Brand New Day

"I'm going to find something good to make him mad Friday" quipped Lou Williams. The Sixers outlasted the B’Cats 86-84 at home last nite.

So Elton Brand shows signs of life just a day after I was ready to give ‘em up for dead. His performance last nite was undeniable his best as a Sixer. 42 Minutes, 19 Points, 11 boards (7 Offensive), 3 steals and 6 blocks. I found the 6 blocks to be most impressive. He was getting physical. Something he isn’t known for … Something this team has sorely lacked thus far. So maybe Brand won’t be such a disappointment. Let’s give it 10 more games.

But it is still a concern that it took the final seconds to beat a woeful team like Charlotte. The Bobcat scored 25 points off of 19 turnovers. There was something wrong with the official scorer which only tallied 12 TOs for the Sixers.  They gave back the ball on back to back possessions several times. Which kept the Bobcats in the game despite their lack of team play and the ball hog that is the newly acquired Stephen Jackson.

When they weren’t turning the ball over they were bricking shots or whining to the refs. Carney was a bright spot. I give Jordon some credit for choosing him to be 1st off the bench in the absence of Speights. Carney went 2-4 from the 3 point line for 10 points and the +15 +/- was the best for any player that clocked in.

I supposed it would be too much to ask for a win Friday over the Grizzles. Another bottom feeder. We seem to play down to their level. (sigh) No AI for the Grizzles anymore. I may not go down tomorrow.

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Brand breaks out as Sixers edge Bobcats

I dunno what to think

Seriously … I dunno what to think.

"See no  evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil". "If we do not hear, see, or speak of how bad the Sixers are, then they can’t be bad.” Right?

But I was at the Utah debacle last Friday nite. It was disgusting. It was so bad  they had fans pining for Toney Dileo’s return.

Say what you will about last years team … no superstar, can’t shoot, can’t defend .. what have you. That team brought it every nite. They were often overmatched but rarely blown out (the same could be said for Mo Cheeks squad). But this years model has been blown-out 3 times in the first 2 weeks.

UGH!

That’s all I could say after the loss. “I dunno what to think” when reminded about the Bulls game Saturday nite. Against my better judgment … I watched game. They didn’t get blown-out, but they didn’t win either.

UGH!

And we lose Mo Speights to boot. As much as the Sixers did not want to talk about it. It can no longer be ignored. The EB experiment aint working. And with Speights out for 6 weeks there are no easy alternatives. Somethin' has gotta give.

So there are rumors about a Dalembert trade in the works. Nothing new about that. But who thought they would start out like this.

Even without Mo Speights the line-up will change tomorrow nite. The word on the street is that the Sixers will play more small ball.

UGH!

I can see how bad things are going.

I can speak about how bad things are.

I can hear all the bad things going on.

But it has only been 10 games! Remain calm … who am I kidding … I dunno what to think.

Arena Link: YungsMoove21

Post-Game Interview

Sammy man’s up for the stop & the win

The Sixers were in a dog fight against the winless New Jersey Nets tonite. The Nets nearly beat the Celtics in their last tilt. So the fact they dressed on 8 players (only 7 played) was of little consequence. The Sixers had their hands full against a desperate team.

The game came down to the Sixers holding a 1 point lead in the final seconds. The Sixers needed a stop. After the time-out the Nets went to stand-out center Brook Lopez. Sammy comes up with a HUGE block that essentially won the game. The beauty of his talent was on full display.

Also on display was Young smooth 21. Yes last year’s Thaddeus Young had 20 pts, 5 rebounds, & 3 assists. Young paced the Sixers with 12 points in the 1st period. It was a beautiful thing to see.

Willie Green hit two clutch buckets in the fourth period. Green, who was referred to as “the fungus” that would not go away in a blog post I read today, hit his first bucket of the game (a 3 pointer) with the Sixers trailing by one. It is plays like that, that keeps him on the floor. The coaches seem to like ‘em. So he’s going to be in the mixed. Like it or not.

At the end of the day … any road win is a good one and the 76ers are 4-4.

Al Cervi, 1917-2009

Al Cervi, 1917-2009. The upstate New York native played with the Rochester Royals in the old NBL (league’s leading scorer & MVP ‘45-46). Player-Coach for Syracuse Nationals. Coached the Nats to a NBA Championship in 1955. Inducted in to the NBA Hall of Fame in 1985. Inducted in to the Greater Buffalo HOF in 2003.

Suns run past the 76ers

If you are fan of basketball you have to appreciate the artistry that is Steve Nash. I could not help but admire some of the moves he made last nite as he carved the 76ers up for 20 assists and 21 points. It was like he NEVER made a bad decision out there.

So it’s hard to frown on the 100’s of Nash fans at the Wachovia center last nite. But I have to say the girl with the life size cut out of Nash on her lap has to be the fringe.

 

For my Sixers, it was a different day but the same tune. They played well enough to win. The bench played really well in this one. Particularly the rookie Holiday who had meaningful minutes (15 minutes, 8 points, 2-3 3PT’s, 2 steals). And Igoudala played well (24 & 9, points and rebounds). He is stepping it up and forcing the action instead of waiting for the games to come to him.

