Is it a lock? Is a definite loss? Is it a toss up?
I can’t tell you because I have no clue. That is your Philadelphia 76ers.
There aren’t any NCAA tournament games so I will actually watch this one all the way through. After the last two games all I am looking for is some defense. Need to see some played. The Sixers gave up 245 points on 57% shooting the last two games. You can’t beat anyone playing that level of defense, not even the Kings.
This game will look different. No John Salmons and no Mikki Moore. Insert Andres Nocioni, Rashad McCants and Ike Diogu (on a very limited basis).
Like I said I don’t know how this game is going to go. I know the way it should go but the Sixers don’t like predictability (aka consistency – the good kind). So we’ll see.
Miami beat the Pistons today so they are now 2 full games up in the 5th spot. The Sixers sitting in the 6th spot and 1 full game ahead of Detroit (2 games in the loss column). The way it’s looking now we could very easily end up playing Boston in the first round even if we stay at 6. That is exactly why the 5th seed is so critical.
Let’s see if the Sixers start playing with a sense of urgency tonight.
Defense,defense,defense, nuff said!!!!
Get the job done, play defense, blow them out, and take the quickest flight to Portland!
These are not the Kings of old!
FLASHBACK:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OZcx2CrTpI
There might be a Kareem Rush sighting tonight.
Think, no longer Dannie. The Sixers beat the Kings (as expected).
Our bench was HUGE, especially in the 2nd quarter and Kareem Rush was a big part of it with 8 points (2 /3 from downtown). Lou is the Lou we all can imagine at his best with 18 points.
With the exception of a rocky 4th quarter,which was expected after leading and controlling the game throughout, but the Sixers took care of business.
Tony DiLeo and the Sixers were clearly thinking about tomorrow’s game against the Blazers. We jumped out on the Kings early and led by as many as 29 points and never looked back. Donyell Marshall was a DNP-CD, but I think that was by design in preparation for tomorrow’s game. It’s seems very clear that they want to beat the Blazers tomorrow and will do everything possible to prepare for it and be 3-2 on this road trip and gain further ground in the Eastern Conference.
As of now, we are 1.5 games behind Miami, but 1.5 games ahead of Detroit, who are playing without Iverson, Hamilton, & Wallace.
Our Next Games:
3/23 @ Portland
3/25 Minnesota
3/27 Charlotte
3/29 @ Detroit
3/31 Atlanta
The Next 5 Games For:
-Atlanta:
3/23 Minnesota
3/25 San Antonio
3/27 Boston
3/29 LA Lakers
3/31 Philadelphia (That’s Right!)
-Miami:
3/23 Memphis
3/25 @Indiana
3/26 @Chicago
3/28 Milwaukee
3/30 Orlando
-Detroit
3/24 @Chicago
3/26 LA Lakers
3/28 @ Washington
3/29 Philadelphia (That’s Right!)
3/31 @Cleveland
GO SIXERS!!! BEAT THE BLAZERS TOMORROW!! WE WANT REVENGE FOR LOSING THE FINALS TO THEM!!
good to get W. didint wsee the game but recently Sixers seem to be forgetting that they win by Defense first. outrebounded 40-34 by Kings? there could be many explanations for that but it is still unacceptable to me. Have been giving up 100 ppg this road trip. that needs to end in Portlan okay Sixers?
Thad Young looks real good again. has been solid and not just appearing and disappearing. hope we can rely on production from him. Well lets see how we match up against Portalnd who are something else at Rose Garden. Play sone D, Sixers! and dont put Miller on Roy pls!
“The critics say he doesn!t have the personality to be a head coach, he would wear on the players, he is too intense;” stated on hoopshype today about T. Thibodoux. Hey E.S., maybe next year a little intensity would be a good ingrediant to add to this group, go get him please!!!
Next up, let’s blaze a trail with a win against the Trailblazers! They are tough to beat at home, but both teams are similar when you look at the head-to-head stats:
http://csnphilly.stats.com/nba/head2head.asp?gamecode=2009032322
I think the way we must beat them, like last game, is by playing our fastbreak game, where it all starts on the defensive end and the defense turns to offense. We MUST match their energy level. Both teams have energy players and both benches are vital for their victories. We must either contain Brandon Roy or make him to all the scoring like he did the previous meeting. We must outrun Oden and Aldridge!!
Although we might be a bit fatigue playing yesterday, the starters rested quite a bit in that 2nd quarter and Marshall & Ratliff should be the freshest guys for tonight. And it seems that everybody has been talking about this game and trying to end the road trip on a high note. The Sixers REALLY want to win this game! It seems as though the team, the coaches, our commentators, and even the post-game show were more focused about this game. If our sharpshooters get minutes like that and do their business, you never know.
One can hope that the Blazers are a bit tired from their road trip and that they could solely rely on their fans alone to revive them. Lately, the Blazers make it a habit of trailing early at home, but then win the game in thrilling fashion! If Iggy still has the legs left and give Roy a hard time throughout, similar to what he did to Kobe, then maybe the Sixers might pull it out–basically close the closer!!
Other than fatigue, the other cause of concern is our free throw shooting, three point defense, the interior defense, and missing a number of point-blank shots throughout this trip. In the Lakers game, our free throw shooting was KEY! In the Kings game, our three point defense, especially on Garcia, was not good at all.
