The Nets easily could have let this game slip away, with the winning streak and coming off a too-easy win against the Magic. With AI back, the 76ers are still capable of putting up enough fight to punish a complacent team. Their defense clogged up the Nets' motion offense and they hung tough for about 45 game-minutes.
Nice coaching by Frank. Some adjustments I noticed. Both Kittles and Lu were being toasted by AI, who was creating havoc despite a poor shooting night, so he put Kidd back on AI to keep up with him, plus team defense adjustments to keep pressure on him and redirect him. Lu ran AI under the basket on several occasions to take advantage of the size mismatch. Frank matched up big/small with Ayers.
Glenn Robinson killed his team. He was given multiple mismatches to work with and failed to do anything with them. He gave no help to Iverson. If he played well, the 76ers could have won the game. I don't understand why Ayers put the ball in his hands so much, let alone keep him in the game.
Rogers was key. He's becoming dynamic off the bench, a different player since Frank replaced Scott. He's applying pressure on offense and even approaching defensive stopper status, a far cry from his previous clueless defense. If Rogers can keep up his present level of play, he's going to be a difference-maker. I actually found myself wondering why Frank didn't use him for 10 more minutes of game-action.
I thought Planinic made progress, despite playing only 5 1st half minutes. The veteran 76ers guards attacked him and he had trouble with his dribble. However, he was able to gut it out and function on offense, though uncomfortably, and make plays. Pre-Frank, the rookie probably would have crumbled under the same level of pressure. Unfortunately, the 76ers guards toasted him on defense. Frank made the right call to play Kidd the entire 2nd half in a closely contested game and not return to the Harris/Kittles backcourt. Planinic's learning curve won't get any easier against the Pistons on Tuesday.
I thought Frank would use Veal for about 2-3 minutes in the 2nd half to cut RJ a break and just more in general with Twin out, but with the 76ers going small, Frank was compelled to match up small. In a close game against AI, Frank used his top guns. He's used Veal for 1-2 minutes at the close of 1st halves in the last few games, probably to keep his 10th man fresh with a daily dose of PT. If Twin sits out against the Pistons, I expect Frank will use Scalabrine more to match up against their bigs.
A-Train did a nice job filling in for Twin. Frank did well not to over-use Williams. 29 minutes, even as a starter, is about right. The match-ups with Ayers going small also served to reduce A-Train's minutes.
Kidd was cold early but his play picked up to hold off AI. K-Mart was on his game and reaffirmed his rising star. RJ's shooting was cold, but he played a solid over-all game. Kittles had a hard time shooting and guarding AI. No Armstrong and no Davis.
Ther 76ers had execution problems and some of their newer players lack the character of the older 76ers. They're living off what Larry Brown built but that team continues to fall away. Still, it was a good, tough warm-up for Tuesday's game against the Pistons.
