Okay ... so I overreacted a little

Okay ... so overreacted a little. The Sixers losing streak was making it difficult to watch. Hey ... I know they are not going to win a lot of games. But 0 for '08 was getting a little old. And the specter of this week's opponent (San Antonio, Houston, Boston ) on the road made it seem like the first win in '08 could be awhile. But the basketball gods don't look ahead at the schedule. The Spurs game was a rerun of the sorts. The Sixers ran out of steam in the 4th (L 82-89). But they come up with a gem in Houston(W 111-107). No way they could win in Boston.

But there they were ... slugging it out against the C's. Their play was a joy to watch. At least for 3 periods. Then the wheels fell off. The result ... L 89-116. But it was Boston. You just don't want to get spanked by the best team in the league. Although that 4th period was pretty humbling.

The play of Samuel Dalembert has not been lost during my delusional state this year. The Haitian sensation (yea corny) has been consistently in double figures every nite. No huge brain farts. He's been rebounding and blocking shots or intimidating them. I'm not a big Sammy fan, but I have to call it like I see it. He has been giving starter performances lately. He was huge in the Rockets game (19 pts, 6 Rebs, 2 blocks). The block at the end of the game was clutch.

I know the Sixers won't be contenders this year. I know they have been playing hard and showing steady improvement. That all good. I just need a win sprinkled in every now and then.

Happy about the Sixer's play of late ... are you kiddin' me!

No ... I'm not happy with the Sixer's play of late. The public facing voices from the organization are talking positive. In Marc Narducci's article yesterday (Gritty 76ers see wins on the way) they talk about working hard, playing as a team and how they are just a hare off from winning some of the games they've been losing. In the mean time they are 0 for '08.

I bore witness to the 100-97 loss to the Bulls last Friday nite. The game was not as close as the score would indicate (Lou Williams hit a 3 to end the game and but for a late charge from Iggy the deficit would have been double digits). The Bulls were down by 18 early .. ready to lay down like the dogs they are. But the Sixers inexplicably stopped playing. There was no Herculean offensive effort by the Bulls. They did not apply some magical lock down defense. The Sixers just stopped playing. They could not do some much as run a pick in roll!

Regardless of the spin put on their recent play you can't hide what their body language is saying. Igoudala looks frustrated enough to explode. Either a teammate, a coach or some reporter will soon see a side of him we did not know existed. Lou Williams is doing more thinking than reacting. Rod Carney is still a dear in the headlights. And the dependable Jason Smith has been playing with his head down lately. Between you and me I think Smith is hitting that rookie wall. I'm sure he has never played more that 30 games in a season. The west coast road trip must have felt like a fraternity initiation to him.

All I can say is their current play in not acceptable ... ping pong balls or not. You can't convince me they're heading in the right direction. Could the loss of K squared have meant that much?

Come on Sixers ... prove me wrong ... beat the Spurs on the road 2nite.

The Sixers need to get over their west coast road trip

Not that I'm insensitive to how difficult the Sixers recent west coast road trip was or the rigors of the NBA, but .... GET OVER IT!

The game I witness last nite (an 87-83 loss to the Bucs) was HORRIBLE! There was no energy. They sleep walked thru the whole thing! Charlie Villanueva had more energy than the entire squad.

Yea ... I know you just came off the road trip from hell. Six games on the road ... on the west coast ... in eleven days. So what if you had to play a game on New Years eve ... So what if Kyle Kover got traded during the road trip. So what if you lost to Kyle's new team on the road. So what if you got spanked by the Lakers (twice in the last last few weeks)

This is the NBA baby. Your gonna have a road trip just like this every year. You started 2-1 in the first 3 game of the road trip. You gotta find a way to win 1 of the next 3 ... this is the pros ain't it? I know no one has offered excuses but "we gotta work harder" will only get you so far. Somebody's gotta step!

There's a new game almost every nite ... like tonite for instance.