Key to the game will be Sammy and Theo’s ability to keep Dwight Howard from going crazy and the Sixers perimeter players being able to defend the three effectively. Pretty much the same story every game. Which is why these game posts are getting shorter and shorter. I think we all know what the Sixers do well on a semi-consistent basis and what they struggle with game in and game out.
I think we are at a point where we are just watching and waiting. Waiting for them to prove they are better than a mere .500 team lucky to be in a playoff race. Lucky to be competing for a 4th or 5th seed. Lucky to be playing in an indescribably horrendous conference. The sad and most frustrating part is; with all that luck, they have yet to make the most of it. To seize the opportunity they have right now in the Eastern Conference.
Each time they step on the court against a plus .500 opponent we are looking for them to show us something. Show us some guts. Show us some grit. Show us some consistency. Show us some fight. And show us they are capable of really competing and beating good teams. Going into tonight’s game the Sixers are 7-19 against teams above .500.
Bad to mediocre teams don’t beat good teams. The Sixers have an opportunity to do that tonight against the Magic. When will they step up and get the job done?
Sixers vs. Orlando Game Notes
Orlando didn’t get a lead in this game until 6:28 left in the fourth quarter. But I was saying the entire game “Wow Orlando is getting a lot of wide open looks. If they put a few makes together they are going to get back in the game in a hurry.” Well that is exactly what happened.
In my pregame comments I said Sammy and Theo were going to be critical in this game. That is if the defensive strategy was to stay home on shooters. Well they weren’t because Dileo’s strategy wasn’t to play Howard one-on-one and stay home on Orlando’s very good three point shooters. Instead he chose to double Howard on every occasion and funnel shot attempts to Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston. That worked for three and a half quarters.
Dileo and Willie Green said in their post game comments that they wanted the right guys taking shots. That was Lee, Alston and Johnson. Lee is a 42% three point shooter and he started the game 1-9 from beyond. Things were working out. But it’s still a numbers game and a 42% shooter will eventually start knocking them down. I was just hoping he didn’t get some confidence late because the Sixers weren’t going to stop letting him shoot. Next thing you know he hits 4 straight shots, three from beyond. That helped give Orlando the lead and I don’t think anyone is confident the Sixers can pull out a close game against a good team this season.
Howard’s impact in the boxscore looks slight as if the Sixers did a great job defensively on him but that doesn’t tell the story. All the attention he got lead to open shot, after open shot. It was only a matter of time before Orlando started knocking them down in bundles.
Why do the Sixers not force teams to play insides the three point line as a defensive strategy? They know they can’t compete with teams that shoot and make a lot of threes. So make it a 2-pointer game. Make Dwight Howard score 40+. Make him beat you from the line. Force Lewis and Turk to drive. I just don’t get it.
Andre Miller is scoring at will in the 4th quarter and helps the Sixers keep pace while Orlando was making their run. Then with 22 seconds left and the score 100-99 in favor of the Magic he decides to put the ball in Andre Iguodala’s hands? WHY? WHY? WHY? That was terrible, inexperienced coaching. Why not go with the hot hand? The guy who has made tough shots more consistently than anyone else on the roster? Instead you put the ball in the hands of Iguodala. And we all knew what he was going to do. Shoot a damn fadeaway jumper. Over a 7-footer that can easily dunk on a 12-foot basket. Great shot there.
Then we are only down 3 with 17 seconds left and Iguodala at the line to cut it to 1 and give the Sixers a chance to foul and get the ball with a chance to tie or win it with a 3-point shot. CLANG! He misses the first and puts the Sixers in an even desperate situation. He started hot and fizzled in the second half and didn’t make a shot in the fourth quarter.
The Sixers simply continue to do what they are known for. Not play a complete game. Not finish off a team they handled most of the game. Not come up with big shots late when they needed them. Same ole, same ole for the Sixers.
Will go out there and try it again Monday against Hornets team that is getting healthy and looking to move up the Western Conference standings.
Next Game: Monday @home against the Hornets (I’ll be there for that one)
Magic have tied a team and Wachovia Center record with 37 attempted 3-pointers. … Miller is 4-for-4 with 10 points in the fourth.
