Game 4: Back breaking loss or minor road block?
That is the question our Sixers will start or completely answer tonight in game 5. What do I mean by “start or completely answer?”
Imagine it’s 11:00 p.m. tonight and you are reflecting on one of three scenarios:
- The Sixers win – by any margin.
- The Sixers lose – in a rout
- The Sixers lose a close one typical of how the series has been played.
How would your outlook for the remainder of the series be?
For me…
If the Sixers win, that clearly shows me they quickly moved on from Hedo’s game winner and handled their business with a big road win in a pivotal game. (Game 5 wins in a tied series and leading 3 games to 2 in general lead to extremely high % of playoff series wins).
If the Sixers get blown out I think it’s safe to assume they are done and a win back home in game 6 would be unlikely considering the average margin of victory in this series is 4, with the biggest win being by 9 points and the same point made above about the historical significance of leading 3-2 and winning game 5 in a tied series.
If the Sixers lose in another close game, potentially on another last second shot I think they will have showed they are still prepared to fight this one out to the end and win in Philly to force a game 7 is much more likely.
What’s your take?
Random Notes:
- Sixers are 8 to 8.5 dogs tonight. If you are a betting man or woman would you take the Sixers?
- Accuscore on ESPN is forecasting a 12-point Sixers loss tonight and give us a 17.5% chance to win.
- Orlando Magic angle.
As usual I will be live chatting in the comments during the game – join me.
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WEAPON OF CHOICE:
SIXERS: Andre Iguodala (must be weapon first, pass second)
MAGIC: Dwight Howard (must be weapon first, pass second)
SIXERS: the bench (three ball)
MAGIC: Hedo Turkoglu & Rashard Lewis (three ball)
SIXERS: Thad could have a huge game tonight. (walk the walk?)
MAGIC: VanGundy said having Thad defend the shooters is an excellent thing for the Magic. (talk the talk)
SIXERS: Frontcourt (24 fouls) Dalembert, Ratliff, Speights, Evans
MAGIC: Dwight Howard (6 fouls)
SIXERS: 4th quarter (momentum)
MAGIC: 3rd quarter (momentum)
SIXERS: Andre Iguodala (final shot)
MAGIC: Hedo Turkoglu (final shot)
SIXERS: Lou Williams (X-Factor)
MAGIC: Courtney Lee (X-Factor)
SIXERS: Elton Brand (missing weapon)
MAGIC: Jameer Nelson (missing weapon)
I think our veterans off the bench could make the difference tonight, Game 6, and possibly Game 7. For some reason, I think Donyell might have a big game tonight.
Also, let Dwight be a lone scorer and let the ball movement STICK for the Magic while the Sixers contest the threes!!
GO SIXERS!! WHAT’S YOUR WEAPON OF CHOICE?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMZwZiU0kKs
It will be a blowout if Turk and Lewis finally start knocking down 3’s. If we keep running them off the line it should be another close one, as well as another low scoring game. We will give ourselves a good shot at winning if we can play a solid 4 quarters (obviously). Point is, we have not done that yet. We keep getting in a hole with a poor 2nd or 3rd quarter and having to claw our way back.
Gotta love the playoffs. Each game gets tougher and tougher as each team learns what the other is trying to do (to the point of knowing exactly what is coming) and gets better at taking it away.
That’s where we run into problems, as we don’t do a whole lot. Since our offense is predicated on one guy (Miller, Iguodala, or Williams) dominating the ball, trying to cause a breakdown, and then making a play, there’s a heck of a lot less for the defense to take away. One screen at the top of the key and one cut by another player isn’t really putting a lot of pressure on the defense.
In a nutshell, we will win (another game or the series) if our guys (the Andres) can create their own scoring opportunities and also cause breakdowns that allow them to create good shots for the rest.
That’s another great thing about the playoffs. There is no hiding or catching a team by surprise in a 7-game series. You, meaning Stefanski, get a very clear picture of your team. When the opponent’s defense starts taking things away, you get to see if you’ve got anything else. If they take away A, do you have a B, if they take away B, do you have a C, etc…Who is capable of stepping up? This should give you a very good idea of changes that need to be made to improve, what you need, who you can build around, etc….
I’m going to stay positive and say that Orlando’s struggles in this series are more about us playing better and taking things away from them than it is about them playing poorly. I’ll also stay positive and say that this game comes down to the last shot again. Hopefully, we’ll get the opportunity to make the final play to win it.
game 5 will not be a blowout. the sixers will lose, but it will be more similar to sunday’s loss. they will win game 6 in philly, and then lose the series in 7 in orlando.
I agree with bski that if the Sixers continue to do a decent job defending the 3, it will be another close game. Thad needs to bounce back after 2 bad games.
