When you're playing against the best basketball player on the planet, pretty much everything needs to go right for a chance to win the game. Already down Spencer Hawes due to a nagging Achilles injury, the Sixers turned to rookie Nikola Vucevic to man the paint against LeBron James, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat. He answered the call admirably until, late in the 3rd, he went down with an apparent knee strain that looked more worrisome than it turned out to be.
From there, the Sixers fell apart. The Heat rattled off a few points to end the quarter, then kept the jets on going into the final frame, outscoring the Sixers by 9 in the 4th on their way to a 113-92 victory. Along with some extremely questionable rotations from Doug Collins, the Sixers did not play their best game against a Dwyane Wade-less El Heat team. They fell to 11-5 on the young season but maintain a strong hold over the Knicks and Celtics for the Atlantic Division.
The Big Men
The Sixers came into the game with run of the mill rebounding numbers and, considering their high positioning in other categories, was clearly their weak spot. Minus their best player thus far this season, Somehow Spencer Hawes (that's not his nickname, though it should be), their frontcourt was extremely thin. Elton Brand had his jump shot working from the midrange tonight but pretty much disappeared on defense and on the glass. Bosh owned him all night long and didn't have too much trouble against his backup, Thaddeus Young, either. Thad played rather hideously, doing nothing of value save for a few crafty hooks around the basket and a stray jumper. His play is especially worrisome because they've just given him a fat contract in which he's supposed to become a legitimate basketball player, but unfortunately he still can't rebound and can't dribble, and his defense and jump shooting are inconsistent at best.
Collins has clearly decided that, in a short season, it's better to rest guys with nagging injuries than to let them incur further damage. Vucevic was cleared to play midway through the 4th but Collins made the right call in being precautionary. Unfortunately, that left the Sixers with only Thad, Elton, Tony Battie, and Lavoy Allen available. The latter two don't have any business playing on a good basketball team, much less against the best team in the league. That showed in how slow and lost they both looked in their 9 minute spurts during "crunch time". It's surprising that the team hasn't acquired another big man yet but, if the injuries to Vuce and Spencer linger, expect them to. Getting outrebounded by 21 isn't going to inspire confidence in the backups.
ET completely owned the second quarter. He got to the basket at will, getting past supposed "NBA's Best Perimeter Defender" Shane Battier numerous times, and hitting what seemed like thirty-seven straight and-one's off the backboard. His jumper was falling, but he wasn't settling for it, and it really felt like it was his team out there. Playing adequate defense on LeBron - he's always gonna get his, but still - didn't hurt things either. With a backcourt of Jrue Holiday, Andre and Evan, the Sixers had fluid ball movement and had the Heat scrambling on assignments. Riding the coattails of Evan seemed to be the way the Sixers were going to keep this thing close.
But then the 3rd quarter happened. And in that fateful period, Evan Turner sat. And sat. And sat. Only with two minutes remaining, after Vuce had already gone down, did Collins call on ET to wake up and take off his warmup shirsey. I don't understand this. It doesn't make sense to me in any reality, LOST or non-LOST. He's, right now, the third best player on the team behind Hawes and Andre Iguodala. And he's the hot hand. But for whatever asinine, blind, head-up-his-scrote reason, Doug Collins doesn't go to him until the game is mostly out of reach. There's probably "a lesson" in here somewhere, but it would be the wrong one. He had Louis Williams and Jodie Meeks on the court at the same time, which is essentially a -5 hole to begin with because you can't hide two players on defense. Going with Thad over him "for rebounding" doesn't make sense because Thad grabbed exactly zero rebounds and Evan's DRB% doubles Thad's. I don't get it. It's bad coaching and it's one of the main reasons the Sixers ended up getting blown out.
All the rest
Nothing I can say about Jrue Holiday that we haven't repeated 15 times already this season. He has to be better. He has to.
Lou got most, if not all, of his points in garbage time and continued his string of BOSSy play that re-charges the Lou Williams Hate Advisory Index (LWHAI) of season's past. His defense is nauseating. He also got blocked 4 times tonight, most of them from Joel Anthony who completely dominated the paint on defense.
Chris Bosh hit every shot. Mario Chalmers did as well. It's hard to win when you're doubling the best player in the game and the guys he kicks it out to are knocking down everything. That's the biggest thing with LeBron. He'll kill you regardless. But if the guys he passes to aren't missing enough, there's no chance you'll win the game.
