Now that is what I am talking about right there. My heart is pounding right now.
That was a HUGE shot and HUGE win that could and should carry them through the rest of this road trip and final 17 games.
I’ll have more later on this absolutely fantastic game. Couldn’t have ask for a better game than that.
WHOA!!!
I am going to just keep adding to this post all day.
Iguodala says to Dileo and his team in the huddle before the shot courtesy of our friend Tom Moore:
“Six seconds to go, I said (to my teammates), ‘I’m going to win the game right now,’ ” Iguodala said.
“He did it,” said Sixers coach Tony DiLeo.
Trevor Ariza was expecting and waiting the drive all the way and planned to use their foul to give. Oops. Can’t really fault him, if it was me I would have been happy with the defense there. He got a hand up and Iguodala’s super high arcing shot came in handy on this particular situation.
I have a few questions though.
- First and formost. Why wasn’t Kobe guarding Iguodala on that play? He just made the game winner that turned out not to be a game winner. I would think he would have told Jackson or Ariza at some point before the play started they he had Iguodala so they could go mano-a-mano . Isn’t that something you expect Kobe to do? Make the game winner, then come down and subsequently get the game winning stop as well? Especially considering they play together a lot in the offense, he would know Iguodala’s tendencies more so than Ariza. That was my first thought and surprise when the play was going down. “Why isn’t Kobe guarding him?”
- Why didn’t the Lakers choose to use their foul-to-give as Dala worked his way towards the three point line? If would have forced the Sixers to get a shot off with less time to work, force them to inbound the ball again and in this case gives the Lakers an opportunity to take the ball out of Iguodala’s hand. I wonder what Jackson’s thoughts were on Ariza saying he was waiting for the drive.
And here are Phil Jackson’s thoughts on not fouling Iguodala:
“I don’t know if Trevor fully understood when I said we had a foul to use, because he did not use it,” Jackson said. “We don’t like to use a foul, especially when they catch and shoot. But when you handle the ball — and he took his time — then it’s time to use it.”
Once again – OOPS.
Who the hell was that guy Andre Iguodala ran over to after he made the shot and was slapping the crap out of his hand? I have to assume he knows him. He wasn’t dressed in Sixers fan gear and he wasn’t a Hollywood start as far as I could tell. I have to admit, it bothered me after the fact that he did that and I was really hoping it was a friend or family member. Either way, shouldn’t we be celebrating with the team in that situation? Did you see Andre Miller sprint over to Dala with his arms up and the biggest smile on his face? I have never seen that type of emotion or reaction from him – ever.
Dannie its funny because I came on to say 2 things. #1 wow and #2 my heart was beating really fast in the last minute. You beat me to the punch on both accounts!
What the hell is up with Marshall? What a great shooter!
Bout time Iggy!
The Sixers gave everything I wanted and a little more. I was hoping for a well fought and tight game. They hung in those last four minutes. I know many of you back east will be shocked! I know I am.
the reason why i love watching ball: anything happens!
player of the game: Marshall AGAIN! forget the clutch 3s, you could see the hesitation in the defense when he was on the floor.
anyone who stayed up to watch this; Wow right! Not the most elegant but still…Wow. We definitely got away with one tonight. Thank you Kobe!
Confidence is now sky high for lucky Sixers, onto Phoenix & Co. they have all momentum to do something. Disappointment or affirmation awaits. Iguodala should ride this into a good shooting night in his homecoming tomorrow, hopefully.
Whaddyu know; those scrappy, air-balling Sixers!
Greek: What the hell is up with Donyell? He’s a professional, works at his game, and obviously makes it a point to keep it sharp throughout the season. As all pros should do, and something that I really hope Mareese Speights is taking notes from. I think it’s amusing (in a “want to tear my hair out” kind of way) that you can honestly make the case that Donyell Marshall…in the total of 50 minutes of play he’s received this season…has won us more games than Lou Williams has in about 1000 minutes of play.
Greek, btw, I’m 100% with you about Thad Young…I’m not quite ready to go out on a limb and project how good he’ll be…but I will definitely agree that he has that same hard nosed, professional work ethic gene that you’ve mentioned, and given his dedication to practice and drive to improve on his own time, no doubt in my mind he’s going to become that 3 point shooting SF we desperately need.
