Sixers take Pistons best punch and win!

[Rickortreat]

The Defending Champions played great last night.  Shot 50% from the field, got a monster game from Ben Wallace, forced the Sixers into a half-court game.  Got nearly every break possible from the referees.  They still lost.

The Sixers were even better.  They proved they had the patience and the discipline to find the open man.  They proved they could match basket for basket with the Pistons.  They played up to the potential I thought they had.

So what?  It was just one game, and the Pistons are still ahead in the series 2-1.  But the Sixers stood toe to toe with the defending champs, took their best punch, and remained standing.  They delivered the knock-out blow in crunch time, outshoting the Pistons.  That's so what!

Now, the Pistons have to wonder, are the Sixers really that good, or was it just luck they were able to stand up to us?  Now, the Sixers have to wonder, can we really knock off the defending champs?  

Last night, we finally saw a real playoff game in Philly.  Two teams who would not back down, who would not give up, where every play took on extra significance.  Stay tuned sports fans, this is gonna be good.  

[Guest_Randy]

Espn said it quite well:

It took a near-perfect game, with the Sixers sinking 11 three-pointers and committing only seven turnovers . . . but it finally happened. For the first time in 26 playoff games, Detroit allowed 100 points in regulation.

Rick, the Sixers have a GREAT shot at taking this series and they will ever game that AI shoots 57% from the floor!  How many games do you think he can do that?  1?  2?  Let's see if Detroit lets him shoot that kind of percentage again.  I'm betting they don't.  Philly shot 55% from the field, 55% from the arch, had 10 steals and only 7 TO's.  That's a pretty remarkable game against the Pistons defense -- but I wouldn't bet that the Sixers can do that again.

Great game by Philly -- everyone on the team had an incredible game with the exception of Willie Green.

Now, the Pistons have to wonder, are the Sixers really that good, or was it just luck they were able to stand up to us?

How many games do you think the Sixers can shoot that kind of percentage from either the field or the arch -- not very many, IMO.  I don't think Philly is spending too much time worrying about how well the Sixers are going to shoot in game 4 -- I think they are probably more focused about sticking to their game plan and making Philly work for their shots.  Because if they do that, the Sixers WILL be lucky to win another game!

[rickortreat]

A reasonable point Randy, but here's another:  What makes anyone so sure the Pistons will continue to shoot 50% from the field?  They didn't do that all season long.  The Pistons didn't enjoy consistent support from their bench all season long.

Rip Hamilton is a very good player, but he usually doesn't go 9-15 with 12 assists.  I wouldn't bet he'd be able to do that on a consitent basis.

As for Philly, they know they have to play a great game to beat the defending Champs, which is as it should be.  They're going to have to earn this series, since their talent level isn't overwhelmingly better.  And since they're going up against a well-coached Larry Brown team, you know their game plan will have to be equally good.

With that said, the Sixers now know that if the PLAY THE RIGHT WAY, they can beat the Pistons.  In this instance that means, being patient on offense, executing in the half-court and pressuring Detroit on every possession.  They can summon the effort to do that, and it all starts with A.I.

Although I predicted the Sixers would win this series, I didn't think it would be easy.  The Pistons have taken away the best part of the Sixers game, the high number of turnovers that lead to easy buckets and slams, the frustration that the other teams feel when they get it going.  With all the yong players they have, it certainly isn't a lock for them to win.  I would say that for it to happen, the Sixers will need Korver, Igoudala and the bench to pick up more of the load, and A.I. won't have to shoot so much, but he will have to continue to get 15 or more assists, or JOb will have to let Willy run the point for a while, and let Detroit chase A.I. more.  

[westkoast]

Good points by both of you.  The Sixers have shown that they can play better ball than the Pistons for a game and a half.  The tough part about this series so far is the fact that both teams are doing things they normally dont do.  So its pretty hard to tell whats going to happen.  IMO the Pistons should be handing the Sixers their butts based on defense, expierence as a unit, and Larry Brown....however they are not winning in the fashion I thought they would.

AI probably wont shoot that well again.  Rip probably wont continue to shoot over 50 and drop that many dimes either.  The real question is will Korver, Andre, and the bench be able to step their game up big time and keep it there for 3 more games?  Thats a tough task to put on the shoulders of inexpierenced players.