[Coatesvillain]

November 18, 2004 - 7:00 PM (EST)

San Antonio Spurs (6-1) Vs Philadelphia 76ers (4-4)

@Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA
Aired on: and

Projected Starting Lineups:




STORYLINE: After struggling on Tuesday night with the perimeter shooting prowess of the Seattle Sonics, the 76ers now go into a two game stand where they play two of the game's better big men, which isn't exactly the remedy the Sixers want after watching a Sonics record 18 three pointers crack the cotton nets in the Wachovia Center. Tonight's game against the Spurs marks the third game of the season where the 76ers face off against one of the premier scoring Power Forwards in the game, in the previous two matchups they yielded 29 points and 10 rebounds to Amare Stoudemire, and 39 points and 9 rebounds for Jermaine O'Neal, if they let Tim Duncan even sniff those numbers the Sixers will be sent on the road to Miami hoping to come off a two game losing streak.

The job of checking Tim Duncan goes to starting center Marc Jackson, who no doubt will be given a good amount of help from the different characters on the Sixers roster. What maybe an even bigger worry for the 76ers is Manu Ginobili who will be faced against Willie Green, Manu is world reknown for being a sparkplug and he could very well be one of the most dangerous players in the open court. To neutralize Ginobili, the Sixers should give a hard long look at allowing rookie swingman Andre Iguodala to stay with the Olympic Gold Medal winner. The Spurs present a unique challenge for the Sixers, and how tight the Sixers play with them will go a long way in proving how they'll perform throughout the season. Unlike the Suns and Sonics (Sixers two Western conference opponents so far this season, both losses) the Spurs have a guy in Duncan who can dominate a game on either post, and is unselfish enough to allow his teammates to step up and win the game, players like Tony Parker, Brent Barry, and Brent Barry are all capable of benefitting from the collapsing defense on Duncan and draining shots from the perimeter.

If the 76ers want to win, they must win the defensive glass, and prevent the Spurs, who can be a really hot and cold team shooting, from getting many second chance shots, also Allen Iverson needs to be constantly aggressive and get Tony Parker in foul trouble, he'll make several illadvised reach-ins during the game. For the second straight game, the Sixers will definitely need a good performance from Kenny Thomas who's been MIA for the past couple of weeks.

KEY MATCHUP:
VS

INJURIES:
Spurs- Linton Johnson (ankle); Romain Sato (knee); Sean Marks (back)

76ers - Aaron McKie (shoulder); Glenn Robinson (ankle); Kedrick Brown (back).

STAT LEADERS:
Points: Duncan (Spurs) 22.3 PPG; Iverson (76ers) 26.4 PPG.
Rebounds: Duncan (Spurs) 14.1 RPG; Thomas (76ers) 7.6 RPG.
Assists: Parker (Spurs) 5.3 APG; Iverson (76ers) 7.6 APG.
Blocks: Duncan (Spurs) 2.57 BPG; Dalembert (76ers) 1.25 BPG.
Three Pointers: Ginobili (Spurs) 46% 3P%; Davis (76ers) 60% 3P%.
Personal Fouls: Nesterovic (Spurs) 3 PF; Korver (76ers) 3.9 PF.

[DaBigTicketKG21]

You should put this game thread on the NBa board. More people will talk about it. Just a suggestion.

[Mongolmike]

Considering the first quarter score (or lack thereof), maybe it'd be best to keep it here....

(btw, that's not a crack on your team... SA is a monster for any team to handle)

[Coatesvillain]

I wish my trade Hornets/Sixers deal was something that really happened because the way opposing bigs just dominate the Sixers a PJ Brown would look really nice here.

I haven't seen the whole game, since I just got home early from work, but on the way home I heard in a span where Rasho Nesterovic hit about four open jumpshots all beyond 15 feet, Duncan has also had his fair share of points in the span.