Here’s a thought: DiLeo has been saying that Howard not leaving the lane has been tough for the drive-oriented Sixers, so why not play Speights for a stretch at the 5 spot? Speights would be ideal to draw Howard out on picks, since he can legitimately hit the 18′ jumper. On defense, I’d just tell Speights to foul hard.
because then howard would eat speights alive offensively. they’d have to play speights with sam/theo. and then howard would just guard one of those 2 instead. if they played speights at 5 on offense, he’d have to switch to 4 on defense, meaning he’d draw lewis or turkoglu, would in turn draw him out to the perimeter, where he couldn’t guard either of them. it’s just a bad matchup all around.
i do believe speights will see some action tonight, so we’ll see how it goes
Morty, you read my mind, a short story nontheless. Spieghts for short stretches at the 5 and spread the floor. He is as big as Theo, 245 lbs., so have him front and deny or foul him hard. We are very predictable offensively and Orlando is tightening the screws defensively so why not try it.
Dannie, I feel a close loss or a blow out will have a similar effect. Orlando is packing it in more everygame and are due to gradually make a few more 3!s so in a 7 game series the better team probably will win. I don!t want to see a finish like last year though , and hope we can take it to 7.
Morty & Suede……..Do you think that Speights is going to draw Howard out of the lane simply by being on the floor? Unless Speights is way out by the 3-point line, the defensive 3-second rule is not an issue that would force Howard to get out. Also, I think the Magic would rather have Howard there to stop all of our drivers, especially since that’s what we do best. I’m sure they’d rather take their chances with Speights shooting open 18-footers on kickouts rather than allowing Iguodala and the rest to get to the rim. It’s similar to us wanting Alston to shoot——-get the ball out of the more dangerous player’s hands and force a lesser player to shoot it figuring he won’t beat you——–don’t you think?
I’m gonna have to take bski’s side with this one. Speights is just too unpredictable to put him in for large stretches of the game.
However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t play him more than we have been. Why can’t Speights come in everytime Howard comes out. When Dwight picks up his second or third foul, Van Gundy usually sits hit for about a 5-7 minute stretch. Those minutes would be perfect for Speights. It would keep Sammy and Theo from picking up pointless fouls (fouls not used on Howard) and it would keep Gortat (spelling?) from camping in the key. It would also be awesome from an offensive rebounding standpoint.
With Thaddeus, Speights, and Iguodala in the lineup, with Howard on the bench…. We could get more than a couple offensive rebounds. You could even throw Evans in there because he can create second chance opportunities as well. We have to capitalize when Dwight is out of the game.
yea he’s been playing evans but only when howard takes a seat. other than last night when he went small. for a few min it was actually 5-evans, 4- iggy, 3-ivey, 2- williams 1- miller, and howard was still on the court. i didn’t understand that.
Blski and guest, if it is close than no ,I don!t try it but it is getting tougher to get to the rim as this series goes on. I was sitting in the corner of the court Sunday [about 20 rows back] and Orlando was packing it in terribly and maybe this could be an option if it continues. Marreese from the key or either Andre over a doubleteam plus Howard? It isn!t as bad an option as you think.
I don’t know how many times I have to say it Speights doesn’t play because he doesn’t rebound. Sure match ups will dictate it some times. But overall people are calling for him to play and he only brings one thing to the table – offense. Defense (and rebounding) wins championships. You have a front court of Speights and Thad and we would get destroyed on the defense boards.
It’s not just cut and dry, oh he can pull Howard out make some jumper and on defense foul him. Rebounding is a critical part of the 4 factors to winning basketball games and Speights has not proven he is a reliable rebounder. You have Speights fronting and how do you think is going to own the offensive boards when shots go up?
Good start. Need a third scorer in double figures minimum.
Two shots for Alston off the bat – ideal.
The announcers sure love to hound Willie don’t they?
OHHHH that was HUGE!!
Did Dwight Howard just give us the series?
Stupid foul Sam.
I like that tech from Howard. Shows some passion. He is criticized for being too laid back and for lacking a killer instinct. I also like the extra point we got off of it.
Guest – Are you kidding me? You like when players do dumb things? You do know he could be suspended for game 6 because of that right?
No, I don’t like the elbow… I like the passion. It’s not too big of a deal to me when players get technical fouls. If I were Van Gundy, then I like the thought of a passionate Dwight Howard. Would I like the thought of my players elbowing the other team in the face? ABSOLUTELY not. I worded my above comment wrong.
Guest – Sorry but that wasn’t passion – at all. It was frustration and a terrible way of handling it that cost his team a point and depending on how the league looks at it a playoff game without him on the floor (elbows above the shoulder technically should be an ejection and possible fine and suspension just like Tyson Chandler got earlier this season when he elbowed Przybilla in the neck).
I think your interpretation is way off on this.
