Sixers vs. Rockets 1/28/2009

[rickortreat]

Sixers need to bounce back after that nasty loss to the Hornets.  Fortunately not too many players can fill it up like Peja.

Since they're playing the Rockets, they'll have little incentive to use that stupid line-up with Brand and Evans.  Dalembert has been playing pretty well lately and that's a good thing for the Sixers. I wouldn't mind seeing Ratliff in with Brand either. Eventually the starting front line should be Speights and Brand, so I'm fine with both of them coming off the bench for now.

I do think the Sixers have been getting a raw deal from the officials.  Chris Paul was getting away with murder and they were calling the foul on the Sixer when he initiated contact. Iguodala complains, but he is getting fouled and they're not giving him the call. If they treated him like Paul, he'd be putting up Kobe type numbers.

When the Sixers spread the floor, no one can stop Iguodala from driving one on one, and the same is true of Thad Young. If the defense collapses on them, a lob over the top to Dalembert or Brand, should always be open.

I like Reggie as a player, but they really don't need him since they have better players for the 4 spot and he can't play the 3.  If there's anyone the Sixers could trade without any severe repercussions, it would be Reggie Evans.

[bebopdeluxe]

Elton Brand sucks.  Trade him now.

[anklebreaker]

Man, that one had my heart thumping.  Great basketball.  I said in another thread that this game was going to have to be won on the defensive end... well, from my mouth to god's ears, that's the way it went down.  

First of all, I have to give Brand credit for going in and letting the game come to him by getting involved defensively and having a flat out block party in the first half.  Then on the offensive end he got out in transition and looked like his old self scoring over double/triple teams.  Perhaps he'll start on Friday?

Dalembert was a rock tonight.  Holding Yao to 13 points on 11 shots, and defending him single coverage many times.  He also stepped out on McGrady and blocked the potential game winner.  Sammy didn't look like Sammy tonight, and he's has been balling lately.  

I don't know if Yao changed after Iguodala threw down the dunk of the year on him, but we did a good job of keeping him off the boards and collapsing on him to force 5 turnovers out of his hands to get us out in transition.  

Iguodala stepped up and hit some 80 million dollar shots down the stretch.  

Thad was key to our run in the 4th.  He had a couple big buckets (including that one where he picked off Yao's outlet and hit a tough shot with Yao all over him), and he owned the glass in the 4th quarter.  The stat sheet doesn't speak to his contributions tonight.  

Lou, despite a bad shooting night, did a nice job of getting to the line, and these 5-6 assist nights off the bench are starting to become normal.  

This was a big win.  The odds going into tonight were that we'd be 2 games under .500.  Instead, we go back home on Friday to face Washington for a chance to rise above the .500 mark beginning a long home stand.  

[Derek Bodner]

Elton Brand sucks.  Trade him now.

I'm curious who these comments are directed to.  This tirade seems more appropriate at realgm than it does here.

[Derek Bodner]

I'm still amazed that Speights cought that alley-oop.  He's got some of the best hands you'll see in a big man.

[rickortreat]

Brand had 14 pts. 7 rebounds and 6 blocks in 25 minutes. That's very good.  The star of the game was Iguodala, of course, making two big shots during crunch time.

The Sixers interior defense was spectacular, and Brand was a huge part of it with his 6 blocks. Dalembert was a monster on the boards, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks and 6 points.  The Sixers won in spite of shooting below 50% and Andre Miller and Lou Williams both having lousy shooting nights.  It was Brand who made up for their scoring.

The Sixers were lucky to get the win tonight as the Rockets had the ball with time and missed the shot to tie or go ahead, with McGrady throwing one up over Dalembert. The Sixers had failed to score on their previous possession, so were fortunate to get out of Houston with the win.

This was a huge confidence builder for the Sixers, who now get a string of seven games in a row at home, starting with Washington and New Jersey, before facing a huge test against Boston.  This will be the first match-up where the Sixers are playing their game and winning. Considering how stellar the Sixers defense and rebounding was against Houston, it seems reasonable they can compete with the Celtics, who have recovered from their mid-season funk.

[tk76-]

Ankle summed it up nicely (even if he won't hand me the fantasy league crown with a lopsided trade   )

Really enjoyed watching this one.  The breaks where not falling their way with all of the missed layups/breaks, but they kept attacking until things went there way.

A real team effort.  Green was the only one who looked bad.  Sam made his normal 5 boneheaded plays, but more than made up for it.

As for the comeback, I think Thad and Lou led the team with their intensity.

[bebopdeluxe]

dabods:

It's not just RealGM.  It's Chad Ford.  It's "Brand - Buyer's remorse?"

It's madness.

Pretty solid win.  Big shots by Iguodala down the stretch.  Sammy...can I say he's playing 'smarter'?  DiLeo getting back to a better substitution rotation after some real head-scratching lineups in New Orleans.

And it was really nice - when the Sixers were coming out of those timeouts late in the game - to see Elton Brand walking out on the floor with the team.  Even if he doesn't take/make the shot, his presence is simply huge.

[Derek Bodner]

Sammy...can I say he's playing 'smarter'?

Not really.  Did you see that outlet pass he tried?  He's playing better, but I don't think any smarter.

[bebopdeluxe]

Yeah...I guess "smarter" is pushing it.  Nice D on that last shot by McGrady, though...under control...stayed down until the end...some nice effort against Yao as well.  If this is the Sammy that we can expect most nights, I'm OK with keeping him around - I'll trust DiLeo enough to know when to use him and when not to use him.  I did like the one defensive set late where Brand did a nice job of bodying up Yao in the low block...I really do think we can get away with playing him at the 5 late in the game (with either Speights at the 4 or Thad at the 4 and Lou at the 2).

Good distribution of minutes tonight...Speights with a +12 tonight in his 21 minutes...29 minutes from Lou and 12 from Ivey...I don't know how much Speights and Brand (a +6) played together, but I want to see more of that.

[RickyPryor]

Sammy...can I say he's playing 'smarter'?

Not really.  Did you see that outlet pass he tried?  He's playing better, but I don't think any smarter.

Typical Sam.  Rather than playing with urgency...he often plays panic-y.  He did a great job last night because he played 'd' with energy.  Very good game from him.  Negated only a little bit by his few dopey Sam-like moments. 

Frankly, I thought everyone looked very good, including Tony.  An unexpected win, truth be told.  I expected Houston to come out pissed from their Knicks loss, and being pretty healthy.  Very very impressive.

[Skates]

When a lot of players look like they are playing well and hitting shots and getting stops at the right time, it is definitely time to start looking at what a good job DiLeo is doing.  I really liked his "feel of the game" substitution pattern last night, using the young guys to close the gap and his mixing up Brand and Sammy for the best match-ups on O and D was very nice.  A heckuva fun game to watch, both teams moving the ball very quickly up the court on most possessions.  The Sixers biggest bugaboos were giving up opne threes, more undertandable against a team with a real low post player like Yao, and the careless turnovers.  The TO's in the second quarter were pretty aggregious, but they improved that down the stretch and Iggy hit some big shots i big spots.  A nice win to get back to 0.500.