and theyre both losing. WTF
Ryan - I am doing the same. Moyer just walked though. 2 on for Jimmie to make something happen.
This is absolutely disgraceful. I MUST lower my expectations going forward in general but especially with Thad out.
That was the worst post defense by Speights. He is a liability in that area right now.
The Bobcats are playing the Sixers game (rebound and push the ball) significantly better than the Sixers. They are flying up and down while we look stuck in mud.
OK just needed to get to halftime apparently Seem to have woken up.
Oh my. That’s a let down isn’t it. I was offered tickets to go to this game, but I decided not to go. I’m kind of glad I didn’t. I don’t know what to think about this team. Hopefully CP3 can take over and beat the Heat. This team doesn’t know how to carry momentum between games. Every game they start off slow and make a run late. It’s the same game over and over. Well… GO CHRIS PAUL!
Only 11 fast-break points doesn’t cut it, especially without Young.
Ratliff’s plus-minus -23 in 26 minutes one game after Speights was -28 in 15 minutes vs. Jersey.
Dalembert’s last 23 games: 0 assists, 33 turnovers.
Dalembert’s last 23 games: 0 assists, 33 turnovers. Lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Call me crazy for thinking that we could make better use of his money, meaning giving it to someone else, or 2 people!
Ugh. Luckily Miami lost in OT. The difference: we were suppose to win this game and they were probably suppose to lose that one.
Tom, it looks like we are closer to the [Chicago,Charlotte, Toronto andIndiana!s] of the world than any of the top three teams in the east.
Our guards played well offensively. Nice recovery from the first half, but CAN WE PLEASE GRAB A REBOUND in that 4th quarter? Those missed rebounds down the stretch really cost us the game, aside from some questionable calls down the stretch. The officiating was weird overall for both teams with bodies flying around.
I think Dalembert’s motivation is in question now. He needs another pep talk with DiLeo! His rebounding and shotblocking are vital, especially his rebounding down the stretch. Since Elton Brand went down, our rebounding dominance has disappeared. Since Thaddeus Young went down, the fastbreak offense has struggled. GET IT TOGETHER GUYS!!
The Sixers are dodging bullets as well as opportunities. The Heat lost in OT to the Hornets thanks to a Hail Mary from Rasual Butler.
The game with the Bulls will be tough on TNT, but if we can contain Salmons and Gordon the same way we did the last meeting, then maybe. They better come through on national television!
GO SIXERS!!! GRAB LIFE BY THE HORNS!!
There’s still no way I see this team catching the Heat when It’s all said and done. The schedule is too tough and we can’t seem to get on any kind of roll. I really thought the Pistons win would do more for us emotionally, but it’s resulted in two horrible shooting games. At least we showed some guts making a nice comeback, we just didn’t have enough fire power in the end.
p.s. I want Donyell taking a 3 point shot somewhere in those last two possessions. I dont mind Willie shooting it because he was hot. But Andre wasn’t really shooting well. Still nice to see Willie play good though.
As Tom referenced Ratliff and Speights in the game together just isn’t a good fit. Neither player rebounds well and they both seem to get boxed out of the lane very easily on missed shots. Ratliff tapped a few rebounds instead of getting good position to put both hands on the ball. Gutsy effort on the comeback but Thad’s injury has really shown up to be worse than expected. I think he should receive the most improved player of the year award. R. Butler a close 2nd.
Although it seems Sammy is tanking it right now, he is still the best defensive rebounder and presence late in games. He should be on the floor regardless of his lack of basketball brain cells.
Oh yeah, Salmi stinks.
I can!t believe I!m gonna defend Sam but he only works if you put people that can score the ball around him because he is a role player and nothing more. With the financial situation the way it is we are stuck with him so they need to add shooters, it always comes back to that, doesn!t it. We are a fragil team that can!t afford to be lacking even one of our scorers[Thad]. If we lose a role player we are fine because we have plenty of them.
Sam lacks both a heart and mind for basketball (unless conditions are perfect – 38 minutes of PT, no criticism); his start-of-game clapping and ‘boxing ring’ feet shuffle - comically fraudulent. I think he’s commiting his 2 early-game fouls lately just to sit down, to subvert, to pay back decision-makers who haven’t kowtowed to him and fans who don’t swoon. Or is that giving him too much credit?
Iguodala’s defense was slack again. 2nd straight ‘stinker’ from the
“leading” 80 million $ man. His J is rounding into early season form. “Clang, clang, clang went the shooter.” 82 game season, the great leveler. If his brain doesn’t freeze and he puts a body on Wallace during Felton’s air ball, maybe a different ending.