NICE WIN BABY!!!!! GO SIXERS!!! (it pisses me off at how rare this season I genuinely want to type sh*t in all caps…lets hope this tough play keeps up).
i’m not trying to rain on any parades here, because that was a thrilling win and a joy to watch, iguodala shot 8-14 from 2-pt land and 1-7 from 3. for the season he is shooting 52% from inside the arc and only 30% from outside of it. he simply should not be taking so many 3 pointers, if any at all.
we all kind of accept that somebody on this team has to at least try to shoot the 3, and it makes sense that he, as our primary offensive threat would be the one to do that. however, the idea behind that is that it makes teams respect the line and opens up the lane for our drivers, and that just isn’t happening. all game the Lakers packed it in on defense and we couldn’t score the ball. thankfully DiLeo recognized this and put Donyell in to drop it. the point is, unless we have a credible threat out there, throwing up 3′s plays into the opposition’s hands.
btw, did you guys notice that on all of Donyell’s 3′s, the net didn’t even move? and these weren’t high-arcing shots. they were daggers. that guy can throw it in.
Noah: Great point. I’m sure 100% of the game plans from the other coaches in the NBA revolve around forcing our primary scorers (Iguodala, A-Miller, Thad, Lou) to take outside shots from beyond the arc. And if Andre Iguodala goes 1-7 from the 3 point line, and the 1 make happens to be the game winner?…a coach will just shrug and say, “He took the shot we wanted him to take.”
You said it nicely when you wrote that we, as a team, eventually need someone to take threes to spread the floor, and that it makes sense that if all our 3 point shooters are crap then that “someone” may as well be Iguodala, as he is our primary scoring option (aka: big problem). Even then though, I fully agree, the sheer amount of threes Iguodala is jacking up each game is disgustingly awful. I’d far rather Thad be taking those than Iguodala, who at least has already developed better shooting mechanics in his 1 and a half years in the league.
Donyell: What’s great about him is that he’s recognized that as he’s gotten older, he needed to change his game. This is a guy that did NOT used to be a three point shooter. He always had a great midrange game and could face up to the basket, but it’s solely due to hard work and repetition that he’s been able to not only improve his shot to the point where he can regularly hit threes, but become a flat out legit “shooter”…huge difference.
If we had Donyell at his age 3-4 years ago, when he was an amazing combination of a 6’9 guy that could grab 10 boards a game and hit three 3′s a game…he’d be deadly off the bench for us. Hopefully him seeing spot minutes will not be an aberration under DiLeo as the end of the regular season continues. He offers far more on the court aside from just his shooting (rebounding, setting great picks, moving without the ball well, passing) than someone like Kareem Rush, our only other shooting option does.
I would like to comment on Marshall!s affect on L.Will. .It seems if we put a couple of 3pt. threats on the court with L.Will. it allows him space to work and gets the notion of jacking up three!s somewhat out of his head. Adding Jason and another sniper in the draft to our bench may allow Lou to blossom into what we all hope he can be.
Dannie, Iggy!s assertiveness in the huddle was very reminescent to Jimmy in Hoosiers, wouldn!t you say? Maybe he can star in the sequel.
Some people will call it ballsy, some will call it reckless given his shooting prowess or lack thereof. I don’t really care. The shot went in and I am happy as hell about it.
Thanks for posting that link as I was asleep when this went down. Incredible. Fingers crossed that this means some kind of corner was officially turned. Lucky or not – it is good to know that Iguodala has the DNA to want to take that shot.
Hey Dannie, I can’t blame ya for your excitement over that shot, man when Kobe hit his I swore it was over…
What I still can’t shake is the possesion before Kobe’s shot and Lou Stinkums’s horrible drive, as Dre Miller was open coming from the wing to the middle of the floor to set up a play. However Iguodala’s play did a great job of masking, and helping me forget that…
Oh and if Donyell doesn’t average at least 10 minutes per game the rest of the way Di Leo needs not show up next year lol
oh and to add to my previous comment…everyone knows about Marshalls 3 pt shooting, but what im pressed me, was the straightjacket he put on Gasol down the stretch, great D.
