Sunday, December 16, 2007

Dalembert has his Mojo back

If Sammy D plays well there's a good chance the 76ers win. Its just that simple. The 92-86 win over the Cavs last nite makes this point crystal clear. You can talk about the importance of the Andre duo, but Sammy's play makes the little train that could go. When Sammy D is on the Sixers have "D"efense ... When Sammy D has the mojo the Sixers get "D"unks in the middle.

I was really looking for the Sixers to extend their streak with a win Friday nite. But he disappeared and the Sacramento Kings (0-9 on the road) win their first road game. Johnny Salmons scored 19 for the Kings (he's still a stiff for my money). A 5 game win streak would have been sweet. But a 3-4 week was all I was hoping for. So it was left to a game versus the Cavs on the road to cap off the week.

Thanks to Sammy the week ends on an impressive note. He played 43 minutes last nite. Iggy was strapped with foul trouble but still played 33 minutes. I'm okay with that. I think he plays too many minutes. The Sixers have to be capable of playing when he is not on the floor. Last nite they actually took control of the game with Andre on the bench.

The Cavs have lost 8 out of their last 9 games. Most of them without LeBron. "We're not playing very good basketball," he said. "Right now, we're not a very good team." James managed 21 points (6 below his league leading average of 29.4). But he took only 18 shots. The Sixers double teamed him with extreme prejudice and the rest of James' teammates could not respond. Only Gooden shot well and you can live with that. But the Cavs never rotated the ball back to James after the double team. Result .... Sixers win!

Looking back the Sixers had an excellent week. The road win is a welcomed sign. They Sixers have a lot of road games on the menu and the left coast death march is on the horizon. BTW, I would be remiss if I didn't comment on Thaddeus Young. Mo has found steady minutes for him and the kid has responded. 10 minutes last nite. He was on the floor when the Sixers took charge of the game. It's good to see the two top draft picks contribute. I hope the trend continues and Dalembert keeps his Mojo.

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