| 04 February 2010
Iverson out, Iguodala in.
Final outcome, Sixers beat Chicago 106-103 in OT (17-31, .354) and Andre is by far the MVP of the game, making (nearly) all the clutch plays.
Brian from Depressed fan, long time Iguodala's fan, is asking whether this is a coincidence or not. I have a strong suspect that the two things are related. Surely, the question can be raised.
While my thoughts about Andre's questionable plays down the stretch is pretty well documented, all I can do this time is underline his amazing all around game and take my hat off to him.
Let's make this clear: I was not, I am not and I will never be the kind of negadelphian that wants that Sixers (or any single player, for that matter) continue to suck so that he can say "I told you so". Ok?
So I am more than happy to say that Iguodala was decisive last night. This willl not change my opinion on him, for the good and for the bad part, but surely it's a point in his favor, so more power to him this time. Let's hope he puts together more games like this one, and closes them all. Then I'll review my judgement.
Did Andre win the game alone? No. Many things to analyze (after the jump).THREE ANSWERS
1) Yes, I think the fact that Iverson was out helped Iguodala. He got more touches than he has been used to in the last weeks, played less in the low post and more in the open court, where he's at his best.
He had stretches of great defense also, the best one when he managed to stay in front of Derrick Rose and contest his potential game winner with 26 seconds to play at the end of regulation and bulls ups one, 93-94. It was a very good effort, and it paid off.
The three that decided the game (103-98, 1.19 to play in OT) came off a feed by Brand from the low post, and was followed by another drive that he finished with the left hand (105-100, 27 seconds). Both fantastic plays.
2) No, Andre's game was not perfect, after that defensive possession he was fouled but made only one of two from the line with 6.7 seconds left. Brand's rebound, off Iguodala's miss on the second attempt, led to a tough fallaway turnaround jumper that rimmed out. This time Elton wasn't lucky, it was an excellent shot.
3) Yes, despite that miss, Elton Brand's game was just as good as his stat line tells you. He was money from mid range, effective in the low post and even rebounded well, finally. The three swats helped also.
THREE QUESTIONS
1) How come the Sixers played good defense down the stretch? I think they had a balanced lineup there, with Dalembert AND Brand in (thank you Jesus), Iguodala most of the time at SF and a back court of Lou Williams and Willie Green that did a decent job.
Bulls basically were clearing the paint and let Rose play one-on-one from the top of the key: Rose drove past Green and Lou several times to score on layups, dunks etc, but Sixers progressively made things tougher for him, stopping switching on the high pick-and-roll, for example.
Of course, being the fantastic player that he is, Rose had a great game overall, but Sixers got the stops they needed when it counted the most. It was a nice matchup.
2) What's happening to Jrue Holiday? I rarely saw a more meaningless 31 minutes, actually I was shocked to see on the boxscore that he played so much, he did basically nothing on the floor. Not bashing him, just saying he is having a hard time, pretty normal for a rookie.
3) What was Del Negro thinking? Please explain me why a spirited Thomas played only 15 minutes (6/8 and six boards !), Noah only 27, while Miller stayed in 33 (for eight points and ONE rebound ???). That was some jordanesque coaching. Good for us
REASONS
Why we won the game
D'd up in the fourth and overtime, and had Iguodala going offensively. It was some old style TEAM defense, with almost every player doing his part. We also made several hustle plays that left me particularly happy: steals, blocks, deflections. Signs of life.
To be optimistic
Well, if we will go on playing this way we will have at least many nights of fun like this one. Brand AND Iguodala carrying the team (in the pic) is always a nice sighting.
To be worried
Same story: is it too late? Will these wins be useless? Even detrimental?
Two tough games on the road this weekend as Sixers go to New Orleans on Friday and to Houston on Saturday.
