Sixer-Celts

[Reality]

This is what I saw.
101-98 32 tics is when I entered Chicago Pizzas.  Timeout Philly.  
Inbounds Philly.

A.I. dribbles around the top of the key, Celts have him covered.  Not really sure what A.I. is looking for.  Jackson sets a screen and he looks like he has a brief opening for a 3 hoist right at the top of the key.  Does not seem to be looking for Kover at all.  3 opening closes.  Instead he scampers down the left lane, jumps for the running extended layup.  Celts are all over it.  Look like they would block the layup attempt.  So in midair he twists turns and throws it lefthanded crosskey back to Mark Jackson.  Jackson looks very uncomfortable setting up for the shot.  It's a brick.

Intentional foul, Pouton sinks both.

103-98 19 seconds left.  Very tough, not impossible.  I would say try a three now, but if Boston will hand you the quick 2, take it.  Either way Philly has to make it, foul, then hope Celts miss at least one.  
A.I. drives has the layup, but he lays it short.  On the rebound, props to A.I. for keeping it alive by tipping it high up towards the freethrow line.  But it appears 3 of the 5 Sixers have split for the defensive end instead of crashing the boards :huh:  :huh:, thus Boston coralls the rebound.  Over.  

Strictly reading the play by play looks like CWebb was not clutch at all in the stretch.  Missed a couple big fts.  Did have a huge block tho?
49-30 FTAs advantage Celts  :huh:
Korver 5-9 treys.  Rest of Sixers 0-11  :huh:
dabods and rt?

[rickortreat]

Rediculous officiating.  Free-throw differential completly unfair to the Sixers.  Paul Pierce gets brethed on, foul.  Iverson gets knocked to the floor, no call.

Sixers can't run when the other team shoots 49 times.  Officials made it impossible for them to win.

Webber played poorly,  Iverson ruined the team chemistry, by forcing too many shots, particularly by shooting quick shots and giving the Celts a break on playing defense.

O'Brien took forever to open his mouth, if I was coaching I would have gotten thrown-out and sent a complaint to the league office.

I give the Celtics credit for having a good game plan, and putting pressure on the Sixers offence.  

But OB did a terrible job of playing into Boston's hand by letting Iverson and Webber play so much, since Webber was doing a bad job, and Iverson wasn't setting up his teamates.   With Pierce going off so much, it would have been a good idea to make him work on the other end by giving Igoudala the ball.  They gave it to him once, and he made an assist for an easy bucket. Once! Dalembert and Jackson were scoring, and getting to the line, but Sam had only 9 shots, Marc had 8.  By contrast Iverson shot 21 made 9 and had 4 turnovers to his 11 assists.

Just a poorly coached game by the Sixers, letting Boston dictate the action.  Terrible for a critical game.  With that officiating crew, Sixers should have started picking fights with the Celtics and causing damage.  If you're going to get beat like that on your home floor, you ought to get some satisfaction by beating up Pierce. Since he's going to the line, anyway punch him in the mouth!

[Reality]

But OB did a terrible job of playing into Boston's hand by letting Iverson and Webber play so much, since Webber was doing a bad job, and Iverson wasn't setting up his teamates.   With Pierce going off so much, it would have been a good idea to make him work on the other end by giving Igoudala the ball.  They gave it to him once, and he made an assist for an easy bucket. Once! Dalembert and Jackson were scoring, and getting to the line, but Sam had only 9 shots, Marc had 8.  By contrast Iverson shot 21 made 9 and had 4 turnovers to his 11 assists.

 

 :nod:

Ig should handle the ball much more.  All A.I. TV is getting real old.  

Well you got a breather last night as Jersey dropped.
Milwaukee choked in the strech but I'm not sure it would have mattered.

