Sixers and Knicks, 1/24/09, 7PM

[DuckyNinja]

Elton Brand back tonight off the bench.  Let's get back to .500.

[rickortreat]

Not a blow-out performance like I was hoping for, but the Sixers took care of business by continuing to make shots down the stretch, and preventing the Knicks from getting open three's.

Iguodala was amazing right at the start, and also made sure to finish the Knicks at the end of the game with a drive for a score and then another one where he drew the foul. He also got a nice assist setting up Dalembert.

Sam deserves a lot of credit, had the best plus minus of any Sixer and had a double-double, 10 pts. and 17 boards. 3 blocks too.

Elton looked fine in limited minutes.  Unfortunately, the Knicks made their big run against the second team. but Brand and Speights aren't in there to prevent 3's.

[bebopdeluxe]

Just a professional win.  Other than Sam's silly foul on Thomas, they simply outexecuted the Knicks down the stretch.  They should - they are the better team - but it is still good to see it.

I think I'm really beginning to like the whole "Tony DiLeo as coach" thing.

[Skates]

Just got back from the game.  The Knicks do a good job of dragging other teams into playing their game, plus they hit some ridiculous shots.  It was a game you knew the Sixers would win if it was close because they can play defense and the Knicks can't.  The Sixers got a little post-up crazy posting Thad and Miller with some effectiveness, but it seemed that they forgot to shoot three pointers for a while.

All game long the Sixers could have played an iso ofense up top and simply let gus like Iggy and Lou drive the middle all night.  They did it at the beginning and end of the game, but kind of got off task in the middle.  Speights with some bad defensive plays that looked like typical rookie stuff, plus what might have been the ugliest non-Reggie Evans foul shots I have ever seen.  I'm not sure if the ball slipped out of his hand or what, but that brick could have killed someone.

My one concern with Brand returning was that when he was in the game Iggy started to look primarily to pass when he should have been shooting.  Most of Brand's plays came on offensive rebounds and at one point he appeared to gesture to Iggy after a pass that he should just shoot and Brand would go to the boards.  Brand had a couple of pick and pop plays in teh first half that left him wide open, but Lou never looked to dish to the "pop" spot.  Brand looked a step slow on D, not surprising after that lay off.  When Brand received the ball anywhere near the paint the Knicks double and triple teamed him.  They need to get some cutters diving to the basket when that happens in the high post.

[Derek Bodner]

Just got back from the game

Did you get there before the game?  Was the trophy on display?

I was hoping to get there early, but traffic was just ridiculous.  I95 was closed in parts south, which forced a lot of traffic everywhere else.  Took me 2 hours to get from the 76 (at the 476 exit) to the stadium.

[DuckyNinja]

They looked a bit out of sync with Brand in, but I have faith in DiLeo to make the necessary adjustments and to let everybody know what they should be doing.

[Skates]

I got there a little early, but did not see the trophy where I entered the arena.  This was not a good game to evaluate how Brand would fit in.  The Sixers looked equally out of sorts playing the Knicks last Saturday in NY, it is one of the few teams that wants to play at a faster pace than the Sixers do.  Lou gets caught up in that one-on-one stuff with Nate Robinson too much.  It will be more interesting to see how Brand helps/fits against a more conventional team.

[tk76-]

I was a bit frustrated that even after 4 days to work at it, they still let three point shooters open- at least in the 1st half.  To some extent it was from Dantoni's design, but its still was a problem.  It was not even open shots from covering up penetration, it just seemed to be poor rotations.

Tom Moore said they doubled the passer on picks more aggressively in the 2nd half, and I guess that helped.

[rickortreat]

I saw Green and Iguodala both trying to get the ball to Brand, but when he posts up, that is what the team should do.  The Sixers look to get the ball to Speights on the block, and they like to get Young the ball there too.

The important thing is that Elton doesn't have to worry about getting touches, he just has to play ball, set picks, and roll to the basket.

I give the Knocks a little credit for playing their game, it took them a while, but they started playing some defense too, enough to enable them to shoot their way back into it.

It was a game the Sixers should win and they did, and in spite of the closeness of the score they did it the way they've been winning, by shooting well over 50% from the floor (53.5%), by controlling the boards, (41-35) taking care of the ball (12-15).  The only thing the Knicks did that was exceptional is that they took 32 3-pointers and made 15 of them.