I guess so. Looking back on it your probably right. But I stand by my opinion that Dwight Howard developing a killer instict is something that the Magic would love to see. I have seen on many occasions including articles in ESPN the Magazine talking about how Howard is possibly “too nice”. Look at this tech how you want, but when it comes down to it, Howard would be more effective if he played with more of a sense of urgency.
correction**
Your aren’t “probably right”. You are right.
Guest – I have said before until he becomes Shaq 2.0 Orlando isn’t going anywhere. A big part of that is the way Orlando plays. When Shaq was in his prime he touched the ball every single possession and dominated. Howard doesn’t get that. But he also doesn’t demand it either. He has time, but he isn’t there yet.
It does seem like we are doubling him a lot more this game. They have gotten a couple of open threes it seems like.
But I’m trying to figure out… How does Lou manage to get crossed by Anthony Johnson?
Andre Miller Sucks this game!
Willie is keeping us in this.
Leave it to Reggie Evans and the rest of the Sixers to make that play. Unbelievable.
That 3 at the end of the half would have been huge for us.
Jumpin, say hey Willie!!!!! Whatever happens from here on out, I am damn proud of this team. Dannie, if we steal this and Dwight has to sit, who knows.
The Sixers have come out looking as bad as they did in first half. But this remains a winnable game. We need to get Dre and Young much more involved. And with Sammy now at four fouls and seeing what we got from Evans in first half, I want Mareese Speights in this game. I’d even be willing to see Lou in the game if his scorin’ buddy Mareese is in there with him.
Bobby, Dileo will most likely stick to the same patterns we have been the whole series. We’ve been down at half like this before so they are probably going to take the same approach as previous games. Maybe not though.
DD – Where are you at? Two straight jump pass turnovers by Iguodala. The question should be when does he not, NOT jump pass!!!!!!
Hope you are paying attention. He jumps and passes more than he doesn’t Bad habit that was never coached out of him. Praise it if you dare.
You’re probabably right, guest, and like Danny says, without rebounding, Speights is a risk. But the Sixers are playing some of their worst ball right now and I think a gutsy change could help. It’s risky, I know, but DiLeo’s patterns are not working out. This is starting to look like one of those games they lost to the New Jerseys near the end of the season.
The refs are blowing their whistles too many times. We need to regroup.
Big play by Iguodala. But we have to continue to get out on the break and play sound defense. And this foul calling is getting ridiculous. The playoffs have a reputation for being more physical. Let the athletes play damn.
Familiar spot for the Sixers going into the fourth.
Another very close game between the Bulls and Celtics by the way.
Yeah I keep flipping back. Gordon big shot, then Pierce big shot. Bulls have the last shot and missed.
Yer right, guest. They’re going ot again. Come on, Sixers!
We are playing like idiots. We need some kind of spark. Anything at all.
I hate that NBA TV is still using home team announcers in the playoffs.
Lou out, Green in, good move!
Time is not on our side. Without the luxury of the three ball comebacks are less likely. We need to ramp up the defense, create some turnovers and get some quick points on the break.
OH YEAH! This is the perfect game to start fouling Howard and making him beat you at the line to try and get back in this. Trade some one’s for two’s.
This is probably the most frustrated I have seen this team. Sometimes it’s just not your day I guess. But we have to get more production from our bench. We just simply can’t score enough points when the Andres are the only ones doing anything. (Although Willie has had a nice game thus far.)
Flipping between the two games, very fun. Paul pierce and dre coming thru for their teams!
Here we go. That’s what I am talking about. Defense immediately to offense.
Not only the missed shots, but two possessions in a row where we force a shot with the shot clock at 1 second.
Offensive rebounds ARE KILLING US!
Ben Gordon just hit three huge FTs for Bulls. Can we trust anyone on the Sixers to do that?
Bobby- no, we can’t.
Game over
Not a good performance by the Sixers. Orlando played better D, hit the boards harder, took better shots. Most of the team looked lost for most of the game. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I feel like Sammy could be key to winning another game. He has to stay out of foul trouble and play tight D for an entire game . . . for once.
Let’s hope Howard gets suspended for the dumb ass elbow. Will keep an eye for that news.
Thad Young came up very small tonight. Very small.
Dannie: That would help.
We were a different team with Sam on the floor tonight and our 2 young guys [Thad and L.Will.] seem to be playing very timidly, like they are afraid to mess up. It is the opposite of last year with Iggy; now when he doesn!t score early I expect him to get his late.
Deleo postgame ; Howard camping in the lane down both ends, good, plant the seed !!