PLEASE give Kareem Rush and Donyell Marshall some minutes, guys that can really shoot the ball!! They need to get some roles now that they remain on this squad. Get them ready for certain plays or diagrams. Otherwise we are basically predictable for defenses. In this final stretch of the season, we need to get some new tricks out of the bag and that usually starts with the remaining players on the bench. Our shooting specialists can benefit when Iguodala is double teamed. Yes, our shooters are not good defensively, but how many of them ARE?? Shooters are getting minutes on other teams to shoot, regardless of their defense. Coaches have that TRUST and can take that risk.
Also, the team has to stop gambling on a shooter’s shooting percentage. They have to stop watching and start contesting. Rashard Lewis is a tough guy to defend from three and requires little separation from the defender. But Anthony Johnson and Courtney Lee need to be CONTESTED.
Hopefully, the Sixers will learn their lesson when they host the Hornets on Monday!!
Luther Head has been WAIVED!! The Sixers better pick him up NOW!
http://www.nba.com/2009/news/02/28/houhead.ap/index.html
Rob: Fully agreed. Not only does Luther Head offer good shooting, but he has a surprisingly nice versatile offensive game. Good passer, good slasher, moves well without the ball. His minutes are completely inconsistent and spotty this season, so I feel comfortable throwing his stats from this year out the window, and going by what I’ve seen of him in past seasons. He’d be a nice little addition, and would make trading Willie Green or Lou Williams easier as we’d have an extra backup wing (that’s for those that want Lou gone immediately…I still think he has the potential to be one of the best 6th man in the league and is having a fluke year).
Its amazing how Denver became a better defensive team by losing A.I. and bringing in a good defensive backcourt [D.Jones and Billups] despite the loss of Camby. Adding defensive role players like C.Anderson helped too. We have defensive role players in place [Sam,Royal,Reggie] and with Elton,Thad and Iggy we should be able to improve our perimeter defense if the right coach is brought in.Thebodeax!s name is on hoopeshype as a coaching candidate this offseason and he or A.Johnson are the 2 guys I hope E.S. pursues to solve our main issue along with our shooting, tonite was another example of this.
I agree, deepsixersuede about having most of are pieces. Dileo and all his helpers sure messed up the game tonight. Two or three min. into the fourth quarter our line had, Lou, Evans, Sammy, Miller,and Iggy. Lou, Evans, and Sammy are offensively challenged. Lou”s shots were not falling all night we needed to keep scoring. Dileo leaves Green who was hot tonight sitting on the bench and Speights should have been put in for scoring also. Orlando was scoring anyway the defense of Evans, was not stopping them from scoring finally Dileo put Green back in with about four or five min. left Dileo Stinks
Sixers had better move up to fifth in the Eastern Conference if they want to have a chance to advance in the playoffs — they’re 0-8 against the top three teams in the Eastern Conference (the Celtics, 0-3; Cavaliers, 0-2; Magic, 0-3).
Iguodala started well (4-for-6) before going 4-of-15 the rest of the way.
Sixers other than Miller (4-for-5) were 2-of-13 in the fourth quarter.
Williams went scoreless for just the second time this season.
Well this was just a great moral victory, coming close to one of the best teams in the conference!
Just Kidding guys
My question about the last minute or so.
We are down by two with a chance to tie. We shoot a jump shot.
We are down by three with a chance to cut it to one. We drive strong to the hole.
Shouldn’t those two be switched? Miller is the only one who shouldn’t be at fault for this loss. We just have to try and play one game at a time and defend for 48 minutes every game. Thats what we did last year.
p.s. Did you guys see D-Wade? All we needed was for the Knicks to hold a big lead, but then the superstar took over and got the Heat the win. 24 points in the fourth quarter!
Iggy dissapeared late in the game again. Just like the knicks game we stopped defending the 3 ball after we were doing so well. These are the types of games we have to win in order to go to the next level. Until we can win these games we’ll always be a .500 team.
Iggy disappeared. Then we designed a play for him when he bricked that jumper. Time to give the ball to Thad in those situations. Let’s see what he will do.
