NBA.com: 76ers Stifle Magic to Win Again Without A.I.

76ers Stifle Magic to Win Again Without A.I.

Well Done!

Sixers easily handle Knicks without injured Iverson

Sixers easily handle Knicks without injured Iverson - No AI, No Problem, the Sixers just hit the "Easy" button against the Knicks. The Knicks were playing in a back to back game situation. They won the nite before at home. A 97-94 win over the Magic (who were playing in a back to back game). Eddie Curry scored 27. Last nite against the Sixers he scored 5.

Now, comes the hard part. Can the Sixers do it again, two nites in a row, against the Magic (whom they lost to on Thursday) ... without Bubba?

Pat Garrity, Magic Outpace Philly in OT

NBA.com: Garrity, Magic Outpace Philly in OTHere we go again ... "There were several plays where we had lapses on the defensive end that allowed them to cut the lead and then eventually win the game," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "It was just defensive lapses that we had on the defensive end."

Sound familiar? Kyle Korver had extended lapses on offense and defense. He was often late to react on defense and had poor shot selection on offense. The Sixers are still looking for that 3rd banana to the dynamic duo.

76ers win third straight

|76ers 109, Kings 103 | Another win that was a dog fight. The third straight. The Sixers crest above the .500 mark at 21-20 at the offical mid-point of the season. Sure the Kings were undermanned without Stojakovic (serves them right for entering the Ron Artest dance contest), but somebody's gotta step up. It twas Bibby on this nite. Scoring a career high 44 points. The cynic in me could not help but wonder wether the fact that he was playing against his estranged father's team that nite was a factor. Supposedly, the Bibby's had dinner and talked before the game. But I am a cynic at times.

The other A.I. lifts Sixers over T-Wolves

It was Andre Iguodala's (ihg - woh -D AHL' - uhz) tippin of Chris Webber's missed layup that give Philadelphia the victory over the Timberwolves. It's a small wonder that I witnesses it. Just earlier in the day I was reflecting on Stephen A.'s postulating about the Sixers in this AM's Sunday paper. In summation, Mr. Smith's comments where a bit if a re-run ... the Sixers are going nowhere ... somethings gotta change ... trade for Ron Artest (may that's a new one) ... trade AI, or maybe fire Billy King! To say such things in lite of another heroic Friday nite overtime win is a bit incredulous.

So I am sitting in front of my TV on a Sunday afternoon (1PMEST Start) watching this horrendous display by the Sixers on national television. Listening to Mr. Walton repeat the same cliches about how poor the Sixers are. They're shooting less than 30% in the 1st half. When the score ballooned to 19 in the 3rd, I was certain the network would switch over to the Nuggets -vs- Spurs game. That's why they schedule two games like that on a Sunday afternoon, right? For those times when the feature game is a dud.

But the T-wolves are a bit of a fraud themselves and for all his size Kevin Garnett can come up incredibly small in close games. The Sixers storm back and Iggy's tippin seals the deal.
Maybe the script will play out as everyone says, but if you just went along with the program and turned the game off ... you missed a heck of a finish.

Sixers must correct flaws before they become fatal | Stephen A. Smith

Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/15/2006 | Stephen A. Smith | Sixers must correct flaws before they become fatal Stephen A's article this Sunday was ... well it stated something as obvious as the nose on your face. The Sixers defense is horrible! The article goes on to say that Cheeks will trust more in his bench for defensive intensity.

... Well I saw first hand at last nite's game (a 101-90 loss to the division leading Nets) that it aint working. The game was littered with total defensive breakdowns. Sammy's defensive rebound and subsequent outlet pass to a Nets player was the hallmark of the Sixers inaptitude.

.... This is Why We Watch?

76ers Defeat Celtics 125-124 in Triple OT

ABC News: 76ers Defeat Celtics 125-124 in Triple OT Are you kiddin' me? Triple Overtime! I nearly turned the game off in the third quarter. I wonder how many fans left early. The Sixers defense was offensive. Iggy blanketed Paul Pierce. But KK was being woefully exposed by Ricky Davis and was not scoring himself to compensate. When simply rotating the ball did not yield a wide open shot, the Celtics were posting up Webber. The game appeared to be a repeat of Wednesday's bewildering loss to the Jazz.
... But Mo went old school. He pulled the dynamic duo and Kyle Korver and sent in the shock troops. The signal was clear ... Play 'D' or watch from the bench. Boston wilted. They were lucky to make it to OT. Where the Sixers couldn't close it out, AI misses the last shot, and we go to a 2nd OT. Korver redeems himself (not really) with the 3 point buzzer beater to force a 3rd OT. Webber seals the deal with a clutch steal off Mark Blount.

Tripe OT's are rare. It was nice to be on the winning side.

Let's Talk about the 'M' word

About a month ago the venerable Steven A. Smith wrote an article proclaiming the Sixers a Mediocre team. I thought it was to harsh at the time. Much too early to tell what Mo's squad really looks like. The Sixers annual left coast road trip was a true test of character, I argued. Some of Larry Brown's teams gelled on the 7 game grind, other teams have tanked. We learned a little bit more about all of them. So what happened to the 05-06 team ....

12/23/05 L 111-108 @ Atlanta	Sixers gave in to a young squad that gave them plenty of chance to win. Sure they had won 5 in a row, but its the Atlanta Hawks dude!
12/27/05 W 108-106 @ Denver	They could have easily lost this one. Carmello posted 45, but Iverson's jumper with 4.2 seconds left wins it.
12/28/05 L 95-91 @ Portland	Back to Back game. Denver to Portland is no Sunday drive. The Sixers commit a season high 19 turn-overs. KK's 24 points is wasted in a loss to another young losing team.
12/31/05 L 108-102 @ Utah	Gordan Girickek scored a season-high 23. Yea, that's what I Gordon who? The Sixers are winning this one, but can't hold one. Sound familiar?
01/03/06 W 111-98 @ Sacramento	Sixers win inspite of a Brad Miller's banner day. The sharp shooting big man exposed the Sixers for 36 points. Webber had a healthy 20 pts and 16 Rebs, but it was Bibby's poor shooting that lost it for the kings
01/04/06 L 105-85 @ Phoenix	Another back to back game. Another loss. The 76ers collapse in the 3rd period. They are our scored 35-16.
01/06/06 L 119-93 @ L.A. Lakers	Unlike the game in philly, Bryant tourches the 76ers for 48. The Lakers were 13-20 from the 3 point line.

So the Sixers are not road warriors this year. A great team could have won all 7. A good team would have won at least 4. A bad team might have won 2. But a mediocre team could win or loss on any given nite. You might expect 3 or 4 wins on trip like this. The schedule was rough, but the opponents were not (mostly young and struggling).

I am now ready to concede to Steven A.'s prognosis. If nothing changes, this year's model will be mediocre. Destined to make the playoff in the bottom half of the bracket. Destined to be bounced by a conference championship finalist. Destined for a poor draft spot. At the end of it all Billy King will say "We weren't that bad of a team", and nothing will change. In a word "Mediocre".

That's not to say they are not worth watching. AI is burning through the record books this year. His final tally will be worthy of the hall of fame. The question is ... will Billy King every surround him with the players to win the prize.