Next game is at home against the lowly Washington Wizards, so make sure you have your Harry Potter references ready for Monday. Plenty of great tickets available to see a win so get yours here. Don't get too down about tonight's game. The second of a back to back against the best team in the league without your two centers... it wasn't in the cards.
In Evan we trust.
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0 recs | 29 comments
Oh gosh
Do you guys think Dwight Howard witnessed this game? Mannnnn, he’s never going to want to come here.
soman319 - January 21, 2012
Fear not...
…in Wight we trust!
(OK, no, but still, he’s what there is)
dweebowitz - January 21, 2012
Well at least Vuce isn’t hurt bad
KJ Brophy - January 21, 2012
If Miami
Doesn’t win the title this year Lebron should be forced to retire. Their length and athleticism on defense is just suffocating. Now that they have shooters all over by adding Battier and Cole, and Miller having two working thumbs I can’t see anyone stopping them.
Dpez71 - January 21, 2012
Trent Cole’s cousin isn’t really a shooter, & Battier isn’t much of one either anymore but everyone was just hitting there shots last night
KJ Brophy - January 22, 2012
When can we reasonably start to say
that Doug Collins dislikes Evan Turner, and I know the season is young, but I am little by little losing hope in Jrue Holiday as the future. Maybe it would be good for this team to sit him down and give ET a chance to start at the point. This way Jrue can get a reality check and ET get a chance to succeed where I think he would be at his VERY best.
phitePSEF - January 21, 2012
Who wants to take this one?
Michael Levin - January 21, 2012
I’ve already dealt with this twice. Once for someone who wanted to start Lou Will over Jrue and once for someone who wanted ET to start over Jrue.
The Mad Hopper - January 22, 2012
im going to say that this is a ridiculous, absurd thought and should never be mentioned again.
You dont sit your starting pg to give him a “reality check”. What type of message would that really be sending him? What would his teammates start to think of the coach?
jefu - January 22, 2012 via mobile
Ok, I will address this one more time
Jrue Holiday is, and should be, the starting PG for the 76ers. He has a great basketball IQ, he is smart with his passing, and he is becoming more aggressive on offense due to Collins’ urging. He has not played spectacularly recently, but to say that he should not be starting is asinine. He is still their best defensive PG and he is only 21 years old. He is continuing to develop, and with development comes struggles, but he is becoming a complete player rather than simply a defensive specialist.
Evan Turner has always been, and should always be, a G/F. He is not built to run the point. He is built to drive the lane, be an inside presence, and get to the boards on his own, and others’, missed shots. His outside shooting game is too weak for him to be considered a PG, and his defensive abilities would be wasted matching up on a PG, and not inside. If anything, he should be starting over Jodie Meeks, not Jrue.
It serves no purpose to give Jrue Holiday a “reality check.” Basketball is a game of confidence, and making your young PG lose confidence in himself is never the smart call. The only way Jrue grows at this point is by learning the process of the game through his mistakes. He is not a veteran, he is in his 3rd year, and it is not time to abandon him as our current and future PG. And Evan Turner would not be at his “VERY best” in a role where he has limited experience. He would be at his very best playing the position which Doug is grooming him to play. Remember, he is coming off of an injury, and while it was foolish of Doug to sit him for almost the entire 3rd quarter, we don’t know the extent of how ET is even feeling.
It is not time to scrap what we are doing and start inserting players at new positions simply because we didn’t play our best against one of the best teams in the NBA. The 76ers are growing, they are playing better this season, and they will continue to do so. But not if they make changes every time there is a bad game.
The Mad Hopper - January 22, 2012
and I got this one
“He has great basketball IQ.” Jrue does not. Try watching the games with Jrue’s basketball IQ in mind. It’s just OK. He wastes a lot of time dribbling. His court vision is average. Sure, he might make the occasional great pass but watch guards that you think aren’t as good as Jrue and you’ll see they can all do the same thing. Jrue is maddeningly inconsistent. Iguodala and Turner are higher ball IQ players, have much better court vision, and when it comes to playmaking, have play more purpose.
“to say that he should not be starting is asinine” I would change that to something like, “the Sixers are playing well with Jrue as the starter, so maybe calling for ET to start at this point is questionable.” But if we were losing, then what would be asinine is to not change things up given our depth. And both ET and Iguodala handle PG duties better than Jrue.