Only saw first half, but Kobe seemed to be on cruise control, like he was playing against his little brother in driveway. Can’t play with a 3/4 motor and win in NBA, especially versus the somersaulting Traveling DiLeos.
When the rest of Sixers starters were browning their pants in LA limelight (and were on the verge of a deep deficit), note that Willie Green scored scored 6 of first 8, stemming the tide a bit: the kind of quiet ballast that often goes unappreciated. His initial opening of the can (and lunchpail D): every bit as important as Lou Williams 1st half 14, though media accounts will ignore it and celebrate/emphasize the latter.
Important lately has been Sixers’ good handling of basketball, keeping TOs down.
Iggy: my favorite Marvel Comics character. #387: Lakers Stapled To Floor By UFO.
Early in the year I thought they should start Donyell or at least bring him in at the end of the 2nd qtr., to close out the half and in the fourth. He can be our version of Dale Ellis as he was to the Sonics years ago. Older veteran capable of hitting big 3′s during games. However, late in games is a great time for Dileo to sub him in. Most teams are pretty tired at that point and set into the pace of the game.
Donyell coming in late defenders aren’t ready for that pick and pop. They haven’t defensed it all game. Let’s hope he gets at least 10-15 minutes a game now. Just to keep teams honest on the perimeter.
Glad I stayed up to watch that one. Karma against the Zen Master.
Iguodala deserved that one after all of the near winning shots he has hit this year (I’m sure Kobe knows how that feels after last night.)
Props not just to Marshall, but to Lou Williams- who absolutely carried the team in the 1st half (his best game this year by a MILE) and played decent as a PG in the 2nd half. Made up for an uncharacteristically bad game by Miller.
As for Marshall- just shows how much the floor opens up for the team when they have a shooter that inspires fear. Other then ‘Yell the rest of the Sixers’ three point shots just inspire fear in their own fans (last second 3′s by BB Iguodala excepted.)
Across the “pond” – King Philip’s decrees:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-sixers18-2009mar18,0,6964140.story
Dave, I was thinking during last nights game what Thad could do with 20 shots a game. This is who we should build our franchise around. If push comes to shove and you need to trade either Thad or Iggy to make the pieces of our puzzle fit, then Iggy gotz to go. It reminds me of draft day with Thad and Al Thorton.
I hate the shot that Iggy took but hey I’m as happy as “skah-tah” right now. Just taught you all a word.
Sammy was taking some crazy looking shots last night huh? He took a shot yesterday from an angle that I have never seen. But he did a good job on the boards, although you couldn’t tell by the -21 plus minus number that he put up.
I love the way that Lou was hanging and bangin(Walt Frazier) in the first half. 2nd half, not so much.
jgg, from that story:
“”I told the team we had to work real hard to lose that game,” Jackson said. “We found a way to do it, though.” ”
Wow, that shows class. He must have picked that up in his time as a player in NY.
(I won’t miss a chance to trash LA and NY in the same sentence- get me bonus points.)
Greek- in 2-3 years Speights/Young might be a reliable 40pt on 50% shooting combo to build your offense around. Add in Iguodala’s all around game and some shooters and they should be a good team.
tk76, The points are yours for a Getty Museum tour and 1 ferry ride around Statue Of Liberty.
What’s wrong with Jackson’s truth? I like honesty with my cereal; beats Dileo’s oatmeal quotes.
jjg- just looking for any chance to attack the Zen Master. He is ussually ful of it. Anyone could have gotten a few rings coaching MJ, Shaq and Kobe all these years (although no question hes a good coach.)
As for the cold, hard truth, that came from George Karl (another coach I dislike) when the Nuggets came back at home to beat the Sixers. He said something to the effect that good teams find a way to win and bad teams find a way to lose.
Greek - I like Thad as much as the next guy (well, maybe not as much as you), but you can’t build a franchise around a player who can’t dribble, doesn’t pass, and struggles to defend. Iguodala does all of those things better than any forward in the game except LeBron. Personally, I’m hoping they don’t trade either of the two, because I see no reason why Thad can’t become as good as a prime Marion defensively and on the boards at power forward (Thad certainly has the physical tools to do so).
tk76, Seems you underestimate Jackson’s coaching skill. Wins everywhere he goes, starting with CBA Albany Patroons. Yes, he’s had superstars to manage; not always an enviable task. It takes a special
individual to gather as many Rings as he has; has a great sense of the game (and an influential air of authority) with the ability to
communicate it (and, in doing so, successfully steers others).