[JoMal]

Sixers coach Jim O'Brien noticed that when Webber had the ball, the movement of the other players on the floor was not very good. He said that was a point of emphasis at practice yesterday. "When we're not running pick-and-rolls, we need purposeful, aggressive movement," O'Brien said. "We did not get that because we really have not had to play that way since Chris was out.
"So I think once our whole team gets reacclimated - and you hope it's by tip-off [tonight] - I think he'll be a lot more effective, because we just stood around when he had the basketball, and that's not helping anybody."
We all know that Chris is not 100 percent, but he's a warrior," said Jackson, who contributed 16 points in only 20 minutes. "He intends to help the team. That's what counts when it's crunch time."
Hey, they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Can the Sixers afford to keep shoving Webber out there in the hope he'll regain his health, shooting touch and joie de vivre? O'Brien insists it's still the best available option.
"I have so much confidence in Chris Webber," O'Brien said after yesterday's abbreviated practice at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "To be set back five games, banged up, and then to be thrown in... it's tough, but he knows I'm going to have to have him on the court at key times.
"He will bring to this basketball team exactly what we expect him to bring down the stretch."
Is that a guarantee, or a prayer?
"I'm not going to mess with him having him on the court for 5 minutes, off the court for 4 minutes, on the court for 5 minutes," O'Brien said.
"It's tough," Webber said the day after his 3-for-10, eight-point nightmare in Tuesday's 105-98 loss to the Boston Celtics in the Wachovia Center, which included three crucial misses of fourth-quarter free throws. "As a competitor, I don't like this at all. I've never experienced games like this in my whole basketball career.''

This is so eerily similar to the Kings late season comments in 2004-05. The thought is that the Sixers can't win without Webber on the court for the playoffs.

But he again won't be enough of a factor to matter in the end.
 

[Derek Bodner]

Yeah, the refs were bad.  but we missed too many opportunities down the stretch to win.

TO's by AI, airballed open 3's by korver, missed ft's by Webber.  Just didn't play good enough in the 4th to win a playoff type game.

[JoMal]

Yeah, the refs were bad.  but we missed too many opportunities down the stretch to win.

TO's by AI, airballed open 3's by korver, missed ft's by Webber.  Just didn't play good enough in the 4th to win a playoff type game.

It was tied because Jackson missed a layup and another short jumper, but also because Webber and Iverson each missed three free throws.

The fans groaned when Iverson missed. They booed when Webber missed.

(Webber) was out there. Maybe he shouldn't have been. But whom do you criticize for that? Webber, for trying? Or coach Jim O'Brien for leaving him out there?

"We want to get him as many minutes as we can," O'Brien said after the game. "We're going to need him."

All I heard about was Webber missing his free throws. Now, it appears that Iverson missed some also. But Webber is getting the fans' disapproval. Hmmm.

JOB saying that he will need Webber down the stretch and into the playoffs. This is just too much like what went on with the Kings late last season.  

All that hype right after the trade just put the acquisition of Webber way, way too important then it ever could have been, even if he were healthy. But the thing is, Chris has not been completely healthy since he was a prep star back in Detroit.

This should be only looked on as an experimental time with Webber and the Sixers, because nothing is going to come of it this post season.

It is wait till next year regardless of whether the Sixers make the playoffs or not.

[rickortreat]

Yeah, it looks that way.  Have not seen a good game out of Webber yet.  By that I mean a good all-around performance, blocking out, defending, rebounding setting up teamates, and taking the scoring pressure off of anyone by distracting the other team- all things a star in the league should be able to do.

The only real problem is that the Sixers are now too short without Webber on the floor.  Dalmebert gives us an advantage at Center with his athletiscism, but he gets hung out to dry when the other players let the opponent get to the basket.  Marc Jackson is too slow.  Rodney Rogers is too short.  Josh Davis is too inexperienced.  Andre is a great player, but he's never going to be an inside banger, or a dominant rebounder.

That leaves us with Webber and he's too slow as well.

We might have been better off with Skinner, Thomas and Williamson, but with O'Brien we never would have found that out.  (The best reason why O'brien should have been gone by now.)

I never saw Skinner as lively as I did when the Sixers played the Kings.  O'brien never gave him the chance here.

The truth is, the team is better without Webber and Iverson.  They can run the floor with anyone, shoot with anyone and play decent defence.  Good enough to be a playoff team.

Think we could get Phoenix to give us Stoudamire for Webber and Iverson!?    

 

[WayOutWest]

Think we could get Phoenix to give us Stoudamire for Webber and Iverson!?

There is nobody on the Sixers that is worth Amare, nor is there any combo of players on the Sixers worth Amare.