| 07 December 2009
Pretty predictable, but still enjoyable.
The hype, the adrenaline, the excitement, a good game, ending up in a loss, 83-93, tenth straight (5-21, .238).
An emotional night, with a sellout crowd of 20.664 fans (last one was on April 10 vs Cleveland, thanks Kate Fagan for the timely updates via her Twitter feed) giving Iverson the expected, deserved ovation.
He kissed the Sixers' logo at midcourt during the introduction and provided the (expected, again) initial boost: Sixers up by six at the end of the first (26-20), sparked by 4 points (2/4), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover by Iverson, with Iguodala red hot from the strat: Andre had 14 points on 5/6 in the period, including two threes.
Iguodala continued putting on a real show in the second, with a spectacular reverse dunk and even a 90 foot shot immediately after the buzzer (!!): he had 18 points at halftime, on 7/10. But you could see that something was going wrong: Sixers were leading only by three (44-41) with Nuggets shooting 31% (13/42). Uhm....
Other worrying numbers at intermission were Sixers' attempted free throws (2) and points off the bench (2, by Willie Green, that was limited to only 6 shots - one made - in 8 minutes of action, LOL).
Nuggets started playing some solid defense in the third and Sixers had no..answers for the double teams that Iguodala had to face. Dalembert was dominating the boards (he added also 6 blocks) but we couldn't make a run, despite Denver continuing in its unusual series of bricks: they finished the third with 18/59, a putrid 30%. Good enough to be down only two, 65-63. Uhm.......
It was a whole different story in the fourth: Nuggets hit all of their first seven shots and built a 65-77 lead on a long three by JR Smith (8.27): 14-0 break. Sixers never recovered, as Lawson and the silent assassin, Billups slowly killed us with a deadly mix of drives, fouls drawn and outside shots. Chauncey knocked donw a three from Nuggets' locker room to close the game at 77-89 with 3.11 to play. Good night.
THREE ANSWERS
1) Yes, I liked the game. Sixers fans = low standards, so I am pretty happy even after the loss. I'm typing this at 4 AM but it was worth.
2) No, Kapono couldn't hit the broad side of a barn tonight, despite some excellent looks. Iverson was looking for him in transition, like he used to do with Korver.
3) No, you are not going to win many games when your opponent shots 11/15 in the 4th. And guess what, their backcourt outplayed ours...
THREE QUESTIONS
1) 9 vs 24: free throws attempted. Is this something to work on ??? Billups (11) took more foul shots than the whole Sixers (jump shooting) team. Good luck with that Eddie Jordan.
2) What will happen now that all the excitement is over? I'm afraid the worst is yet to come, let's have another 2-3 losses games like this and see...
3) What's with the Sixers' bench? 2 points on 1/15, and a rotation that will likely be even more trimmed (btw Jrue sat out again). More mess to come also here.
REASONS
Why we lost the game
Nuggets are better and too experienced. They let us "vent" initially but always stayed in contact, then waited for the right moment and eventually did what they were supposed to do to win the game.
To be optimistic
We sold a lot of tickets. Fans cared about the Sixers again. Not sure how long this will last, though. Dalembert looked inspired, as it was actually interested in what was happening on the court.
To be worried
Not even the "AI effect", combined with a great game by Andre Iguodala, could help us snap the losing streak. Jason Smith and Carney seem lost again, while it's confimed that Willie Green is officially our 6th man.
2 points on 1/15, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 39 minutes of action: total, pathetic, production of Sixers' bench tonight (5 players used).
Time to go to bed. Happy, for no reason.