“Basketball is a game of confidence.” For very few players in the league, yes. But to overgeneralize like that is asinine. I don’t think Jrue’s problem is confidence. If anything, based on his play so far, he might be overconfident. A lot of Sixers have responded to Collins: Iguodala, Turner, Hawes, Brand, Meeks, Thad. Jrue? I don’t see it. I don’t see increasing consistency. I don’t see better decision-making.
“He is continuing to develop, and with development comes struggles,” He’s in his 3rd year in the NBA. Look at the rest of the 2009 draft class – the jury is no longer out on them. They are what they are now. Jrue is what he is now. Sure, over time, he’ll learn things as a result of accumulating experience in the league, but every other player will learn those things, too. Look at this list of 2009 draftees and you might be able to make a case for 2-3 that they’re still developing, but I wouldn’t bet on it:
Griffin, Thabeet, Harden, Evans, Rubio, Flynn, Curry, Hill, DeRozan, Jennings, Terrence Williams, Gerald Henderson, Hansbrough, Earl Clark, Austin Daye, James Johnson, Lawson, Teague, Maynor, Collison, Victor Claver, Casspi, Mullins, Beaubois Gibson, DeMarre Carroll, Wayne Ellington, Toney Douglas, Christian Eyenga.
“It serves no purpose to give Jrue Holiday a "reality check." " Yes, there would be a purpose. You sit him down, point out all the things he’s doing wrong, and tell him he needs to improve. If he’s the kind of man who can’t handle this, I don’t know if I’d want him on the team.
“He (Evan Turner) would be at his very best playing the position which Doug is grooming him to play.” What position is DC grooming him to play? Shooting guard? Ok, that seems to be the case based on the lineups DC throws out there. Then what kind of shooting guard is he being groomed to play? The kind that spends a lot of time handling the ball and making players? Or, the kind of shooting guard that can create for himself and is constantly attacking the rim. Define shooting guard, please. There’s no grooming here. Doug is letting Evan be Evan, letting him do the things he’s best at.
“Evan Turner would not be at his "VERY best" in a role where he has limited experience.” Wait, so you’re saying Jrue doesn’t have enough experience and he needs to learn through his mistakes, while Turner wouldn’t be good at PG because he doesn’t have enough experience, implying that he would make a lot of mistakes as a PG, and that he would NEVER learn through those mistakes. Please clarify.
Zack2011 - January 22, 2012
I don’t agree with any of this.
And re: your list, all of them are still developing. There’s a reason an NBA player’s prime is around 26-30, not 21-22.
Michael Levin - January 22, 2012
I like how you tried to pick apart my arguments, but i don’t think you are right with any of what you said.
The Mad Hopper - January 22, 2012
Speights goes 5 fo 8 for 12 points and 15 rebounds and a +20. Turner dominates the 2nd quarter and gets rewarded with a 3rd quarter benching. Jodie Meeks pulls a -26 in 26 minutes of play (with his starting backcourt mate getting a +1 … I’ve never seen that before). Way to go Doug.
splinter27 - January 21, 2012
So…start turner, bench jodie, speights is awesome and never shouldve been traded. Did i get that right?
jefu - January 22, 2012 via mobile
i told everyone speezys ballin. turner has swag. but there is no need to sprewell dougie c.
i am proud of the way we competed for the better part of 3 quarters last night. down hawes and voochy f. baby, there was absolutely no way we could stop bosh in the post and keep haslim and anthony off the boards. if we have our full team last night, we win or at least take it down to the wire.
J.Michael Woodson - January 22, 2012
by the way, james couldn’t miss in the 4th, iggy couldnt tame him and turner couldn’t slow him. nothing was said about the sixers there, lebron could do that to any team in the league when he gets it going, especially now that he has a post/high post threat he can defer to at his disposal.
J.Michael Woodson - January 22, 2012
The Sixers were thin at Center when the season started. Trading Speights and not getting a big or anything in return was A STUPID BASKETBALL MOVE. Particularly since Hawes seems fragile and no team goes through the season with once Center, we have to question Sixers management.
I also agree about Turner. He really showed me a lot of the things that I look for in a swing player. Good handle, willingness to draw contact and take it to the rack. Effort on the defensive end. Bad decision by Doug.
But Mr. Levin you are a flat out tool when it comes to Lou Williams who not only helped the Sixers get back into the game but actually made a cross-court pass to an open man more than once.
