captainobvious

Our Philadelphia Sixers came through with a win in a tough fought game one on the road against the Orlando Magic last night. And, I've got to say, it was a rollercoaster ride of emotions watching that game. Nervousness, excitement, frustration, disgust, amazement...

The Sixers started out of the gate fairly well. They kept the game pretty close through 2 quarters of play, but you got the sense that they wer elosing their grip on the game. We saw too many easy buckets allowed in the paint, and I'm not even talking about Dwight Howards work. Our guards were getting beat off the dribble pretty consistently through out the game and were making bench players look like all-stars. Now, I'll give them credit for their gameplan...It seemed that they were focused on denying Turkoglu and Lewis and living with the damage that Howard was going to do. The plan was effective to a point and seemed like a good idea, until the guys you dont even gameplan for start going off the reservation- specifically Courtney Lee. He went 8 of 17 for 18 points and had quite a few uncontested buckets. And don't get me started on Iguodala's free throw shooting. He has been abysmal from the line lately and when the game was in the balance, missed both of his free throws down the stretch which really should have cost the Sixers the game. (We all know how it ended though, so you're forgiven this time Iggy )


Okay, so aside from some of the 'smack your forehead' 'what am I watching?' moments in the game, there were a few bright spots that really made the difference between the Sixers coming away with a "W" instead of an "L" yesterday.
Lets start off with bright spot number 1- Lou Williams...Coming off the bench he was behind only Iguodala and Miller in minutes with just under 30 minutes played. His offensive contributions continue to boost the Sixers as he went 7-11 (3-3 from 3 point land) to talley 18 points. I said before this game that we needed some solid contributions from Williams to win this game and he delivered.
Bright spot number 2- Donyell Marshall. 11 points in just over 11 minutes, going 3-4 from 3 point land. This guy has been such a tremendous boost for the Sixers late this season. He comes in and just flat out produces. Seems like its a guaranteed 3 everytime he is left with a look at the rim.
Bright spot number 3- Iguodala simply would not be denied in the 4th quarter. He didnt settle for terrible jumpshots and drove to the lane. 8 boards and 8 assists to go along with his 20 points were huge factors, not to mention that amazing game winner that was well contested. He continues to impress with his big clutch shots this year.

Overall, a big win for the Sixers. They really needed to take one from the Magic early here and they were able to do that. I think they have some things to work on to prepare for game 2, specifically better on the ball defense from our guards. We simply cannot allow ourselves to be beat off the dribble for uncontested buckets in the lane. Its alot to ask of Sammy/Theo to drop coverage off of Howard to help, knowing that he's going to get dished the ball. Guard defense MUST be better.

Lets go Sixers