The Blazers are (28-6) at home; (22-7) against the East
Their only losses at home are:
Dec 9 - Orlando 108-109 (on a GW three by Hedo) (great road team)
Dec 12- LA Clippers 112-120 2OT (former Blazer Z.Bo had 38 pts)
Dec 25- Dallas 94-102 (outscored 25-14 in 4th qt)
Jan 2- New Orleans 77-92 (outscored 41-19 in final 15 min)
Jan 21- Cleveland 98-104 (Cavs rebounded from loss to Lakers)
Mar 11- Dallas 89-93 (outscored 30-19 in 2nd; ZONE problems)
With that said, that’s quite a home record and it’s been a good month in a half since someone beat them at home! The day is now March 23, 2009, let’s give them their seventh loss. We beat another great team on their home floor, why not try another team!
GO SIXERS!!! BEAT THE BLAZERS!!
Rob – Where do you find the time?
Quick thoughts on Philly’s NBA franchise, and hopefully a non-temporary about-face on my negativity:
* I think I’ve seen enough to declare this: Iguodala has the “big shot” gene. It’s an unbelievable development… I think maybe “discovery” describes it bettter… But Iguodala is such an unusual creature of an NBA player, I think I’ll settle on “mutation”. Anyways – there isn’t a single non-dunk shot that he’s particularly good at, but he seems to be able to make any kind of reasonable shot (no skyhooks from mid-court) at the end of games. This is the kind of inexplicable, World-Series-homers-by-Joe-Blanton sh*t that makes you love sports.
* I feel like they can get to the 2nd round this year – I like the trajectories that everyone’s skills, mindsets and developments are taking:
Iguodala: slowly going from good all-around player to great all-around player; he’s been wonderfully accomodating to Thad’s recent offensive development; he’s the guy that makes other better, not Andre Miller, and he’s got the adjusted +/- rating to prove it – he’s 4th behind Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and LeBron James.
Thad: slowly mentally arranging his offensive arsenal from most effective to least, and becoming less and less inconsistent; I think he’ll perfect this by the time the playoffs roll around.
Sam: slowly, I mean really slowly, learning that he’s the key to wins by the team; he still mails in way too many games, not unlike Shaq, but I sense some maturity with Philly’s big fella – look for him to be a force in the paint come playoff time.
Lou: slowly starting to realize that he’s been hurting the team a lot this year and I think he’s turned the corner mentally in that he’s forcing things a little less – but just a little; I think there will be more efficiency to his game in the playoffs.
The bench: I read this analysis of our bench by Kevin Arnovitz (of TrueHoop and Clipperblog) and I like it… A LOT! It sounds like the kind of bench that you want come playoff time:
“Sixers’ head coach Tony DiLeo seems to have settled on his nine-man rotation. It’s not a flashy group, especially in contrast to the athletes in Philly’s starting lineup, but each reserve has a clearly defined role, and the unit plays solid defense.
Gritty defensive specialist Royal Ivey has emerged as DiLeo’s backup point guard. Since New Years, Ivey has consistently logged about 15 minutes a game. Alongside him is Lou Williams, who picks up heavy minutes at the wing, finishing games for the Sixers at shooting guard ahead of Willie Green.
The Sixers’ second unit features a nice complementary pair of frontcourt players — rookie Marreese Speights, who has shined as a post scorer, and veteran/menace Reggie Evans, who can’t score, but does the dirty work as well as anyone. Neither is a pure center, and if the situation calls for one, DiLeo can go to Theo Ratliff.
In his half-season as Sixers’ coach, DiLeo has proven himself to be a creature of habit — substitution flow charts for Sixers’ games tend to be uniform. There’s nothing to indicate that will change come playoff time.”
Willie Green: I’d always wondered how the heck we were able to “get away” with Willie as the starting SG last year, but there was no crossing of fingers, or some sort of trickery there – he tends to hold opposing shooting guards in check, and he’s gotten much better at it this year. I think he gives some of the not-so-quick shooting guards on opposing teams some trouble this postseason.
Last, but not least, DiLeo: by showing some flexibility in changing the gameplans to include Thad and Donyell more, he’s already shown that he’ll be better than Mo Cheeks was last year; if something’s not working in game 1, like tasking Iguodala to get us points against Tayshaun Prince, then I don’t see DiLeo going with that same strategy again in game 2, and then in game 3, and then in game 4…
Ryan F– whatever the mind thinks of, write it!! For other things, I need to follow my own advice. Maybe I could be a comedian if I keep writing my thoughts! Ha, right!
GO SIXERS!! BEAT THE BLAZERS AND ASK, “WHO’s LAUGHING NOW?”
Chad Ford on Johnny Flynn’s draft status (ESPN.com):
“Flynn was pretty adamant on Saturday that he’ll return to Syracuse for his junior season. “I’m coming back to Syracuse,” he said. “That’s it. I’m coming back to Syracuse. There is no ‘as of right now.’ I’m coming back to Syracuse. Yeah. I’m coming back to Syracuse.” Flynn is currently ranked as a potential mid-to-late first-round pick.”
If they upset Oklahoma, Flynn has a good showing, and then goes head to head with Lawson vs. UNC…perhaps this could change. But…damnit.
Zack: I like your sum up of the Sixers positives…all good points.
Dave T, thanks. About Flynn, I actually don’t blame him. There’s a lot of sad stories amongst the early entrants from the 2008 draft: DeAndre Jordan, Davon Jefferson, Darrell Arthur, Chalmers, Jamont Gordon, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and some others that I can’t think of off the top of my head. I’ve read a few stories now of guys wishing they hadn’t come out early, wishing they could be helping their former college teams in the tournament. It’s an interesting trend. I’m sure it says something about the states of both the NBA and NCAA basketball, but I’m not sure what it is yet.
Yeah Zack. I’ll second Dave T. Thanks for the positive thoughts. I was too busy on the baseball side to say something earlier.