George Karl: a Carolina hustler. Competitive second-tier coach.
Ima Guest, I totally agree with you on Thad and Iggy. Keeping both is better than splitting them up. Nothing wrong with having plenty of talented players.
Donyell Marshall by the numbers:
n The Sixers other than Marshall are 4-for-29 from beyond the arc in the past two games, with Marshall 6-of-8.
n The Sixers outscored the Heat by 15 with Marshall on the court and the Lakers by 12 with Marshall out there.
n Marshall has scored 64 of his 68 points (94.1 percent) in the final period this season.
Tom, nice offering. I’d say those numbers recommend his playing more. Can’t keep up his present shooting pace though. Or can he?
If he only spreads the floor, he’ll be contributing.
Exactly.
Greek: While I 100% agree with your comments about Thad as far as his work ethic, talent and professionalism go…I think it’s WAAAAAY too premature to start talking about building our franchise around him. In no way, shape or form has Thad proved himself to be a franchise player or that big of a building block. That would be a very, very foolhardy and dangerous move.
It’s one thing to see how he works and his improved shot mechanics to forecast he could be a reliable 17-18 ppg SF that can regularly hit threes, slide down to play a nice game on the block, and score nicely near the paint with an array of moves; but making trades and just believing he is “the Sixers guy” though?…let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, and I wouldn’t ever want to bank on straight potential.
Now, I’m not saying he won’t be as good as you say. He could definitely keep improving to the point where he pulls a Danny Granger (another college PF to turn SF and all star level status that can hit the 3 regularly) and hits that level…or he might just be a really good 3rd option that can chip in 17-18 ppg. We really don’t know yet, and I’m not willing to gamble on the unknown.
You also made a great point in another thread somewhere that if Thad does become a 3 point shooting SF…and Iguodala slides to SG for versatility and scoring purposes…the other 3 point shooting needs to come from the bench and starting PG spots. But I don’t think we just let A-Miller walk…I think we try as hard as we can to resign him to a 3 year deal (at a reasonable price…$8 million per), while simultaneously drafting a PG (you know my love affair with Flynn) to bring up under A-Miller’s wings.
I also think trading one of our smaller pieces or contracts to try and get a mid 1st round pick to pick up another shooter (Chase Budinger) would be an excellent move to give the backup SF position some pop off the bench.
Garvey – About Lou’s shot. Wasn’t that bad actually. For one it was an aggressive drive and I will take that over his jumpers all day. But more importantly it was to get the two for one opportunity. Had they waited and not scored, Kobe gets the last shot of the game. I don’t like that scenario even a little bit. His “jitterbugging” as JJG would put it gave the Sixers the last shot to win. Paid off – this time.
Wow! I am fully awake now and still can’t believe we won after watching the game yesterday(today)! We STAPLED in two wins at STAPLES CENTER, and gave the Lakers their fifth loss on their floor! We are 2-0 in California! Awesome!
Andre Iguodala is truly developing some newfound confidence there and must have inhaled the LA atmosphere or spent a day with Kobe before the game. He sounded truly confident in the postgame. (Also, thanks to the Lakers not using that foul!)
Yes, he was struggling offensively, not until that 4th quarter when Donyell Marshall, our savior once again, checked in and did a professional job on BOTH ends of the floor! He MUST continue getting minutes!! However, his defense on Kobe was unbelievable, guarding him like that on his floor!
Tony DiLeo outmastering the Zen Master. WOW!
Lou Williams loves the spotlight. Maybe he should pretend all of his opponents are the Lakers! If it weren’t for his quick offensive burst, I would have been in bed a LONG TIME ago! Funny, that there were still people trying to get into Staples at the start of the 4th quarter, only to see the Sixers win! HAHA
It seemed as though the Sixers were reading our blogs and pretty much accomplished all of the possible keys to beating LA! Everything was happening for the Sixers- a true HOLLYWOOD ENDING!