To look at the box score you might say the Sixers played a good game, but the Suns are just that much better. They scored 115 points on 53% shooting (over 60% in the 1st half). So what’s the problem? What’s has been the problem? What will teams continue to do until the Sixers correct it?

The Sixers can’t defend the 3!

The Sun’s J.Rich was 6-6 from the 3 point line before missing his last 2. As a team the Suns finished 50% (15-30) from 3 point range. With the game in the balance the Suns executed consecutive 3 points plays to retake control of the game.

This as to stop. The Sixers have to find a way to fix this. It’s maddening.

Sixers find a new way to loose

I could just not cipher how they did it … Lose to a smaller team by getting out rebounded on your defensive boards. They surrendered 21 offensive boards to the pistons (Sixers had 14), and a total of 51 rebounds (Sixers had 39). Don’t give me that crap about how great Ben Wallace played (16 boards). Rebounding is about effort and we did not see it on Sunday.

The Sixers coughed up 16 turn-overs to make matters worse. Every starter had at least 2 TOs.

The Sixers bench is doing better, but the starting five needs some work.

So the question has to be asked; “When do you put Speight's in the starting line-up?

Remain calm it's too early to panic

“I have never seen this place so empty” says the guy next to me. And he has been a season ticket holder for 9 years. I was inclined to agree. “It’s the Phillies hangover effect” I said. Looking for some way to dismiss the sparse attendance on a Friday nite as an anomaly. Statistically the attendance was 10,054.

But the crowd that was there gave it everything they had. No way the Sixers could lose to the injury riddled New Jersey Nets. The last team in the NBA without a win.

Okay, it could have looked a little sharper. You’d like to see them pummel a team like this. But at least they won. Look at the scoring  by periods; 18, 32, 18, 29. Eddie Jordon is still playing with the rotation. There was not the same drop off this time when he went to the bench in the second period, but its gotta be tough on the players to establish any rhythm without consistent minutes. If you know you only got 4 minutes at the start of the 2nd period, then you bust your butt for four minute. But then to sit the next game. It has to difficult for a bench player.

Take Rod Carney for example, after 9 minutes against Boston (0-2, 1 point) and 6 in the Knicks game (0-2, 0 points) How can you not score against the Knicks. On Friday Carney gets 4 minutes … at the start of the 4 period? To his credit he hit his first 3 and went 1-2.

Sadly it may take awhile. The starters probably need to play better before Jordon settles on a rotation. I will try to remain calm. It’s too early to panic. Maybe we can get it rolling against the Pistons tomorrow.

Key Man Mix

Iggy’s new trick shot

That game kinda sucked

I’m not a rich guy by any stretch of the imagination. So when I roll down to the Wac  center. I want to get my moneys' worth. I’m not saying I was looking for the Sixers to blow out the Celtics …. I wasn’t even expecting a win against the reigning division champs.

I just wanted my team to show up.

But it’s not like anyone showed up. The reported attendance was 11,251 (objects in your mirror are smaller than they appear). But the arena had a hollow feel and the play in the first quarter reflected it. Both teams started off like they had forgotten how to shoot. There was no energy in the building. Even the 17-19 first quarter was hollow. They had taken twice as many shots as Boston to get there.

And then the second quarter started. Coach Jordon put in the bench. And the the wheels fell off.

So that’s why I thought the game kinda sucked. It wasn’t incredible shooting from the C’s. It wasn't suffocating defense. The Sixers just never showed up.

And I spied more Celtics fans the later the game got. It was like they had their pathetic green jerseys hidden and became more brazen as the C’s pulled away.  Boasting about how great they are and chanting for Brian Scalabrine to enter the game. Frickin’ Celtics fans.

Trick or Treat

The Knicks game last nite on Hallows eve was scary. The table was setup nicely for the 76ers. It was the Knicks. The shot a  minute, no defense playing dredge of the division. The Knicks lost a double overtime the nite before in Charlotte.
 

Treat: The Sixers came out smoking. The offense was scary good. EB was taking advantage of the Knicks on the lower block. Sammy was blocking shots. After a 10-10 start. The Sixers when on a run to take control of the game. They scored 40 points in the 1st period … FOURTY!

Trick: But some of that dropped of in the 2nd period when Jordon when to the bench. I know …. don’t remind me, it’s too early to worry about the bench.

Treat: The Sixers manage to win the period 30-26. So I’m in awe of a 70 point half. I’m thinkin’ they’re gonna score 120 or more at this pace. They give back 4 points in the 3rd period 26-30. But they’re up, 96-81.

Trick: Then the Knicks go crazy. Apparently they had done the same the nite before. Al Harrington just went off. And the kid Gallinari was hittin’ CRAZY 3’s. They tally 41 in the fourth to force overtime. “This can’t be happening” I’m thinking.

Treat: But then the Sixers wake up in overtime. I’m sure the Knicks’ tank was running on empty by then. They out score the Knicks 19-5. Game-over-man.

Happy Halloween!