Not having a Center hurt, but even when we did, Miami was able to post players and have a man cut into the lane for an easy shot time and again. When the opponent can do the same thing over and over and experience success you have to respond differently.
The Sixers are weak inside. Thad is a finesse player and Elton is honestly a little undersized. The way they win is through defensive pressure and even without Wade, Miami did a good job of protecting the ball and doing more to stop the Sixers than the other way around.
Maybe it was the team being on short rest, but their shots weren’t falling and the team’s shooting percentage has been down ever since Hawes went out. A healthy Sixers team with both Vuce and Hawes and Miami without Wade is a match-up I think we can win. But with no quality big against Bosh, forget about it.
RickoT - January 22, 2012
So youre calling a guy who dedicates much of his time to maintaining the credibility of this blog a tool?
Smart move.
jefu - January 22, 2012 via mobile
I don’t always agree with Mike but he is anything but a tool, he is one of the best things about LibertyBallers.
With that said I wish you the best in your future endeavors on another blog since I don’t think you’ll be here much longer
KJ Brophy - January 22, 2012
Which one though?!
Michael Levin - January 22, 2012
That flat-out one. So, a screwdriver?
nyunole - January 22, 2012
The kind that doesn’t fully appreciate Tha BOSS!!!!!
dweebowitz - January 22, 2012
Lou Williams helped the Sixers cut the deficit from 17 to 10 and made a some nice passes when the Heat were playing to rundown clock, not make stops. That’s hardly something to commend him on.
What is the difference between a tool and a flat out tool? I think you’re of the flat out variety.
The Mad Hopper - January 22, 2012
I think you undervalue him, honestly.
Gosu44 - January 22, 2012
Come on, we all don’t always have to agree, and calling out a fellow sixer fan blogger with insults is stupid. Mike is entitled to have his opinions (which I enjoy reading). I happen to looove Lou Will and believe he’s a def asset to the team. But I’m not going to be malicious about it to anyone who disagrees…
Gosu44 - January 22, 2012
agree but unless my cyber-slang isnt updated enough i dont think there was anything harsh said. occassionally i see slick or low-cutting comments (most of which i gather are about guys who dont post anymore) but honestly no grown man should feel as though he is being … dare i say it … cyber bullied?
hell, i disagree with mike more than anyone else on here for the most part. of course not considering he has more posts than anyone… so … hmmm …
J.Michael Woodson - January 22, 2012
Finding Liberty Ballers has saved my sanity from listening to fair-weather fans on sports radio and pompous d-bag John Smallwood et. all. So thank you a million times over to Levin and Co. If you don’t like it, go listen to Angelo Cataldi rag on
Andy Reid and Iguodala.
Blunt Philly Guy - January 22, 2012 via iPhone app
How about a blunt rubber mallet?
There are a lot of other adjectives I could have used that are far worse.
It’s like this: Commentary based on what the player actually did is fine, But harping on a player over and over again because of your personal subjective view isn’t. It isn’t fun, it isn’t enlightening and it’s downright insulting to the player and people who like the player and want to see him do better.
I’d like to see you ban people who harp on Iguodala over and over again. It’s obnoxious and serves no public purpose. The same principal is in effect here.
When someone has a Player Hate Advisory Index on anyone, he’s a tool! Expecting Lou Williams to play great defense is absurd. Expecting anyone who is Lou’s size to be a great defender is absurd. He’ll get his fair share of steals, but that’s about it. You really want one of your small guards to take charges or block someone’s shot? If you do, you just don’t know the game!
The criticism about his being blocked multiple times by the same player IS valid. The one thing Lou is responsible for is his decision-making and in particular his shot selection. Taking shots without any awareness for a shot-blocker is a mistake for any player. For a smallish guard like Lou that’s even more of an issue, since a lot of NBA players can block his shot.
Mike did a decent job with the write up, but seriously what’s the point about complaining about a player who got most of his points in garbage time? He doesn’t decide when he gets in the game, all he can do is play his best when he’s in.
Who scored the most for the Sixers in the game with the Heat? Lou Williams with 22 pts. 4 assists and 2 steals in 31 min. 7-16 isn’t great but he also shot 4-6 from 3 point land, which is good. He was actually the best guard the Sixers had that night, so when someone decides to hate on the one guy who actually performed I have to wonder about what he’s thinking, and when you read it, you should too!
Besides it’s all in fun, even if it IS a little edgy.
RickoT - January 23, 2012
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