Game 4 Sixers v. Magic

[RickyPryor]

:05 to go.  What the hell did you THINK he was intending to do?

[Derek Bodner]

Refs were fine.

Thad's defense at the end was a disgrace.  An old, slow, injured 3-baller...and Thad plays him to slash.  Idiot.

Not enough running, not enough points.

Home court advantage back to the Magic.

It's not like Hedo had 7 baskets prior to his final 3, almost all on slashes to the rim or anything.

Yeah.  Hedo didn't make a jumper all night.  He hit a 3 with a hand in his face.  Sometimes you just tip your hat to him.

[DuckyNinja]

We've made two difficult gamewinning shots, they've made one.  It's clear that no lead is safe in this series, we just hafta keep playing hard.

[Skates]

Damn, that hurt.  This series is going seven I believe.  I blame Zumoff, just before Hedo hit his shot Zumoff mentioned the schedule for game six and then misspoke, saying that no matter the outcome of the game tonight there would be a game six for sure.  Wrong, but now there will be.

Hats off to Hedo, he hit a tough shot in a tougher situation.

[RickyPryor]

Yeah.  Hedo didn't make a jumper all night.  He hit a 3 with a hand in his face.  Sometimes you just tip your hat to him.

Again - there was :05.  At that time...everyone knows he's shooting from out there.  No question about it.  Which is why my 14 year old was yelling, "Get UP on him!!!!"

A shame Thad DIDN'T get a hand in his face.  (Check out the Inquirer pic.)  But, of course, he couldn't have.  He was too busy giving Hedo the room he needed.

Nice shot, aided by bad defense.

If Thad plays that correctly, Hedo is suffocated.  Shot made uncomfortable = alteration = clang.

[DuckyNinja]

Or, Thad gets up on him, Hedo blows right past him, and gets an easier shot (an uncontested mid-range jumper).  Things are never simple.

[RickyPryor]

Or, Thad gets up on him, Hedo blows right past him, and gets an easier shot (an uncontested mid-range jumper).  Things are never simple.

Hedo "blows past" Thad.

And with, like, 4 or 5 seconds left no less.




Okaaaaay...

[Derek Bodner]

And with, like, 4 or 5 seconds left no less.

Are you really trying to say hedo couldn't have faked, taken two steps in and taken a midrange shot in that amount of time?

I disagree.

[RickyPryor]

And with, like, 4 or 5 seconds left no less.

Are you really trying to say hedo couldn't have faked, taken two steps in and taken a midrange shot in that amount of time?

I disagree.

When he first got it, sure.  At a certain point, however, it became painfully evident that he was setting up - and settling in - to shoot from there.  And a moment after that, it became his only choice.

Remember, he made it at the 1.1 mark. 

[Derek Bodner]

Remember, he made it at the 1.1 mark. 

which means it left his hands at the 2 second mark. 

which means he started making his move with 3+ seconds left.

still plenty of time to take a step or two in.

[RickyPryor]

Remember, he made it at the 1.1 mark. 

which means it left his hands at the 2 second mark. 

which means he started making his move with 3+ seconds left.

still plenty of time to take a step or two in.

All I can say (claim) is that is not - in any way - what I expected.  I knew he'd shoot the three...I think he telegraphed it.

I'm told the Comcast guys said the same thing afterwards, and that the Inquirer mentioned the same thing today.  And, of course, there's my 14 year old, as described above.

But, ok, I suppose Thad may have thought what all you guys thought.

[anklebreaker]

Once again, I was underwhelmed by our bench last night.  Orlando's 2nd unit is terribly weak, and we've really only gotten on them once this series, which in my opinion has been one of our biggest shortcomings throughout the series.  Lou had an ok 4th quarter last night, but I'm beyond disappointed with his lack of aggression this series and watching him continue to settle for jumpers makes him strike an uncanny resemblance to Willie Green.  That play where he threw that casual bounce pass back to the perimeter, which was an easy steal for Shard, was just unacceptable in a playoff game... and then he chases him down and hits Shard with a WEAK foul to give him the and-1.  I don't think people are getting on Lou enough for his lackluster play this series, especially when he has an easy offensive advantage over any one of Orlando's guards.  With all of these games going down to the wire and solid consistency out of Iguodala, Miller, and Thad... a strong performance out of Lou could be the x-factor. 

Also, how is it that the coaching staff allows Evans to take field goal attempts?  Serious question.  There's a reason why the opposition lets him set up and catch the ball in the post.  They know they'll have possession within 4 seconds of Reggie catching the ball. 

[rickortreat]

The way Ricky wanted Hedo defended, he would have ended up on the foul line.  The Sixers did not manage the clock well. Simple as that.  All they needed to do was hold the ball BEFORE they started the play.  Giving the ball back with the game tied and 14 sec. left is asking for trouble. 

Had they done so we would have had an overtime game and it looked to me like the Sixers had some momentum.

As it is Orlando now looks like the better team to me, because the Sixers had no answer for their offense. The first line defenders make sure they get back, and the Sixers never prevent them from doing so.  Before they have a chance to get their offense in gear, Howard is back patroling the lane.  The Sixers get by the primary defender and run into Howard.  Reggie is getting ball because Howard will leave him, which is why the Sixers need to play Speights. Either Howard will be forced to stay at home, or every time a Sixer gets through, Marresse gets a lob, just like Sam did on the last Sixer possession.

Orlando will not allow Iggy and Thad to drive the lane. You have to give Howard too much to do, to be able to defend it adequately, just like Orlando is doing to Sam at our end. Lewis comes in, Sam goes to defend the ball misses but Howard is there to slam it back, because no one blocked him out.

The Sixers can win this series, but not the way they're playing now, and I have no reason to be optimistic about our coaching staff.

[RickyPryor]

The way Ricky wanted Hedo defended, he would have ended up on the foul line.  The Sixers did not manage the clock well. Simple as that.  All they needed to do was hold the ball BEFORE they started the play.  Giving the ball back with the game tied and 14 sec. left is asking for trouble. 

The way Rick wanted our last shot taken, we would have ended up with some lame-o last-second shot attempt...only to have posters come on here today screaming nonsense like "we should have taken the highest percentage opportunity which presented itself in that last possession!!"

Oh wait.  That is what the Sixers did.

[rickortreat]

The way Ricky wanted Hedo defended, he would have ended up on the foul line.  The Sixers did not manage the clock well. Simple as that.  All they needed to do was hold the ball BEFORE they started the play.  Giving the ball back with the game tied and 14 sec. left is asking for trouble. 

The way Rick wanted our last shot taken, we would have ended up with some lame-o last-second shot attempt...only to have posters come on here today screaming nonsense like "we should have taken the highest percentage opportunity which presented itself in that last possession!!"

Oh wait.  That is what the Sixers did.

And then, THEY LOST! End of story.  Never, ever give the other team a chance to take the game. If we miss the shot, I'll take that instead. This is coaching 101 as far as I am concerned.  I see a lot of games where it comes down to which team has the last shot.  If you can manipulate the clock beforehand to ensure that you wind up with the last possession, in a tight game that is best. Knowing 2nd- chance shots can screw up the best plans.  The Sixers have taken two games in this series because they managed to take and make the last shot. Now, they have lost one because they didn't.