12-31 Sixers at Clippers: A matter of revenge.

[rickortreat]

The Sixers lost their momentum from the Boston win thanks to the Clippers, who played very well and deserved to win. I thought that LA's inside players gave Brand and Speights a harder time than Perkins and Garnett. I'd like to see them step up and battle for those boards.

Do not understimate offensive execution. Getting stops is nice, but even the best defense can't stop every shot. Your opponent cannot win if you continue to score, the best he can do is stay even. The best teams win with defense, but if they can't stop you from scoring you win. That's why a good offense is so important, and why you need strong inside players.  Teams that have those things win.

I like the Sixers to work hard on offense, being patient when it's called for but trying to defeat them quickly where possible. Pete Carril said that with this offense it's important to make that first pass quickly, or the play breaks down. The better they execute on offense the more in control of the game they will be.
It is much harder to run off of a made basket.

They need to try and get control over Barron Davis and do something to contain Kamen. The Clippers can be induced into taking lots of quick shots, which plays right into the Sixers hands. A little pressure can go a long way, if they can cut off Davis's drives.

[RickyPryor]

Do not understimate offensive execution.

I don't.

But since offense is the result of rebounds resulting from defense, I'll stick with my overall, proven perspective.  (I will give you props, however.  Your post contained some opinions about that "other side" of the game, and they proved to be accurate: Sam did a great job on Kamen early-on...then found his way to the bench; and Eddie eventually tried Holliday on Davis, who was raped in the process.)

[rickortreat]

I have such contempt for Eddie Jordan I don't know where to begin. The game was lost on the offensive end. The Clippers clogged the lane and Jordan did nothing to work the officials or get one 3 second call. Neither were the Sixers patient on offense trying to work for a good shot. They kept settling for and missing outside shots and the Clippers now comfortably ahead, lost all conciousness and shot amazingly well.

Only a complete idiot of a coach couldn't recognize the change in strategy and adapt his team's attack to it. Nor would he allow obvious mismatches to be exploited. It's games like this that Jordan should really be judged on, he was beaten twice by the same team, and although the Clippers aren't without talent, they shouldn't be able to stay on the floor with the Sixers. His inability to get his team into the game in the 2nd half speaks volumes about his coaching ability or lack thereof.