| 10 December 2009
I know Eddie Jordan sucks, there is no need to tell me that, thank you.
No need to repeat for the 125th time that he's one of the main reasons for our horrible record (5-17, .227), for the streak of losses etc.
How about we take a - short, don't worry - break from the coach bashing and start focusing on how bad our players are performing? The 86-90 loss to Detroit, 11th straight, is a "nice" chance.
Remember we (= I) made fun of Jordan because it took him 20 games to realize he had to do a better job of "find some other sets to get a better (last) shot". Well, this time no one could't have asked for a better last shot: a wide open three by Iguodala with 3.5 seconds to play. Clank.
In the savvy words of Iverson "I don't think I could have even gotten a better shot than the shot we had. That was the best shot that we could get.... We got everything that we wanted on that last play, and more".
Remember when we (= I) made fun of Jordan because of his poor rotations, because he benched Elton Brand when he was playing well, because he was keeping Brand and/or Dalembert out in the final quarters, because he was playing "small ball" and we were getting killed under the boards?
Well, vs Pistons Dalembert got 38 minutes, Brand 39, they were on the court for basically the entire fourth quarter. Result: Pistons finished with a 45-32 rebounding edge. How pathetic is that?
I'm blaming more Brand (and others) here, Sam played a very good game - even if, being Sam, he missed a pretty easy putback off a (bad) miss by Iguodala that could have given us a two point lead with 30 seconds to play. Hey, check Brand's minutes/def rebounds ratio in the last four games: OKC 28/3 - Cha 38/3- Den 38/4 - Det 39/2. No wonder we give up so many second chances.
Eddie Jordan more or less did what he had to do last night, with the players left: Jrue was out again, together with Speights and Lou Williams. If you ask me, a line up of Iverson/Green, Iguodala, Young, Brand and Dalembert MUST beat a line up with Chucky f'n Atkins (Chucky Atkins !!), Stuckey, Jerebko, Jason f'n Maxiell, a 35 y/o Ben Wallace/Kwame f'n Brown (that's K-W-A-M-E B-R-O-W-N !!!) even without a coach. And by 10-15 points (more after the jump).Instead, they (= Sixers players) turned Stuckey into Tim Hardaway part II, Jerebko into a swedish Nowitzki, Maxiell in a smaller Garnett (he was even hitting jumpers). Kwame Brown, that btw came into the game averaging 35% from the line (!!), hit 7/8 free throws (!!!!) for a season high 11 points (LOL). Repeat with me: Kwame. Brown. Season. High. I think we should be ashamed for all of the above.
We are talking about all stars, former all stars or borderline/wannabe all stars that can't put away washed up veterans, second round picks, pure stiffs. Yes, the coach should be accountable for that as well, but... vs such opponents it would take just a little bit of pride from the guys on the court to pull out a W. Pistons (8-12 before the game) were without Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Gordon. Enough said.
THREE ANSWERS
1) No, don't worry, we didn't start defending the three well (Pistons shot 1/8), it's just that they were missing open shots.
2) Yes, Elton Brand's stat line looks good, but he takes WAY too many mid range jumpers (in the pic there's an example), and hits like 50% of those. Sixers should feed him more in the low post, in a game like that we should have pounded the ball inside. Only three FTs for him against those bums is ridiculous.
3) Yes, the Iverson effect is already over, at least on the box office: attendance was at a more familiar 12.136 vs Detroit. Allen had a subpar game, btw, even blew a layup and had a couple of bad, unforced turnovers.
THREE QUESTIONS
1) Will someone teach Jason Smith how to box out? Dude can't grab a defensive board to save his life, unbelievable. As soon as he gets in, second chances for the opposing team skyrocket. So Elton is doing an awful job under the defensive glass, but his back up manages to be worse. Awesome.
2) What kind of offense are we actually playing? I can't figure it out. All I can say is that with Iverson it seemed like we stopped running, while it should be the opposite - then again, in order to go on a fastbreak, you must secure the rebound first.... Of course it will take some time to fit him in, but right now it's a mess.
3) What kind of defense are we actually playing? Oh, this is a no brainer: the same of all year: the "no stop-no rebound-fall for the first pump fake-slow help" defense that every Sixers opponent has been enjoying.
REASONS
Why we lost the game
No defensive stops in crunch time, no hitting shots that should have been hit.
To be optimistic
Well, tankers will be happy, we are losing to every opponent, from good, to average, to bad teams. This reaguardless of their/our absences.
To be worried
Do I need to list them? 11th consecutive L and counting, 4th game winner of the season missed (updated count is Iguodala 3, Lou Williams 1).
Houston, we have a problem. Houston? What? You happy because you are coming to Philly on Friday? Ok, nevermind.
