[Coatesvillain]

November 24, 2004 - 7:00 PM (EST)

Boston Celtics (4-5) Vs Philadelphia 76ers (4-6)

@Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA
Aired on: and

Projected Starting Lineups:




STORYLINE: For the second time in a very young NBA season, Jim O'Brien gets to coach against his former ballclub this time on the heels of a three game losing streak. In recent interviews O'Brien has stated that he will play fourth year center Samuel Dalembert more starting tonight as the center has more a grasp of O'Brien's defensive scheme. The main story for the Sixers though, might not be giving more time to a young player in his contract year, but instead the return of Allen Iverson, who missed Sunday's loss against the Heat with an elbow injury. Willie Green handling the Point Guard duties respectably doling out 10 assists, but his 1-14 shooting from the field magnified how badly the Sixers needed Iverson's scoring punch to open things up for his teammates. After resting up the weekend, Iverson should be ready and able to play one of his best games of the season as he goes into a head to head matchup with a steady but aged veteran in Gary Payton.

Paul Pierce always had, and seemingly alway will, provide a matchup problem for the Sixers no matter if he plays shooting guard or small forward, too strong for the twos, too quick for the threes, and against both he finds his way to the line better than anyone else in the league. In the team's first meeting Kyle Korver did a valiant job against Pierce with the help of the Sixers, who held Pierce scoreless in the fourth period in a game where the Sixers rallied from down double digits to the win in the fourth quarter. Things have changed since then, like the fact Ricky Davis now is on the bench, Kenny Thomas resides in the Sixers doghouse, but what hasn't changed is that both teams suffer the inconsistencies expected for teams who had needed too many things to happen for a winning season. Both teams are young with mixes of starters, and in ways mirror one another not only in their personnel but in their dreams for achieving a trip to the playoffs.

If the Sixers want to win, they need a better performance on the boards, limit the perimeter shots of the Celtics. The Celtics don't have a player capable of exploiting the Sixers' defensive weakness in the interior, but they have players such as Walter McCarty who thrive off of wide open looks from beyond.

KEY MATCHUP:
VS

INJURIES:
Celtics - Delonte West (thumb - IL), Michael Stewart (knee - IL), Tom Gugliotta (back - IL)

76ers - Aaron Mckie (shoulder - IL), Glenn Robinson (ankle - IL), Kedrick Brown (back - IL).

STAT LEADERS:
Points: Pierce (Celtics) 23 PPG; Iverson (76ers) 26.1 PPG.
Rebounds: Pierce (Celtics) 7.4 RPG; Thomas (76ers) 6.8 RPG.
Assists: Payton (Celtics) 7.1 APG; Iverson (76ers) 7.2 APG.
Blocks: LaFrentz (Celtics) 1.9 BPG; Dalembert (76ers) 1.2 BPG.
Three Pointers: LaFrentz (Celtics) 48% 3P; Davis (76ers) 50% 3P.
Personal Fouls: Blount (Celtics) 4 PF; Korver (76ers) 3.9 PF.

[Sliccat]

Ugh... Josh Davis started over Thomas. He just doesn't fit with this offense at all, and its killing his all-around game. So much for him being an all-star this year.

[Ps!ence_Fiction]

im really starting to regret signing coach Obie

[Coatesvillain]

Originally posted by sliccat!
Ugh... Josh Davis started over Thomas. He just doesn't fit with this offense at all, and its killing his all-around game. So much for him being an all-star this year.

Josh Davis started?

I'm still going to watch the game, but that's disgusting to even think about. So I guess in Kenny Thomas we have the second player who's value has diminished since O'Brien took over. Right now, I regret buying into all of his promises in the offseason, I mean he had such a great plan for getting Kenny more involved.. and then we find out that plan was to have him shoot shots from the perimeter.

[Max Payne]

Davis actually had a great game guys....

[Yao Mania]

Originally posted by Max Payne!
Davis actually had a great game guys....

I just saw the game hilight of Davis' dunk from the Iverson pass
Commentator: "Who is Josh Davis??"

[Coatesvillain]

Originally posted by Max Payne!
Davis actually had a great game guys....

You're right, I made my comments before looking at the statline or watching the game. He played a great game, and gave us a lot more defense and hustle than either Williamson or Thomas, but I'm not sure if we could get the offensive production from him every game that we got last night.

What's remarkable is that he started the game 0-4 and finished 6-12, he really got started after the two dunks. Even more amazing than that though was the play of Allen Iverson, maybe it's because the Celtics are just that bad of a team, but he looked a lot more comfortable out there as PG than he has all season. Yeah he had seven turnovers, but they weren't the type of turnovers that really damage the team. I'd really like it if he could drop it down to 3 or 4 a game.

Andre Iguodala really set this game off the right way, I mean in just over the first two minutes of the game he had two steals, and five points.

It was good to see Samuel Dalembert back out there, he really gives the defense a different look and feel, I really like what he brings. He had three goaltending violations, though, I hope he can really clean that up because he had the similar problem against the Spurs.

[Ps!ence_Fiction]

yea i dont see Josh Davis comparing to that number of points for a while, please put Kenny back in the starting line up, and play him the way he should be played

[Coatesvillain]

Originally posted by Ps!ence_Fiction!
yea i dont see Josh Davis comparing to that number of points for a while, please put Kenny back in the starting line up, and play him the way he should be played

What I'm hoping is the way Josh Davis played on Wednesday, will wake Kenny Thomas up and show him what he has to do. I'm not neccessarily advocating Kenny to just get thrown back out there, he needs to earn it, and Obie might as well go with the hot hand in Davis as long as it's helping him.

[Ps!ence_Fiction]

looks like that hot hand was put in a bucket of ice, he cant hit anything in the Washington game, knew it wouldnt last