Willie was injected with kryptonite instead of novacaine prior to stitching … played 2nd half D like he was shot out of a cannon …
inspired and inspiring display, led comeback; others took his cue.
No mountain to climb if any defense is played in first half when Wallace was imitating Connie Hawkins and Felton was channeling the spirit of Walter Davis. Including NJ, that was 6 straight quarters of extremely lame effort, just going through the motions, from the “boo”-worthy Blackshirts. No justification exists. A bolder coach would’ve benched
ALL defensive mutts without any nailbiting.
Andre ‘The Dozens” Miller: Loves to play “gotcha” basketball. Nose isn’t always to the grindstone though. Lapses kill. Draws and shoots fouls well, throws a nice lob, posts up smaller or weaker guards effectively,
inserts some wisdom and willpower into the mix … the rest of his game is refuse, ready for the landfill.
On to the stockyards of The City Of Big Shoulders. Will the Sixers be cattledrivers or stink it up?
hmm well said jjg.
JJG, would you trade Sammy for a 2nd rounder? Thus freeing up some cap space, and attempting to use that money on getting a player or players who are worth a damn? Dannie I know how you feel.
Jkay,dave t, suede, bski.
Last time I broached this topic Sammy was playing great and everyone disagreed with me even calling it a dumb idea. Be honest, would you like to wipe off sammy’s salary and attempt to make better use of that money?
Tom Moore, in your best guess do you thing that Stefanski would trade Sammy for a 2nd rounder just to get rid of this thief?
Jumpin, agree with a lot of what you say; question: can a new coach who holds people more accountable change this effort level thing? And will E.S. give the reigns to such a dominent personality that he will have to “back off”, so to speak.
greek: better question – can you trade Sammy without getting some bad contract? at this point i think it is a good point NOT bcos he is a liability to our team but bcos Brand, Iguodala and Miller have us wanting for cap space for the future. on his play anyways I like him on the floor better than Ratliffe simply bcos even with his poor play he is still a difference maker. The bone headed plays kill me but at one point i remember when wallace was living at the line and we needed a stop, he rotated in place, blocked a shot, wrestled away the tough rebound with his long arms , recovered and passed the ball out ALL in one fluid motion. his athletic ability is a huge plus. if you’re waiting for me to go sour on him, well not gonna happen. i still think we need him. but he’ s expendable all right.
Jkay, I don’t honestly thinks taht it’s possible theat we can get back anything more then a salary dump for Sammy.
Greek, the issue is what 12 million in salary you get in return. Ex. Sam for L.Hughes and a 2nd rounder. Or Sam for M.Blount and a 2nd rounder. Does that make us better?
Iguodala note: did NOT come through in clutch last nite. shot was not falling. gues i’m 0 for 1 Dannie. Gerald Wallace and Dre look like the same player; live at line, chuck airballs, athleticism off the charts. though our version has a better shot, better eyes and skills set but compare their salaries. Wallace got 6/57M, ours got 6/80M. not cool when u think of it that way. Iggy pls keep working on that shot ok.
The good guy as coach routine has been tried twice with this group [Mo and Tony]. It is time for a change next year. If L.B. was coaching this team what would our record be ?
The Greek, I’m of your mind regarding Sam. Would trade him for 1 Fifth Avenue, 1 Clark Bar or 2 Butterfingers. As a dependable basketball player, he’s a well-dressed mannequin. His going elsewhere would be good for all involved imo. A #2 draft pick and/or an expiring contract sounds Sixer-favorable.
Sued, Stefanski is a hustling, overachieving, former non-shooting point guard. I don’t guess he’d willingly surrender any control of his hometown baby to a dominant, outside coaching personality. If a change is made, hire would probably come from the insular, extended Philly cavalcade of coaching “luminaria” with whom he has familiarity, comfort and would retain incumbent power. A big name ‘foreigner’ is a wild card that businessmen don’t usually play. ES might need to rock the boat some; don’t suppose he’d want to capsize his own ship though. Of course, I’m just speculating.
JJG, welcome aboard the Sam Bashing train! Im the driver, refreshments are in the back. Enjoy the ride.
Suede your not answering the question, would you trade Sammy straight up for a 2nd rounder ala Marcus Camby to the clippers? ?????? Forget about getting a contract back, would you be interested in dumping Sammy’s contract? Yes or no?
The Sixers would do that in a heartbeat. The only way to move him is to take a bad contract back in return.
jkay,
Gerald Wallace is no where near the player that Andre is. Same type of player. But Andre is on another level from Gerald. I watch most of the Bobcats games (I live there) and I have watched Wallace play very well like last night, but also I have seen him shoot extremely bad. He does play with a ton of heart though, which is something I would like to see more of with this Sixers team.