Also, Until we develop a 3 pt 1/2 court offense we just won’t win many games against the better teams in this league. Orlando got 10 more points than us due to 3 ptrs. Just killing us. Ed & Tony will have a good idea coming off this year on what must be done. It seems pretty obvious.
SFW – I didn’t put this in my game notes because I focused all on Iguodala but I should have.
Before Iguodala’s bad 14-foot fadeaway jumper over Dwight Howard, Thad actually had not 1, not 2 but 3 opportunities to show us something on offense when the team needed a bucket.
See if you remember this series of events…
The score was 100-99. Dwight Howard just made 1 of 2 from the line. Sixers came down on offense and the ball got to Thad at the type of the key he drive left (as expected) and pulled up for a short 7-footer off the glass which he missed. He hustle and got his miss and had a contested lay up attempt. He missed again. He almost had that offensive rebound but Howard wrestled it away.
Then he took the great charge on Lewis on the other end to get the ball back for the Sixers still only down 1-point. Do you remember what happened? He again got the ball. This time in the right corner. He jab stepped left and drove baseline. Dwight Howard cover to help, Thad had no where to go and he got his shot blocked.
After thinking about that I kind of see why Dileo specifically drew up a play for Iguodala. I still don’t agree. I think the play should have ran through Miller. But I see why I wanted Iguodala to have the ball in his hands for sure at least one possession while it was still a 1-point game. Thad had his chances he couldn’t convert.
Sixers don’t have a closer. Might as well just get use to it. We need a coach that knows how to get good shots using a team-oriented system late in games when the defense is locked in and at it’s strongest.
We have needed better coaching since Larry Brown left! These games like last night against the Magic should be wins. This coaching staff is clueless. How do you lead the entire game and lose it in the last half of the 4th quarter? The coach keeps the hottest shooter on the bench(Willie Green) while the magic buries three after three.
I hate being negative when I respond on here but again this coaching staff is horrible. I’ve been saying it all season. Dileo nice guy but he has no fire and the team just isn’t coached well. Superstars make the difference most times but coaching wins games late in the 4th qtr. Having Evans, Sammy, Ivey or Lou on the floor for extended minutes makes no sense. 3 of them can’t dribble and 3 of the 4 can’t create their own shots. Its obvious he has this set rotation now and doesn’t want to get away from it. I think its partly because Evans and Sammy makes more money than Speights. They can’t justify leaving all that money on the bench night in night out. That’s just my opinion.
DiLeo said the one play was called for Iguodala, but the other one where Young missed late ended up being him because the Magic took away what the Sixers wanted to do (Miller or Iguodala).
FYI: Magic made 33 3-pointers in three wins over the Sixers, who had 13.
On nights like last night I sure wish I was like Fred, the dude who hasn’t watched a sixers game in 5 years.
Iggy got that last shot because he always gets the last shot. Man do I hate that pull up clanger that he has so perfected. Look Iggy is a wonderful player for a #2, but thats it. He would be more effective with a shooter like korver{lol} surrounding him.
Dannie, I remember those posessions. He couldn’t do much on the Howard block. I would rather have those shots than that jumper. Although, Thad doesn’t seem to get the foul calls when he’s at the hoop. Neither does Lou Will. I guess you have to earn that respect from the officials. I agree AMill should’ve had the ball and also that we don’t have a finisher.
suede, here’s my my 2009 Kyle Weaver: Sherron Collins. I just watched the KU-Mizzou game and he was fantastic in the first half. He’s got that “bulldog” Kyle Lowry/NateRob athleticism, he’s faster than a sneeze, has a good spot-up shot, and has passable PG skills. He reminds me a lot of a slightly less talented Stephon Marbury. draftexpress isn’t too high on him but I have my counters:
“his work ethic has been called into question as of late” – Ok, so I don’t have a counter for this one; I much prefer players with good work ethics.
“lacking a typical point guard’s skill set” – It’s a different kind of league now, not being a typical point guard should be classification, not a knock.
“he often gets blocked due to his lack of size” – This hasn’t been a huge problem with the league’s miniature dynamos, and in the Mizzou game whenever the defense collapsed on one of his drives he’d make a good pass out to the perimeter or to a cutter.
