Deep Sixer

What is it about this city and letting us down? That was disgraceful. Watching this game was tough to do because the Wizards are such a bunch of ghetto chuckers who throw up hideous shots and get lucky when they go in. This team needs to start whispering in the ear of Elton Brand to join them.

Since I can't get the games, please tell me what happened tonight in the 4th. Is no one driving the lane? Is there no cutting to the basket? Are guys just chucking it up from 18+ feet out without even thinking about driving? Please help me understand what is going on with this team all of a sudden.

I didn't see a lot of the second half, but in the first, Sam would alter a shot and nobody was there to grab a rebound or prevent a tap in it seemed. The defensive rotations were not there. Iggy seemed to not be right as well. I am not sure if it relates to last night's leg injury, but he didn't seem right. Thad looked really good in the 1st half - he continues to get better. It is looking more and more like a 1st round matchup with Detroit as Marc said. If that is the case - it should be a short post-season for us.

For anyone that cannot get to the games please check out http://www3.myp2p.eu/. Go to the forum and NBA basketball; you can get the games there online. That's how I watch all the Sixers game when I can (I live in Mexico.)

The Sixers to me seem like they are reverting back to old form right now. What I think they lack the most is confidence. In the beginning of the season you saw this and now it is happening again. They get into this offensive habit of it almost seeming like -no one- wants the ball. Like the ball is a hot potatoe or something they just toss it around hoping something opens up.

Also they cannot make jump-shots. This is going to be their downfall. I'm not sure how you can have a team in the NBA that cannot reliably make some jump-shots. They get into this Denver nuggets habit too where they drive the lane and throw up prayers. Also doesn't work especially when people aren't near to rebound. I don't know. I was really disappointed by tonights game. Just seemed like a lack of effort, confidence, experience etc. as a whole. It'll be really interesting to see if they can rebound against the Cavaliers (and heartening.)

Every time that they lose It truly feels like a kick in the nuts.

Suede getting back to the diamond man, no one owns his rights.

Oh the pain

the team has been playing good for so long and are bound to hit a rough spot, better now then the post-season... before we were always the underdogs and now it's like we are more of the team that is being hunted or has higher expectations on us. i've been following the nba for a decade and when young teams rise, its alwayas like the stock market, they go forward and drop back again, before going even further....

personally, i'd rather face the pistons then majic.. also, cleveland was in the finals last year and lebron is sick, so i'm not bothered by the 7th seed. also, the consolation is that we have a pick that is 2 spots higher in the draft and this draft seems to really tail off around 15, so it could be a huge blessing in disguise.

however, what scares me is that we have not been able to score the last 2 fourth quarters. can anyone who has seen both games explain why exactly we can't score in the fourth against wash and indiana (average defensive teams)?

if i were mo cheeks, i'd have iggy, carney, green, and williams shoot a few hundred 3 pointers everyday leading up to the playoffs and during them. well, maybe have green shoot a few thousand per day...

What made settling for bad missed jumpers even more galling was that the Wiz were in the bonus with 9 minutes left.

I realize they were going against a zone, but that doesn't mean Lou can't drive and either draw a foul or make something happen. Either they don't know how to attack a zone or the choked.

I'm afraid that this team did the latter. Once people started expecting them to win they started to shoot and run like their was an elephant on their back. being tight leads to bad shooting.

I see why your profession is a reporter first; because without an editor going over your work it's kind of pathetic. Please do us a favor and proof read your own work before you post it next time. Please.

Preferring to play the Pistons over the Magic is just ridiculous! Magic are still a flawed team. Pistons have been one of the best teams in the NBA each of the past few years. They were headed to the Finals last year until Lebron's 4th quarter and OT explosion doomed them in the Eastern Conference Finals. I hope the Sixers pull out the next two games and get the sixth seed.

Jason Smith looks lost, He is a center! He has to play center. I think they just got tired, their shots are short, or hitting off the front of the rim. Willie green is very good on the break. He has body control. He plays within himself on the break. He needs to penetrate more. Attack the basket more! Don't concentrate too much on Three point shooting, he needs to do more cherry picking. I think the pressure is getting to them, I guess the pressure is off, after tonites game.It is time to rest Iggy and Miller, play more minutes so they can be fresh for the playoffs. How do we beat a zone? Sixers are going to have to break some ankles! Sixers have to attack the weakest link or four Guard rotation, put thad at center. Force the other team to match us. Who is going to rebound? everybody. Now that is combination Doug Moe would do.

Get a team in the penalty and don!t make them pay in the 4th. Win one of last 2 and finish 500 and in playoffs; successful season. Win at least 2 games against whoever we play, and give E.S. a good idea what needs to be done.