The stars were out:
-Mario Lopez (The Sixers were “Saved By The Bell”)
-George Lopez (Aye chihuahua, Iggy nailed it!!)
-Frank Robinson(Iggy hit the homer!)
-Craig Shoemaker (The LoveMaster Loves IT!)
-Penny Marshall (getting a #4 Iggy jersey from Kareem Rush! WOW)
And of course, Jack Nicholson and his green shoes! He “can’t handle the truth tonight!” and it’s “Hit The Road Jack”. Salmi actually had fun poking at Jack for some attempt at comic relief, mentioning “The Bucket List” and ”Batman”. And Salmi tried repeating a joke twice about speaking to Jack.
If the Sixers were a movie in that game, we were “Rocky”. They were “Rocky” to begin with, and then they delivered the knockout punch. “Yo Adrian!”
Anyway, now we go from Planet Hollywood to Planet Orange to face the Suns. I hope we have the legs and energy, as well as the momentum to carry us from our remarkable game. We could be talking about a MEGA winning streak for the Sixers that could be looming. If we can take down LA, then anything is possible on this trip (4-1 or 5-0 perhaps!)
GO SIXERS!! COOL THE SUNS DOWN (LIKE LAST TIME)!!
There were two points in the game where I thought about turning off the light and going to sleep disappointed. Once when we fell behind early and couldn’t make a shot- Lou saved us. And once when we fell behind to start the fourth quarter- I saw Marshall get off the bench. After those two things happened, there was no way I was going to sleep.
Dannie, before the game you were wondering not only if the Sixers could come close, but if they could actually pull it out. I think a lot of us were wondering the same thing. I wonder how many people thought the game was over once Kobe hit that shot with 6 seconds left. I knew my hopes of getting a win were nearly dashed. I didn’t think there was much of a chance we were going to win. Glad we actually pulled it out.
Another thing, Ariza should have fouled no questions asked. As soon as you see Iguodala getting the ball with his back to the basket and his momentum going towards half court, Ariza needs to press up and foul. Otherwise, it was pretty good defense.
I think the 1st half was close only because Kobe got in foul trouble. We were relatively fortunate that Kobe didn’t exactly shoot as much as he normally does.
Iguodala stepping up in the huddle is exactly what he hasn’t done all season. It’s also exactly what he needed to do. Props to Iguodala, not only for the shot, but for being becoming a leader. Keep it up.
About going over a celebrating with the fan… I thought it was a little unnecessary. He kinda shrugged off some of his teammates in order to get to the fan and easily could have celebrated with the guy after getting swarmed by his teammates.
Awesome Game! Is it safe to say we are interested again? I wonder if this got bski’s attention. GO SIXERS!!!
Wake up Mr. Guest (not to be confused with Mr. West). That lead was only 16% safe even in the 4th quarter – if Bill James’s calculator (linked) can be applied to the pro game. I plugged in 11:41 left, 14 point lead, Sixers with ball.
http://www.slate.com/id/2213713/?from=rss
GUEST….It certainly did get my attention. Thanks for wondering about me. I’ve been slammed at work today and haven’t had a chance to post.
I only watched the middle portion of the first quarter last night but not because I wasn’t interested. We were down 8 or 9 points and I was tired, so I decided to hit the sack instead of staying up until 1am or whatever. I hate to stay up that late only to see us lose, you know? Then I’m aggravated and have difficulty getting to sleep which makes it worse. I do the same thing when the Phillies are on the west coast. If I’m off the next day I’ll stay up and watch, otherwise I usually don’t like to even start watching for fear of getting sucked in.
Not watching last night really was all about having to work a 10-hour day today, because I am interested again. I went to the game against the Heat on Sunday and, even though it was a sluggish effort in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, the 4th quarter, Donyell Marshall, and being part of a pretty good sized, raucous crowd got me back into things.
Since tonight’s game starts a half-hour earlier than last night I’ll try to suck it up and watch, at least until halftime anyway.
I was so happy after this game that I could barely sleep, felt like crap all day at work, but I felt the same. Why was Iguodala shrugging of all of his teammates to celebrate with whoever that guy was? I felt great about that win but just as bad for all of the Sixers who could barely get a hand on Iguodala at the end, especially A Miller who looked like he just found the cure for cancer when it went in.
