STORYLINE: After a triumphant fourth quarter comeback victory against the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves mired in a three game slump as they head into a five game homestand. All the positives developed from winning in the offseason has deterorated as the Sixers lack of size, rebounding, scoring and defense have become evident as the 76ers fall into deep holes early in games. The five as one defense, is allowing free looks for the opposition just about anywhere they want it, whether it's the corner three, a baseline drive or in the paint the green light is on. With the defense struggling, and fourth year center Samuel Dalembert most likely out with a right hamstring strain the Sixers will continue to struggle to get their fastbreak offense started.
The visiting New Jersey Nets, are coming off of an offseason that ripped apart the core of the team that went to two consecutive NBA Finals, and seem to be not too long from sending away All Star point guard Jason Kidd. With the absence of the leaders of the past, the team's present and future is thrown onto the shoulders of Richard Jefferson, and with that added responsibility Jefferson is averaging a near double double with 19.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game (his rebound mark would make him the Sixers leading rebounder). New Jersey presents a common challenge to the Sixers, in terms of length, the Sixers are currently the shortest team by average in the league and the lineup the Nets are going to use relies on it's size.
KEY MATCHUP: VS
INJURIES:
Sixers - Samuel Dalembert (right hamstring strain), Kevin Ollie (left hip pointer), Glenn Robinson (left ankle tendinitis), John Salmons (groin strain)
STAT LEADERS:
Points: Nets - Jefferson 19.3; 76ers - Iverson 28.8.
Rebounds: Nets - Jefferson 9.8; 76ers - Thomas 9.
Assists: Nets - Jefferson 6.3; 76ers - Iverson 7.5.
Blocks: Nets - Mourning 2.75; 76ers - Iguodala .75
Three Pointers: Nets - Buford 56%; 76ers - Davis 67%.
Personal Fouls: Nets - Williams 4.5; Green and Korver 3.8.
__________________ Who cares about a championship drought?:
My teams will never win a championship anyway, so why don't you discuss everything else at my forum? Good idea, right? Yeah, I thought so. It's called.. Booing Santa Claus. See you there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rollins
“The average is the borderline that keeps mere men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very act. Go.”
PHILADELPHIA - Unlike in Tuesday's loss to the Knicks, turnovers weren't the problem for the 76ers.
The Sixers committed 16 fewer than the 28 they had the night before.
Taking better care of the ball made all the difference in a 108-100 overtime victory over the Nets at the Wachovia Center.
The Sixers (2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak in the first of season-long five-game homestand.
The Sixers, who scored the final six points of regulation and the first seven of OT to take control, set a floor record for free throws made (40) and attempted (51).
Corliss Williamson (15 points) had a three-point play and inside bucket to start the extra session. He had seven points in OT.
The Sixers spotted the Nets a 12-point first-half lead and came back to go ahead by one with 11:05 remaining in the game. The game remained close the rest of the way.
The Nets nearly gave the game away in regulation, missing four free throws in the final 18 seconds.
New Jersey's Jefferson and Alonzo Mourning each clanged a pair, setting the stage for Allen Iverson's 12-footer in the lane that forced overtime.
They also missed their first three foul shots of OT.
Iverson, who didn't have his first field goal until early in the third quarter, led seven players in double figures with 26 points. He logged 49 minutes despite receiving three first-half stitches on his scalp.
Jefferson (game-high 33 points, 10 rebounds) was the best player on the floor for much of the evening, although he couldn't convert a 19-footer that would have won it at the end of regulation.
The Nets traded Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles in the off-season and don't have Jason Kidd (knee surgery).
Ninety minutes before tip-off, Nets coach Lawrence Frank told reporters Mourning, who had a kidney transplant last Dec. 19, wouldn't be playing as a precautionary measure because he logged 37 minutes in Tuesday's numbing 64-60 win over the Trail Blazers.
"Alonzo, you'd have to freakin' put him 22-feet under for him not to play, but you've got to keep the big picture in mind," Frank said.
That soon changed. Not only did Mourning start - he played even more minutes than the night before 40). He had 16 points and nine rebounds.
When O'Brien learned the Nets were going with a big lineup, he considered altering his starters but wouldn't tell reporters who that would involve. "Let's not worry about that," O'Brien said.
Perhaps O'Brien considered starting rookie Andre Iguodala at shooting guard, rather than small forward, and inserting Kyle Korver at the "three." He used that combination for a stretch in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's painful loss to the Knicks.
Despite Frank starting nobody shorter than 6-foot-7 and Jason Collins and Mourning in the frontcourt, the only adjustment O'Brien made was starting Aaron McKie in place of Willie Green at shooting guard.
McKie, who took no shots and went scoreless in 12 minutes before straining his left rotator cuff in the third quarter, had started the first two games at that spot before Green took over in the starting lineup for the two previous losses.
An X-ray of McKie's shoulder was negative; he's scheduled to undergo an MRI today.
The Sixers didn't fall behind until the second quarter, when they allowed the Nets to take a 12-point lead. They've trailed by at least eight in all five first halves this season and by 12 or more at some point in every game.
When Green missed three consecutive second-period free throws, the boos, which started when Kenny Thomas threw an uncontested pass into the third row 47 seconds earlier, came louder and stronger. Only a Green 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer, which cut the deficit to nine, saved the Sixers from hearing it again.
The Sixers were so listless that one courtside fan near the New Jersey bench who normally gets on the opposition remained quiet. "There's nothing going on with these guys," he said.
The Sixers showed signs of life in the third quarter. A 10-0 run helped to tie the score at 58-58. It stayed even entering the fourth quarter.
I know right now that since this game was well short of a sellout (about 4,700 shy according to this article) and the results on the floor Billy King is sweating bullets. If the Sixers don't make the playoffs he's gone, and I wouldn't neccessarily disagree with it at this point.
__________________ Who cares about a championship drought?:
My teams will never win a championship anyway, so why don't you discuss everything else at my forum? Good idea, right? Yeah, I thought so. It's called.. Booing Santa Claus. See you there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rollins
“The average is the borderline that keeps mere men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very act. Go.”
Originally posted by Rayza!
they were very lucky to get that win. I can't see any positives out of that game.
After watching there were some positives, of course you have to take them with a grain of salt against one of the worst teams in the league.
1.)Kyle Korver - Every time he steps on the court, something good happens, his hustling his three point shooting, and his much improved defense. He should be starting (and I'd say Iggy should move to the two)
2.)Closing fourth quarter and OT defense, the team stepped up and closed the door on the Nets making life miserable. Of course this is offset by it being another game where they let a team shoot a tremendous percentage in the first half. Seeing spurts like this shows that it's something the Sixers are capable of doing.
3.)Marc Jackson playing his best game of the season, he still shouldn't be starting over Dalembert when Sammy comes back, but he played hard and was productive on offense, though he didn't pull anywhere near enoug rebounds. He took advantage of an obviously tired Alonzo Mourning.
4.)Corliss Williamson stepped up in OT with seven points, obviously his best performance in a period this year.
5.)Aaron McKie's defense on Richard Jefferson, like I noted in another thread, he bothered Jefferson and was our best defense on him, prior to going out with a strained rotator cuff.
__________________ Who cares about a championship drought?:
My teams will never win a championship anyway, so why don't you discuss everything else at my forum? Good idea, right? Yeah, I thought so. It's called.. Booing Santa Claus. See you there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rollins
“The average is the borderline that keeps mere men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very act. Go.”
Game Thread: 76ers Vs New Jersey Nets (Nov. 10)
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