What I really want to know, is what happened with Dalembert's playing time? I heard on the radio that he didn't play much in the second half, and got his first action in the fourth (or late third) and was pulled out after about a minute. Was he in foul trouble, what?

[Ps!ence_Fiction]

no foul trouble, i jsut think that Obie is slowly developing a grudge towards Sammy, he had a great first half too, 6 boards and 3 blocks (all on Duncan)

[Max Payne]

I actually went to the game tonight and I will make the following observations :

AI is beautiful...I love him, I love how he makes everyone better around him because when the new AI looks to score but he's looking for teammates...he had only 4 assists but he must have made at least 15 picture perfect perfect passes...it's just that our other guys could'nt hit the shots...AI SCHOOLED Parker with an amazing crossover and hit the jumper off it too while Tony was sprawling. All in all, AI is great and he is making a real conversion to a scoring point guard smoothly...

Korver is great...this kid has not only increased his defensive hustle like crazy but at the same time has developed a great short to midrange game...he had a sick move were he finished with Duncan breathing down his neck ! Also hit some great shots to get our offense going when we needed a spark.

Iguodala is still developing...I like the idea of him starting and Salmons coming in later. Had a huge dunk that really shook the house up. Green looks good but has to work on his jumpers....has a great crossover and good passing sense in general...Salmons looked steady but needs to work on his consistency whether its passing or scoring...

Dalembert..I had a great feeling about this kid back at the beginning of last year and nothing has changed. He was solid on the boards and had some huge blocks on none other than the man, Timmy D himself...

HOWEVER...we were getting KILLED on the boards tonight...we made some amazing defensive plays, only to be let down by the nonexistent rebounding by our frontcourt...O'Brien really needs to get the message and he needs to get it fast...he needs to start Dalembert at C and move Mark Jackson over to the PF...that way we have scoring in the post along with mega defense...thath's the line-up that will take us to the playoffs...anyways guys...just my thoughts after seeing the game.

[Eatinthepudding8]

agreed

[Coatesvillain]

Thanks for the feedback, it's always good to hear about the game from someone who was their live. I've been trying to get to a game all year, but haven't been able to make it.

Originally posted by Max Payne!
O'Brien really needs to get the message and he needs to get it fast...he needs to start Dalembert at C and move Mark Jackson over to the PF...that way we have scoring in the post along with mega defense...thath's the line-up that will take us to the playoffs.

I think this is something they definitely need to think of using against teams such as the Spurs. You can't match their size with Jackson and Williamson, especially when it results in Williamson defending Duncan he simply can't even come close to bothering Duncan's shots because he's so short in comparison. You can get away with playing Williamson at PF for large chunks of some games, but against teams like Spurs you have to go for the mismatch he posses on offense and play him at SF and have him posting up Bruce Bowen or someone like that.

[Sliccat]

I wish my trade Hornets/Sixers deal was something that really happened because the way opposing bigs just dominate the Sixers a PJ Brown would look really nice here.

With Korver and Dalembert turning free agents with huge signing value, you want to trade Robinson and Mckie for Mashburn and Brown?


I'm going to go jump off a bridge

[Coatesvillain]

Originally posted by sliccat!
With Korver and Dalembert turning free agents with huge signing value, you want to trade Robinson and Mckie for Mashburn and Brown?


I'm going to go jump off a bridge

Calm down, Dalembert is a restricted free agent, the Sixers have the right to match any offer he gets. The Sixers gave him the option to control his value, and most likely will match anything he gets, only way we'll get burned is if he plays for the qualifying offer, which is risky business considering Dalembert's injury history.

We'll be able to go over the cap to re-sign Dalembert, and most likely we'll be able to tag Korver with the MLE at least which we can go over the cap with, so it's not a problem.. calm down.

Mashburn has a year left, PJ Brown would be a valuable asset to the team and his deal is a year shorter than McKie's. Considering Mashburn is injured we could be rid of his contract via buyout.