[Coatesvillain]

December 6, 2004 - 7:30PM (EST)

Philadelphia 76ers (6-10) VS Atlanta Hawks (2-14)

@Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Aired on: and

Projected Starting Lineups:




Season Series: First meeting of season.

Storyline: ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia 76ers have an opportunity to end a miserable road trip on a winning note when they visit the sliding Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

The 76ers have dropped the first four games of the five-game swing. Three of the losses have come by eight points or less, including a 77-76 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

They had four straight shots to win the game in the final seconds Saturday but failed to convert and fell short of the 80-point mark for the second time in three games.

Allen Iverson led four players in double figures with 20 points, and Philadelphia held Houston to just 32 percent (24-of-76) shooting. However, the Sixers scored just 35 points in the second half to drop their fourth straight.

The Hawks are struggling through a nine-game losing streak and own the Eastern Conference's worst record at 2-14. Six of the losses have been by at least 14 points.

In a 109-88 setback to the New Jersey Nets on Saturday, Al Harrington scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but Atlanta produced just 58 points through three quarters in another embarrassing defeat.

After winning 10 of 11 series meetings, Philadelphia has lost five of the last seven.

LINK

The Phan's take: Don't let the Hawks run around, force the pace. Rebound, and use Marc Jackson in the post in moderation. Not much really to say, this is a pivitol game for the season, if they lose it's going to be hard to get the team's confidence back up.

The Sixers have to contain Antoine Walker, as shown in his matchup against the Knicks earlier this season he's is capable of having a scoring outburst. The Sixers this season have allowed several people to have All-Star caliber games. Don't give Antoine Walker anything, I'd almost think about matching up Iguodala on him to allow his length to bother him.

KEY MATCHUP:
VS

[HKF]

When is the Allen Iverson PG experiment going to be over?

He had 36 points tonight, yes, I understand, but he took 28 shots (not including his 12 FT's) and basically there is no offensive continuity with him shooting that much.

How much longer can Philly sink with him shooting that much and pretending to be a PG?

[Fenway]

AI shoots the ball no matter what. His position doesn't matter.
He can't win games alone and the only help he gets is when Korver hits some three's.

[Coatesvillain]

Originally posted by Hong Kong Fooey!
When is the Allen Iverson PG experiment going to be over?

He had 36 points tonight, yes, I understand, but he took 28 shots (not including his 12 FT's) and basically there is no offensive continuity with him shooting that much.

How much longer can Philly sink with him shooting that much and pretending to be a PG?

I'd probably say that he's not playing PG anymore, he's just AI. When the team was better, I didn't mind Iverson going off because the team was headed somewhere and the others could work off of the scraps left over.

With this team right now, we need players to build confidence, and get better. You can't win anymore with Iverson playing like this, he's just chucking it up.

And now as I look at the boxscore (replay is playing in the background) I'm sick to my stomach to see the Sixers lost to the Hawks. I'll watch this game, but it's depressing. It would've been alright if we went into this season acknowledging we were rebuilding and giving the young players time to develop.. instead we have a coach who says we're going to contend (I knew that wasn't true I was hoping for the playoffs).

If we're going to be bad, we better be one of the worst so we can get a draft pick. Other wise it'll be losing for nothing.

I said five wins max in December, and they just lost one of the games I thought was going to be a win.

[Vermillion]

Position-wise, I like AI as a Point Guard. He gets most of his assists because he attracts too much attention because of his scoring ability. It's just that it seems like everyone else (except for maybe Korver) is floundering offensively, so his no one to pass to.

And yes, for a Sixers fan, seeing Philly losing to Atlanta makes me sick all over. I'm starting to doubt O'Brien's system and substitution patterns. I'm still hoping this is just some fluke, and the Sixers will eventually get it together, before it's too late.

[RoddneyThaRippa]

AI is hard to figure out. Watching him in the Olympics, everyone should've realized how effectively he can run the point. But shooting 23 shots a game at a 39% clip just isn't going to work, especially if you're a point guard. I don't know if he doesn't trust his teammates or what, but he has to pass the ball more. He is killing his team.

[Coatesvillain]

A microcosm of the 76ers season, with the game on the line an Atlanta Hawks shot misses and careens off the rim, Marc Jackson standing under the rim doesn't get off his feet, doesn't box out, doesn't go for the ball, and instead watches as rookie Josh Smith rips the ball out of the air and lays the ball up.

That's something you won't see anyone on the Sixers do. I've come out and faced it, it's too late for the Sixers, they have to start thinking about the future, the current group of guys they have on the roster aren't going to magically be able to get things together and compete to make a run in the playoffs. This group isn't going to be a contender for anything if they stay together for years.