However, I don’t see him being a good fit on the Sixers. Right now, I’m not sure about the type of PG the Sixers need. I know he’s gotta be able to shoot the 3, but do we want a Devin Harris or Jason Kidd type (disregarding age)?
Morty, you’re spot on about the MillerIggyThadEltonSam lineup being effective, but see how it fudged up the bench? Let me clarify my statement a little: I could go with that lineup IF Stefansky could put together a more effective bench. LouWillieSpeightsEvans+a starter was disastrous. But which part of that combo didn’t work? Lou + Willie together? Speights and Evans together? Those guards with those forwards? People disagree with me but the Sixers really miss Jason Smith off the bench; Rodney Carney, too. Maybe the bench will be better next year when Ivey plays more minutes with them.
Zack, not sure about Collins, although Chalmers success should help him get drafted. Our bench problems begin and end with L.Will. [inconsistant defense and offense]. If Thad and Iggy are our 3/2 next year this is what I do with our bench. Trade L.Will. for E.Watson. Draft J.Mcneal and sign Rodney for [3 mill.?]. We get better defensively,[Mcneal is one of the top perimeter defenders in college according to draftexpress] and most importantly we allow Marreese to be THE man off the bench. Mcneal could be the guy that L.Will. is thought to be by management, a combo guard that could play with Watson or Ivey and eventually become our starting point guard. Rodney and Jason are missed Zack, but Marshall should be doing this year what Jason could do next, spread the court with his jumpshot for 10 to 15 minutes a night.
An underreported aspect of our 29-29 76ers is the stupidity of the frontline - and I mean that with all sincerity. Consider Dalembert, Young, Evans and Speights. While all exhibit a couple of positive traits (I’m being generous), they simply don’t pass or handle the ball well. In a nutshell, they don’t know how to play the game. Their AST/TO ratios (nba.com): Dalembert .19 (league worst), Young .64, Speights
.61 and Evans .43 – all near the bottom of 188 ranked players; proof positive of their cluelessness as it pertains to understanding offensive basketball beyond “gimme it, I’ll shoot it” or “I’ll chase it.” Add Williams (1.53) and Iguodala (1.96; same as Iverson’s) to that mix and you have an exciting team alright. That’s 6 players that are X factors, meaning their next move is unpredictable by teammates!
Close games are won by teams that know what the hell they’re doing. Our halfcourt operation is a ‘fingers crossed’ deal most of the time due to shortages of basketball IQ. And that doesn’t arrive in a season or two of playing time as team’s brass and marketing department would have you believe. Also, Dileo & staff can scheme Xs and Os until they’re blue in the face; when under pressure, players’ awareness and instincts (or their lack) take over. Needed: smarter players – a bunch.
Question for the day:
What would have the last 3 seasons have been like without Miller (if the Sixers got back all expirings for AI.)
I’m not saying moves or signings. What records would we have seen?
I think Miller has been the ultimate bandaid for this team. He is not a star, but has been the stabilizing influence that has kept them at .500 since the AI trade. It may have been better to let this team find its true level without him, but we are well past that initial “tanking” debate from 2 years ago.
Not a simple question or answer. Are we making the assumption Korver is still traded or not? Carney?
How can you say:
Adding that qualifier makes the question nearly unanswerable for me. I could easily just say they would have stunk (well below .500), because they are mediocre now. But that’s about as much depth as I could give.
If the Sixers got back all expiring deals wouldn’t they have signed someone of relative impact in the last two seasons? Mid-level guy at the very least? I would think that player(s) would have had an impact on what records we would have seen.
Their draft positions would have improved as well right? Meaning we draft higher than 13, 12 and 16 the last three years. Do we have Thaddeus Young? Do we have Speights this season? Would the Sixers have been smart enough to draft Rajon Rondo in 2006 since in theory we don’t have Andre Miller solidifying the point guard position?
At the simplest level are you trying to say the Sixers roster for the most part is this the last two seasons:
That roster is horrible to me. Far from a playoff team and at least 10 games below .500.
