| 26 January 2012
If we are 0-2 in overtime this year, 2-10 including last year (have to check that).
The 90-97 OT L to New Jersey was as hurting as you can have it for the Sixers (12-6, .667), that saw their eight game winning streak against the Nets snapped and fell to 8-2 at home.
You may file this game under the "One of those nights" category: no Hawes (who missed his fifth straight, and it's starting to show), no Vucevic (2nd in a row for him), two banked three pointers by the Nets (one from their halfcourt, at the 3rd quarter buzzer...), 12 treys allowed, the 0-9 final run in overtime, a lot of BS calls - and many BS non calls as well - often going the wrong way.
But you would be wrong.
Sixers should have won this. Despite playing uninspired basketball.
We just made too many mistakes, against a bad team that btw was missing a good player in Brook Lopez. Nets overcame that absence playing hard, playing team basketball. Also, they relied on their true superstar/go-to-guy/leader or however you want to call him. A guy that proved he is able to deliver with the game on the line. Something Sixers sorely lack, still.
Deron Williams' late show was sensational. Similar to what Andre Miller did few games ago. Two point guards. Uhm.
I don't know if you can blame someone in particular this time: while Miller did the most of the scoring over Iguodala - not saying we lost that game because of Iguodala, ok? - , Sixers were using an extra small lineup for the final minutes of regulation and overtime, and were basically switching on every screen that the Nets were using to give the ball to their top player. (more after the break)
So it came to Iguodala, Jrue, Turner and Meex guarding trying to guard Williams. On the final play of regulation Iguodala was initially chasing him, then they switched with Young, but Deron blew past Thad for the decisive drive, finding no help/intimidation in the paint as Sixers were playing with no center. The only Turner came to "try" to block him, but the result was the game tied at 82.
Deron Williams scored 13 of Nets' 16 fourth quarter points (!), and assisted Morrow for the remaining three... talking about "singlehandedly" carrying a team.
Sixers went on a nice 6-0 run to take a 90-88 lead in overtime with 1.18 left, but didn't score after that, so that Nets used a 9-0 break to finish us, in every sense.
Some things I really didn't like:
- the sloppy start, once more. Six turnovers in the first quarter, the initial 2-9 NJ lead, the "usual" timeout by Doug Collins to fix things. Enough of that, really.
- no boxing out. At all. Nets had 9 offensive rebounds in the first half alone. Nine !! Brand with 1 defensive rebound in 28 minutes is just unacceptable.
- Lou Williams' MADE long two with 8 seconds left (82-80). He hit it, so he's "right", but it was a really horrible shot, on a badly drawn (?) play.
- Iguodala's pathetic game: 0/3 + 1 rebound in the final 7 minutes of the game. Nothing else. No assists, not even fouls. And I barely noticed he took, and missed, those three shots in the stretch. Another disappearing act in a close game: 12 points on 33% shooting and 4/3 a/to in more than 40 minutes is not exactly the kind of production that you expect from your supposed leader/best player/etc etc (for the correct definition, see above, on Deron Williams, and pick one)
- (speaking of Iguodala, he's averaging 9 ppg on 38% shooting in the last five, but I won't hate on him...)
- Thaddeus Young put in WAY too late in the third (only with 3.43 left), with Meex doing basically nothing on the floor and Sixers desperately needing some energy on both ends, looking almost dead
- the countless opportunities missed to take a lead in the fourth, with almost any player missing more-than-makeable shots and failing to give us some momentum.