I guess Ill pass it off on all the criticism he has had as a player and finally coming through in a big game in a big venue, and I have never read or heard anything about him him being a bad teammate or a loner in the locker room.
#1 who was that dude that Iggy was hand slapping at the end of the game?
#2 TH76, I agree completely with your barkings in post #20. I would love for Iggy to be a 15-17 pt guy who averages 6-7 assist and rebounds a game to complement Speights the Great and Thad. I would love for Iggy to have that mindset, and let others score more then him. We need him to have this mind set!
#3 Ima Guest, I think that your underestimating Thads present day defensive ability. For a 20 year old kid to be playing out of position in the NBA, I think he is doing a hell of a job. But your right, he has the ability to do a lot better. His dribbling has improved greatly from his rookie season when he was playing kickball with the basketball. Can’t wait to see his handle next year! Also I think that he is a potentially good passer. It’s no often that you see him Pull a Dalembeart and throw the ball directly to the other team. Most of his to’s come off of Traveling calls, and like I said he has been improving at that.
# 4 Suede, I love the fact that your calling bringing up Jason Smith. It broke my heart when I heard that he would be out for the season. Another great kid who plays the right way. That’s our boy right Morty!
#5 JJG, great point on Willie Greene’s vast contribution in the early going. Just wish that he was coming off the bench just as he was in the beginning of the season. At the start of the season he played really well coming off the pine.
#6 Dave, I’m all in on Thad and I believe that as Sixers fan’s that were holding a full freakin house with this kid! I love your Flynn Idea, but the problem with resigning Miller will be that we will have to endure another year of Steamin Willie Beamon starting. I can’t live with that, off the bench yes, starting no. While I agree with you that it might be premature to proclaim him the Franchise player, I def. disagree with you that it’s too premature to view him as a huge building block. Ed needs to view him as a huge building block or he is going to pull a dumb ass move and trade him. And if that happens, I think that I might turn into Michael Douglas in the movie “Falling Down”
#7, JJG your Traveling Dileo’s term makes me laugh every time.
#8 Dave I don’t how you do it bro, but this is more then I ever wrote in school. Keep it up
#9 BSKI, come back!
GREEK…..I’m back. The late starting times will make it tough for me to watch them on this trip, but I’m back.
Maybe if I get back to my regular posting, Dave T. won’t have to carry me and he’ll be able to get a bit of rest, hahahaha.
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready for the next game. Sixers FEVER is back and hopefully ESPN will recognize us!!
A quality SG, Jason Smith, and Elton Brand will make the Sixers much better next season! Hopefully, Ivey, Ratliff, and Marshall return for the Sixers!!
Ryan F – Dude I feel you. I went to bed sometime between 1:30 and 2am. then woke up at 6:15 for work. I am beat. I will get a quick post up for tonight’s game, but I need to rest a bit in order to get adequately pumped for my monster hoops weekend.
Dannie, I picked Carolina but Lawson may miss a game or two. Louisville is hot though, I can!t wait!!!!
Suede – Yea I have UNC winning, but it sucks because if he doesn’t play they could get beat by LSU or Gonzaga. He needs to be ready for the 2nd game and on, otherwise they have no shot.
I have like 3 brackets with three different winners at this point.
Pete and I will be at the games in Philly this weekend. Really looking forward to a Nova vs. UCLA game on Saturday.
Dannie, if Nova plays U.C.L.A. please give me a scouting report on Collison, I!m a guy who feels he is ideal for our team because of his defense and 3pt. shot. His long arms make up for his height, similar to Chalmers. A lot of people aren!t high on him but with Iggy and Thad as our 2 and 3 next year a guy that can spot up and shoot and not overdribble would work well here I believe.
Here is an interesting artile on how Iggy met Kobe and hired Rob Pelinka as his agent:
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20090318_Sixers_Notes___Iguodala_in_Bryant_s_long_shadow.html
Iggy– continue talking and practicing with Kobe, but also get a shooting coach if you want to improve year after year and be the “ultimate competitor” like Kobe is.