Miller, a 16 & 6 player. That’s what he’s been and that’s what he is. His career teams have averaged 37.4 wins (excluding trade year in which Nuggets won 45 & Sixers won 35). His teams’ win range: 29-49. As a difference-maker, a minor one. Overrated due to mentally-inferior, contrasting teammates. Should’ve been moved at deadline. If you thought Paul, Williams, Rondo and Harris got by him with ease this season … .
Yeah, I guess I’m trying to keep it simple. Don’t want to go back and debate the implications of the original AI trade. More trying to say that Miller’s skills as a scorer and PG have masked a hugely flawed roster, and made us think we have more than we really do.
Let me rephrase the question… imagine if Miller got hurt at some point since the trade (but still under contract.) Assume they still drafted Young and Speights. You can assume they replaced him either with Lou or a marginal PG (say Mike James or Tinsley.) What would the same team without Miller be like?
Despite the young talent, I think this team would have struggled to break 32 wins in any of the past 3 seasons without Miller’s steadying hand. But on the flip side, if they resign him, I don’t see Miller as a guy that will lead them past the 1st round of the playoffs in the next 2 years.
Keep in mind, even without Miller, the team has 60M (after paying #1′s) committed to the Summer of 2010. The Tax may be as low as 66M by then and Ed says they will not go over the tax (per Depressed Fan.) If they resign Miller they will be against the tax and not have much flexibility to upgrade the team without trading away young talent.
jjg, could you answer the following question regarding the ’66-67 Sixers team? I heard Rick Barry on the radio recently, and he bragged that his Warriors team took 2 games in the ’67 Finals from what many experts consider the best team ever, that ’66-67 Sixers team. If you’re this juggernaut like the Sixers team were supposed to be, then don’t you think those two losses to the 44-37 Warriors take a little shine off that “best team ever” tag? FYI, all I know about this team are bits and pieces from around the ‘net, and this NBA.com article.
Another question, if you got the time: I didn’t get into basketball until the late ’80s, so I never got to see Dr. J play. I got to see Mo Cheeks and Moses a little (on different teams), but not Mr. Erving. What I know about his game I’ve gleaned from old-school highlights, and they’re mostly of him dunking (and punching Larry Bird). So here’s the question – how much would you consider Iguodala as a kind of Dr. J heir? When Iguodala goes really hard for a dunk or finish, does it remind you of Dr. J in any way? Why is it that you can build a championship team around Dr. J and not (well, probably not) Iguodala?
Zack, It may appear that way in print but no witnessing historian would exclude that team from serious consideration of best ever. After downing defending champ Celts (finally!) 4-1, Warriors conquest seemed a foregone conclusion; was somewhat anti-climatic, as smaller Convention Hall attendance figures than Conference Finals attested.
SF wasn’t chopped liver though: forward Barry led league in scoring, 35 ppg (picture a bigger, stronger, rangier Doug Collins – - lightning quick release on J, always in motion, wearing defenders down; excellent underhanded foulshooter); Thurmond was the 3rd best center in the NBA behind ‘Dippy’ and Russell; Mullins, King & Hetzel could shoot; Meschery, Lee & Attles scrapped; Coach Bill Sharman (Celt great) had them running like his former team – high octane O.
’66-’67 Sixers had great talent, balance, character and coaching. Any of starting 5 – Wilt, Luke Jackson, Chet Walker, Hal Greer and Wally Jones - plus 6th man Billy ”The Kid” Cunningham could go off for 25-30 on a given night. An aging Larry Costello, Dave Gambee and rookie Matty Guokas were good defenders and chipped in. Were 44-4 at one point in season; got bored, coasted to to 68-13 finish. What a fun year to watch the 76ers. A dedicated Wilt focused less on scoring than in past, shot 68% on season (had many consecutive shots-made streaks to delight fans), was third in league in assists; defended the rim like crazy; wanted a Ring, grabbed the Ring - with a lot of help from his talented friends. Was truly a team for the ages, one to behold!
jjg, thanks. I forgot that Barry mentioned that he shot underhanded and that it didn’t embarrass him in the least – I did a double-take at that!