Tom thanks for the response!
jjg, there is no way that Sammy would be able to bring back 1 Fifth Avenue, 1 Clark Bar or 2 Butterfingers in a trade. Dude your asking for too much!
Greek, How ’bout a lb. of pistachios? Or Stephon Marbury?
In the Sixers’ heads, they thought they won the game when Iggy hit a jump shot to make it 98-95 Sixers, but then we gave up 6 straight points and lost! (There were some weird calls though!)
However, prior to that second half, the Sixers were playing five straight quarters of uninspired basketball (from the 2nd quarter of the Nets game to the second quarter of the Bobcats game). Everyone in Philly,DiLeo, and even Salmi and Zumoff, are questioning the Sixers lack of focus. Hopefully, this will get the Sixers attention. Now, they put themselves in a more difficult position, but if refocused, I think the Sixers can get out if alive. It must start tomorrow in Chicago.
Dalembert has to WAKE UP and UNDERSTAND HIS ROLE as a rebounder and a defender. Really, Ratliff should be playing fewer minutes as a backup, 15 minutes, not starter’s minutes. He has to duplicate his last performance against the Bulls to make a defensive statement (3/13: 35 min 4 pts 19 rebounds (14 defensive) 4 blks 4 fouls 1 TO) His snarl must return!! Ratliff did not play in the previous meeting because Sammy was not in major foul trouble. Ratliff played in the last meeting AT Chicago in an OT victory, due to Dalembert’s lack of production, though he only had one foul. He did not light up the box score, but his impact was a +10 on December 2nd.
Marresse Speights is the WILD card for the Sixers. In the two Sixers victories, he averaged 10.5 points on a combined 10-18 shooting. His energy is VITAL in order to match up with the likes of Noah and Tyrus, where both have been on a tear lately.
The Sixers need to get back to what they do best and execute a game plan. That’s what they did to beat the Bulls last time. They contained Ben Gordon (9pts) and John Salmons (14pts) making them shoot a combined (9 of 25). Andre Iguodala MUST smother Gordon and block his shots like last time. Green, Ivey, and Iggy did a great job on Salmons and did not let him drive to the hoop often and made his second guess his three point shooting.
There’s a chance that Tim Thomas might miss tomorrow’s game due to a family situation. Whatever jersey he wears, time and time again, he has been lighting the Sixers up from downtown. His DNP would be huge and their bench would be thinner. That is where the Sixers MUST take advantage.
Derrick Rose will still be the unbelievable THORN on the Sixers side.(Pun intended)
THE BIG AND ONLY IF: WE MUST DEFEND THE PERIMETER. They are a jump shooting team for most part! The Bulls are predictable there!
GO SIXERS!! BEAT DA BULLS!!
Here’s something for laughs for us tense fans!! And congratualations to Michael Jordan and Jerry Sloan for making the Hall of Fame!!
http://www.fancast.com/tv/Saturday-Night-Live/10009/606783687/Bill-Swerkskis-Super-Fans/videos
guest: I’m an Iggy fan to death. but in that game they looked so similar, it made me think. i said ‘when you look at it that way’. just a thought anyway.
Greek: I would LOVE to trade away Sammy’s salary for anything BUT who will step in and play center right away? REALLY WHO?? Spp…-dont even mention the rookie who has no idea what defense means, or the aging veteran, or the 2nd year jump-shot-is-all-i-got player coming off of major injury. But be patient I’m sure it will happen soon. Now is just bad timing.
on Marreese Speights: the clamour is for him to hit the starting line-up, get major minutes etc. The key with big men is that they provide the only interior defense for most teams; post defense, weak side shot blocking, rotating and taking charges. the importance of learning to play solid defense is underrated when it comes to big men. Just compare Tim Duncan to Amare Stoudemire , ok not a good comparison but the point is their position dictates so much that they play good D unless their team falls. I dont want Speights to be just an offensive player and a sitting duck on defense. If he is ever going to start he needs to learn to play right. right now he’s clueless and gets out-muscled too. I say they take their time developing him. I dont think defense is something you can just pick up at any point (for bigs that is)
hmm when Jason Smith returns from injury, there will be some frontcourt jam with regard to minutes; Evans, ratliffe, Dalember, Marshall, Speights and Smith. I say trade Smith or Evans pronto. Moreso Evans cos of his surprisingly robust salary. both Speights and Smith can play PF. re-sign Marshall, release Ratliffe. we would get horrible defensively if either Smith or Speights plays but you gotta start somewhere if Sammy is to be leaving in the future.
Dunno what happens this chicago game tho. Evans better put a body on Thomas before he kills us on the glass and the Andres’ shot better be falling tonite.