Why's it gotta be that every team the Sixers face, they've got to give up five three's to somebody? When you can't make more than two as a team, you can't leave guys on the otherside open to make them. Those are hard points to make up, and when the fastbreak isn't showing up, you lose.

We need some momentum going into Detroit. No first round sweep, that would kill me.

It doesn't make sense to me that Jason smith doesn't play more when we struggle against a zone. Say what you want about him, he's one of the only guys who can hit an outside shot with any sort of regularity.

Lou also need to do more of his fearless driving. One free throw in 26 min isn't good enough.

Carney seems to have tightened up again for no apparent reason, as nice as his shot looked over the last month, it looks just as bad now.

Everyone's intensity on defense just wasn't there in the 2nd half. Our bench usually covers up for the starter's mistakes (which they made no more than usual last night) but as mentioned, that didn't happen last night.

Thaddeus had a freakishly high field goal %, as usual. He does need to learn to be much more careful about fouls, though, as Mo was forced to pull him early in the 1st, which left us playing 2-on-5 offense as reggie, sammy, and willie struggled to score.

Igoudala is nailing the three lately, and continues to prove his worth. miller continues to be miller(double-double last night). Someone else needs to step up and give these cats a hand.

Please don't take this as a negative post. I love the team and how far they've progressed this year. I guess I'm just being realistic. The bloom is officially off the rose now that we've just lost 3 of our last 4 games. The stretch of fantastic basketball we've played is over. We've come out flat too many times recently(vs Orlando, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Indiana all at home recently plus last night's dud of a 4th quarte.

The question for us is can we adjust to what the opposition is doing to us and overcome it? When you think about it, it's the same in all sports. A team becomes successful playing a certain way (or a pitcher by attacking hitters in a certain way). You can catch the opposition off guard for a while but after you go through the league a few times, teams will adjust to what you do and try to take it away from you. That's what is happening to the Sixers now. They've had a really good run for about 2 months, but every opponent is well aware of how they have been winning.

Good teams adjust to how the opposition is playing them and find other ways to win. Great teams win regardless of what the opposition does to beat them, either by being able to hurt their opponent in many ways or by just being able to do what they do in spite of the other side's best efforts to stop them.

So, now we will see if the Sixers have the pieces they need to adjust and overcome their opponent(hopefully opponents) in the playoffs.

Last night's game was the worst loss of the season. I saw no fight in the Sixers at all. Why is it after 82 games they still don't know how to recognize and attack a zone? With the players they have and their ability to dribble-penetrate, this is a coaching issue and a reason why Cheeks should not be the long-term answer as head coach.

It isn't that the players can't play against a zone, it's that they don't know how.

I can't stand Cheeks rotations, never once did he try to find a weakness in Washington's defense and go at it.

This team had a shot at getting a better seed and blew it with this loss. I'm fine with playing Detroit, since I think we match up well against them. The Pistons are not a complete team, anymore. They are old and slow and the Sixers should be able to beat them. But not if they can't figure out how to beat the zone consistently.

Glass 1/2 full; Iggy looked healthy, Thad looking to shoot jumper more, Willie had 9 reb.[2 games ago,4 ass. in 23 min. last night], Mo looked distinguished in glasses, and team had chance to win till about 6 min. left. Glass 1/2 empty; bench not supplying energy, Butler didn!t play, intensity lacking,seem content to score back and forth without any stops on D.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...been really busy with work.

One thing I've noticed in the last 5 or 6 games is that Reggie Evans hasn't played much at all. Are they resting his shoulder for the playoffs, or has he somehow fallen out of favor with the coaching staff? To me, Reggie was one of the main reasons why the Sixers went on that great 2-month run. He hustles, bangs down low with the best of them, and provides a tremendous amount of energy while in the game. Clearly, he's not a 35 minute a night guy, but has proven when used for 20-25 minutes per game, he brings intangibles to this team that they seem to be sorely lacking right now.

Marc - do you have any insight into this issue?

Williams had 3 turnovers or bad passes in a row at one point. He was struggling with decisions as to what to do. Green still missing too many shots and gets "used" by whoever he is guarding. Miller who usually makes a shot when we need it -- was coming up short. Carney did not contribute offensively. Evans is a liability on offense. Hope this does not continue, or we will be out in 5, maybe 4 with whoever we meet in playoffs.

Don't worry, sports fans. Sixers just setting the table: removing all hope, removing all pressure -- finding their comfort zone as "nobody respects us" underdog warriors. The "We'll Show Them"-ers vs. The Detroit Pistons. Pistons in 6, but not without struggle.