Dannie – I’m here, and I noticed the plays you were talking about. The question for me is whether the jumping *caused* the turnover or whether there was going to be a turnover anyway. In this game, you are correct that there were probably no plays in which jumping before passing was beneficial. I still maintain there were several plays in the last game where the jumping gave him a passing lane that wasn’t there otherwise. In any case, it was a very small part of this game, and one could argue that Iguodala was the only Sixer who belonged on the same floor as the Magic (dominating Turkoglu for the 4th time in 5 games). The real story is that Young got dominated by Rashard Lewis, and the Sixers have no shot if that happens.
Offense needs new wrinkles. We cant win with a score less than 90.
They need to find new ways to get Iggy the ball they are doubling him off the pick and roll. Also he had some bad turnovers in the 3rd quarter due to jump passing. We need at least two 20 point scorers and 20 off the bench to have a chance to win these games.
Our D has not been bad hustling and generally good. With that sd we are def switching too much Andre Miller and Wille Green end up guarding Lewis on the block wayy too much Lewis has woken up which is bad news. His three is dropping now prob cause he’s getting easy looks on the block as well.
Team has played better than last year no matter what happens; last year we lost game 4 by double digits, and games 5,6, were over at halftime. This year just lost game 4 on last sec shot and tonight was closer than the final score shows. I think this shows some growth in a young team. I want to force a game 7 and hopefully the Magic crack under the pressure.
By the way Andre Miller is the man he is a tough sonofabitch.
2one5- I’ll second that Andre Miller comment.
Dwight Howard better get suspended for Game 6. More importantly, the Sixers MUST respond and maintain their composure.
Also, if Elton Brand played in this series, things would be different! Get well soon, EB!
GO SIXERS!! SHOW THAT RESILIENCY!!
wow for all the talk about Turk and lewis showing up, its Howard showing up that killed us. 20/20 game typical regular season stat. he shows up like that in Game 6 and we are done for. Guys were bouncing off of him. Even Sammy couldnt contain him sometimes.
Sad to say but our season rests on Sammy. where he goes, we go.
why is lewis killing Young? it doesnt seem that much of a mismatch. Thad seems to have a problem with quicker players.
Big ups to Andre Miller. Pure heart and grit. laid it out.
Statistically pretty game for Iguodala, thats all that was pretty bout his game. Magic have honed in on him.
Take out those Howard offensive rebounds and the Sixers play tie it up or win this game. Played hard enough to win. Howard just killed us. Took it to another level beast-wise. No answer for him. never gave us a chance. Not to sound doom n gloom but him waking up might be the stake through our hearts.
Play hard Sixers. Very unlucky game.
As bad as we played defensively, as much as Lewis and Howard killed us, the focus still needs to be on offense. We aren’t going to beat anybody with the kind of shooting we’ve displayed the past two games. We need to get back on track Thursday and get off to a hot start. Either way, should be exciting.
Kenny & Charles believe that Howard will be suspended for Game 6. Tonight, he should have been ejected, so he better be suspended. IF he were ejected in Game 5, then perhaps the Sixers would lead 3-2, but hey it is what it is. The Sixers MUST stop waiting for the calls and staring daggers at the officials. They were doing what the Magic did, the previous 4 games.
That way our bigs can sort of rest a bit without having 300+ lbs of abuse rubbing against our frontcourt. They can get back to just being an intimidator in the paint and swat the shots. The Sixers can then concentrate on defending the perimeter and forcing them to take twos and drive them off the perimeter. Howard might be a “little” rusty in Game 7 if the Sixers do force it.
The Sixers MUST MUST get Game 6 for that to be possible. If Howard is suspended, perhaps that would help get Thaddeus Young back on track and post up more.
Like for most of the series, they MUST play through the calls and not give up!!
The irony is if Stan Van Gundy does go through another Game 7, it would be as a result of a key player of theirs missing in action. With Miami in 2005, Wade missed Game 6 due to a bruised rib he suffered in Game5 when he suffered a collision with Rasheed Wallace while taking the charge.
I know this song is corny, but it really puts the emphasis!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNB1EUJg1-w
GO SIXERS!! DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’!!
some word squabble at Post game conference. good call by DiLeo. zebras will have it in the back of their minds. dunno how accurate that was, all the damage he did cannot be put on the 3second rule not being enforced.
Iguodala reverted to his old self; passive to start the game and bitching to the refs. still continues to make plays though.
unsung hero: Willie Green. his perimeter defense is still wanting though.
we need to limit our switching on pick and roll defense. Lewis on Wille Green? Lewis on Miller? Pietrus on Lou Williams?
I say put Iguodala on Lewis and Thad on Turk. so far the latter hasnt done much damage and right now it is Lewis thats killing us.
Also SVG is a jerk, in his whiny voice he says all kinds of backhanded jabs at our team. Like how bad a shooting team we are but right now we cant miss. Talking about calls in his press conference, than making comments about Dileo talking about Howard in the lane. SVG is a punk