I slept on the game, and the write-up is probably different than what it would have been had I done it immediately after the game.
The game sucked. Collins made a mistake going with Nocioni, one that we all questioned when it was announced. The offense was putrid to start. The experiment failed. Lou Williams was horrible, and has been for 3 games. Evan Turner failed to capitalize on his chance in the third quarter. Jodie Meeks continues to give you virtually nothing. The bench as a whole stank. Iguodala didn't score in the second half.
Yeah, the long jumpers were frustrating. The 8 free throw attempts even more-so. The Sixers shot 35 shots beyond 16 feet to the Grizzlies 26. The Grizzlies attempted 29 free throws to the Sixers 8. If you want your game in a nutshell, that was it.
But this is who the Sixers are. This is who they were when they were winning. This team doesn't have the talent or mindset to play like the Grizzlies. They don't have a post-up threat like Marc Gasol or a perimeter slasher like Rudy Gay. This is why the Sixers aren't championship contenders. We knew that coming into the season, and it should have been evident even when they were dominating teams.
Right now, this team looks tired and beaten down offensively. Shots they were previously making are hitting front rim. Ball movement has slowed. Passes aren't as crisp. They need this break in the worst way.
The Sixers third loss in a row came at the hands of the best player on the court. Kevin Love had played a terrible game offensively (7-23 from the field) but with just over 3 seconds left, was the benefit of a call from the refs that was as generous as it was rare. He sunk two foul shots to put the Timberwolves ahead and give them the 92-91 lead.
After the jump, we're only talking about the last two plays. Take a deep breath and let's get into it.
This game was a big one for the Sixers. The defending NBA champions were coming to town for a nationally televised primetime game on the worldwide leader. This was a game which the Sixers had a chance to show the casual fan around the country that they are a team that deserves to be in conversations about the league's best. With a double-digit lead and playing as a good a half as anyone could hope, it certainly looked like they would convert the naysayers. Unfortunately, the NBA made them play the second half; the worst second half of the season for this Sixer squad. Behind a terrible offensive philosophy and a one-man onslaught courtesy Dirk Nowitzki, the Sixers lost the double-digit lead and eventually the game, 82-75.
The Sixers came out with a ton of energy, moving the ball around effectively and getting open looks in the process on the offensive end. Defensively they forced the Mavericks outside the paint and held them to under 35% from the field for the half. It was the typical Sixers basketball that we've gotten used to all season; active hands defensively, forcing contested jumpers, getting out on fast breaks off turnovers and rebounds, ball movement, knocking down shots. The Sixers rode this effort all the way to a 14-point halftime lead and judging from the way they played that half, I thought there was no chance they'd squander it.
I never knew how wrong I could be.
Remember how I said the good things the Sixers did in the first half were the good things we've seen all season? If you don't, you have a bad memory because it's about 5 sentences ago. Well anyway, everything they did in the second half on the offensive side of the ball were the exact issues that we've had and been complaining about since Drake was only known as Aubrey Graham, star of Degrassi (okay, maybe not that long). And the worst part about it, coach Doug Collins doesn't seemed the least bit concerned with those factors.
Rantiness after the jump.
The Philadelphia 76ers ran into a three-point shooting buzz-saw in the Orlando on Wednesday night and suffered their worst loss of the season to any team not named the Miami Heat.
Through 29 games the Sixers number one ranked defense was second in the NBA in both opponents field goal percentage (.417) and opponents three point percentage (.301). On Wednesday the Magic shot 53 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the arch, converting 15 of 25 attempts. Look no further as to why the Sixers lost, and lost badly.
Orlando jumped out to an early 17-point lead in the first quarter, which the Sixers cut to six points late in the second quarter, only to see it ballon back to 16 by half. The Sixers expended so much energy cutting the lead from 17 to six, it was crucial to go into the locker room with some momentum, but poor execution in the final two minutes of the half left the Sixers deflated and once again, down by a huge margin.
On defense the Sixers did a good job on Dwight Howard, but Jameer Nelson was able to get wherever he wanted on the court and ran the Magic's offense to perfection. Whether it was Lavoy Allen, Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner or Andre Iguodala, the Sixers struggled to close out on the Magic sharpshooters, which led to Ryan Anderson (7 threes) and Jason Richardson (4 threes) shooting a combined 11-15 from beyond the arch.
The Magic exploded out of the gate, putting the Sixers behind the eight ball early. Once the Sixers trailed by as many as 17, it was very unlikely they were going to come back and beat a quality opponent like the Magic on their home floor. However; giving credit where credit is due, the Sixers scratched and clawed their way back the entire game, but could never get over the proverbial hump because of timely, deflating, three-point bombs from Anderson and company.