Note to upbeatsixerzguy: I tried. Yours was a funny, creative post!

bski:

Point well taken and I don't think it was a negative post at all. From my understanding, zone defense was designed to make the opposing team shoot outside jumpers and since the half-court game isn't our strong point, it'll be a struggle from here on out. Having little chance to view games and from what I hear on this blog, it's really been the defense that has initiated our fast break style of play and subsequently, easy points. While Lou has good dribble penetration ability, when the zone inevitably collapses on him, who's going to make the long range shot when he kicks it out? Perhaps Iggy but until we get some perimeter shooters to punish the teams that play the zone, we're just going to have to use hustle and teamwork as our calling card. Iggy doesn't strike me as the catch-and-shoot type anyway. We'll see come playoffs how it pans out. But we absolutely must win these last two games for confidence.

Antawn Jamison can sure score in the post. Could be the last piece of the puzzle if you sign him to a three year deal similar to Chris Wilcox's. I'd rather overpay him for a shorter contract length. No more Billy King five year deals.

Here's the stat of the game: The 6ers were outscored by 24 pts when Lou was in the game. 24 pts.!! He did not play any D last night and it cost them a playoff seed. Lou has to be constantly reminded to not focus all his energy solely on his offense. Arenas scored almost a point a minute, many of those off Lou.

This is the first time this has happened all season: The only 6er in the plus last night was Willie Green?! They outscored the Wiz by 5 for the 23 minutes he played last night. So at least one 6ers guard played D. They were outscored by 14 when Iggy was on the court and 13 when J Smith was on the court.

Dean, was thinking the same myself. Since He's an energy guy seems Reggie should get his 18-20 minutes a game. Although, Thad's minutes have grown dramatically. So, I guess it's hard to argue when we're looking towards the future.

I want success but more than that I want management to have no doubt what moves are necessary in the offseason to take us to the next level. It may be best to play the best in the playoffs to better evaluate the strengths and deficiencies.

By the way, As I've said before, I'd also love Jamison for this team. One add'l vet to help A. Miller. Iggy and company move forward.

SFW - I would think that once you got into the playoffs, evaluation would take a back seat to making a serious run at the best seed possible. To me, that's also the way you best evaluate what you have on the team...who plays the best in pressure situations.

Unless Toronto take a nosedive here, it looks like the Sixers are going to play the Pistons in the first round. In that series (in any first round series actually), we're going to need Reggie Evans to bang down low with Rasheed, McDyess, and Maxiell. At some point, Sam is going to get into foul trouble, which basically leaves you with Reggie and Jason Smith to guard the big guys down low. Even if Sam doesn't get into foul trouble, it's not realistic to think that Thad Young can effectively D up the Pistons' best rebounder in McDyess (especially being a 19 yr old rookie).

I just think that the "development" phase of this process should be put on hold for now (at the very least for the sake of the fans and loyal season ticketholders, who have shelled out 10s of thousands of dollars since 2004 for essentially a garbage product prior to Feb of this year). The Sixers should try any means necessary to do the best they possibly can in the playoffs at any cost.

Just my opinion.

Dean,
I agree. Reggie will be needed and definitely, if we play the pistons. Winning is the priority but the personnel evalution is ongoing.

I notice the absence of guard commentary today since Williams was putrid last night and Green wasn't. Call for balance: Get out of the kitchen, and rattle those props and pans! What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Williams stunk, Willie haters. His game had a lousy beat and ya can't dance to it.

The Sixers had to bounce back at some point, its just unfortunate that it has to happen now. The Wiz are good. I don't feel bad losing to them at all. They have a better chance at a first-round upset than us with the many tools they have. Gil off the bench is a stroke of genius.

Still better the Pistons than the Magic. I think we can steal a game or two.

I HATE BOB SALMI. "THE OFFICIALS GOT IT RIGHT."
WHAT ?!
Last time I check, 3 steps is a walk. LeBron walked.
The ref did raise is left arm and blew the whistle (although after the horn) and THEN he waived his arms calling the game over. He then gets influenced by the bitching cavs to change his mind back to foul. The Cavs were complaining about LeBRon getting fouled. The ref blew it.

Iggy came up amazing small in this game. Even when Sweet Lou his the "game winner" with 5 seconds left, Iggy didn't celebrate, he ran over to teh refs to complain about nothing (losing his dribble and not getting fouled at all??). He sucks.

I HATE BOB SALMI. "THE OFFICIALS GOT IT RIGHT."
WHAT ?!
Last time I check, 3 steps is a walk. LeBron walked.
The ref did raise is left arm and blew the whistle (although after the horn) and THEN he waived his arms calling the game over. He then gets influenced by the bitching cavs to change his mind back to foul. The Cavs were complaining about LeBRon getting fouled. The ref blew it.

Iggy came up amazing small in this game. Even when Sweet Lou his the "game winner" with 5 seconds left, Iggy didn't celebrate, he ran over to teh refs to complain about nothing (losing his dribble and not getting fouled at all??). He sucks.

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