This was a frustrating and depressing game to watch, but in the grand scheme of things it is just one game. When a team shoots over 50 percent and hits 15 threes they're probably going to win. That's what the Magic did tonight, and the Sixers were unfortunate enough to stand in the crossfire. On to the next game, when the Sixers host the defending champs, the Dallas Mavericks, in their first nationally televised game of the season on ESPN.
A few individual observations after the jump.
The Philadelphia 76ers handed the Charlotte Bobcats their 15th consecutive loss on Monday en route to their 20th win of the season. The final score indicates the Sixers won by a decent margin, but the game was uncomfortably close from about the midway point of the third quarter on. The lead was as small as a two points a few times, including as late as 6:31 left in the fourth, following a miracle Kemba Walker three. However; a few seconds later Louis Williams answered with a three of his own, igniting a 17-10 Sixers run to end the game.
After the game Lou essentially admitted to Meredith Marakovits that the Sixers lost focus in the third quarter because the Bobcats suck, they had blown them out before and they were looking ahead to Orlando. At least he's honest. This team has spoiled us all season by not only beating inferior opponents, but never leaving any doubt. Monday they let the Bobcats hang in the game, gain confidence and make the Sixers work a little harder for their 20th win then they probably should have.
Losing focus and looking ahead aren't necessarily things you want one of your players admitting to, but to spin it positively, at least the team, via Boss, acknowledges they let up and that, along with Collins, will likely prevent it from happening too often. Up to this point, the Sixers have earned a free pass for games like this.
What's weird about all of this is, the Sixers won a road game by nine points in a place they hadn't won in six trips and the story-line is "The Sixers won, but not impressively". As Tom Pavlo pointed out on Twitter, this might have been the type of game the Sixers would have lost in previous years. They completely let up in the third and the Bobcats had all the momentum, plus growing confidence and the "crowd" behind them. This year's version of the Sixers never flinched. They went to work and won the game.
In a game like this, there was more good than bad, but I'll focus on the good and sweep the bad under the rug cause I'm feeling sexy on the eve of Valentine's Day. Make the jump.
In what may have been the sleepiest game of the season thus far, the Spencer Hawes-less Sixers spiked the Cleveland Cavaliers minus Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao. The 76ers yawned their way to a 15 point second quarter win and never looked back. In fairness to the Cavs, they were without their two best players and are forced to play their home games in Cleveland. Bummer.
There were some good things and some bad touches tonight, as there always are, and I will outline them below, using as many incorrect usages of the word "Cavalier" as I possibly can in honor of Marc Zumoff and Malik Rose. Plow ahead.
The trend of insanely good point guards crushing the Sixers continued tonight, as Chris Paul, though held in check for much of the game, hit the game-winning jumper over the long arms of newly minted NBA All-Star Andre Iguodala. The Sixers had 3.2 seconds left to take the lead, but an embarrassing Louis Williams double-team chuck later sounded the horn.
This is the first time this season the Sixers have dropped two in a row, both losses having come at home to tough teams. With one game left in the vicious eight game stretch, the Sixers are currently teetering at 4-3. Well, let's discuss.
Just two days after the Sixers picked up an enormous win against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, another championship team from the past decade in the San Antonio Spurs rolled (but picked first) into the Wells Fargo Center. Beating just about every big-name team that's come to town so far this year (with exception of the Miami Heat), the Sixers looked to lock up another marquee win against a top tier opponent tonight. The Basketball Gods and Tony Parker clearly didn't get the memo as the Spurs pick-and-rolled the Sixers to death on their way to a 100-90 win.
Just a few days earlier, Parker lit up the most athletic of point guards in Russell Westbrook meaning Jrue Holiday would have his hands full from the get go. It would be his duty to keep Parker out of the paint where he is without a doubt most dangerous. Everybody and their favorite Elmo doll knew that the Spurs were going to come in and utilize the lethal pick-and-roll combination of Parker and Tim Duncan as much as humanly possible, but knowing it doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to stop it. This was the case with the Sixers tonight.
Right from the start the Spurs attacked with the P-and-R, mutilating the Sixers' top ranked defense in the process. Holiday, for some strange reason, was either attempting to go over the screen or didn't even make an attempt to get around the screen for the entirety of the first half. While Parker certainly has the ability to knock down the outside shot on occasion, he's infinitely more dangerous when he gets room to get to the basket. Once he got just a hint of hole to the paint, Parker would either force a big to collapse on him opening up the weak side for a cutter to collect an easy deuce, capitalize on the weak-side help by hitting the open man in the corner for an uncontested jumpshot, or just take the ball to the cup himself. Utilizing this attacking gameplan, Parker collected 37 points (on just 24 shots), 8 assists, and a total of 13 free throws (he made all 13).
The Spurs' P-and-R offense was certainly the death of the Sixers tonight but it wasn't the only factor that lead to a Sixer loss as another compliance showed its not-so-attractive face; long two-point jumpshots.
More after the jump.
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