Archive: October, 2008
FINAL SCORE: Knicks 110, Sixers 104.
Not much running play-by-play in the second half as deadine approached, but a couple of things: Marreese Speights looked good again in his minutes. He started poorly, but gained momentum. Royal Ivey hit a few outside shots. Kareem Rush missed all his outside shots. When the Sixers' starters faced the Knicks' starters, the Sixers outplayed them.
HALFTIME: Knicks 60, Sixers 51. The Knicks continued to play their starters in the second quarter while the Sixers' Elton Brand, Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, and Sam Dalembert sat.
There's about 30 minutes left on the clock and the Knicks and Sixers are warming up here at the Wachovia Center. The doors opened about 30 minutes ago. Tonight's game, scheduled to start around 7 o'clock, is the second preseason game for both these teams.
I spoke to head coach Maurice Cheeks, Jason Smith, and Royal Ivey before the game.
We spoke at length about Cheeks' philosophy on outside shooters, as well as Kareem Rush.
The Knicks are in town with their new brand of Mike D'Antoni fast-breaking basketball, but more importantly for Philly, the 76ers are in the Wachovia Center for the first time this season. Knicks vs. Sixers, tonight, 7. If you're going, watch out for Phillies' (you know how they're playing in the NLCS?) traffic.
It's the second preseason game for each team. Knicks lost at Toronto, 113-111, on Wednesday. On the same night, the Sixers beat Boston, 98-92.
The Knicks are a team in transition -- literally and figuratively. D'Antoni, formerly of the run-and-gun Suns, is instituting that offensive philosophy in NYC. Also, Stephon Marbury appears to have taken a backseat to free-agent pickup Chris Duhon. With the Sixers also looking to play pressure, aggressive defense and push the basketball, this should be a free-wheelin' type of game.
The Sixers flew home last night after their 98-92 win over the Celtics at UMASS's Mullins Center. They returned to the PCOM court today at noon, for a practice session that lasted about 90 minutes.
Of note: Kareem Rush, who had been sidelined since Monday with a left-ankle sprain, practiced. He did not appear to be limping. Photo: It looks to me like he's swinging a ping-pong paddle, but that's actually Rush working on his shot after today's practice. Rush and Andre Iguodala spent about 20 minutes post-practice alternating shots.
We'll be running a Live Chat today at 3 p.m. to discuss last night's preseason opener. If you would like to join the discussion, click here: Sixers Chat.
Final: Sixers 98, Celtics 92
Could not keep up too much running play-by-play because of print deadline (you know, for the newspaper). Cheeks had Lou Williams, Royal Ivey, Thad Young, Reggie Evans, and Marreese Speight in at the end.
Royal Ivey hit a big 3-pointer in front of the Celtics bench with 45 seconds left to make it 93-92 Sixers. Williams made five-of-six free throws to seal the game.
Preseason Game 1, Sixers vs. Celtics, 7 p.m., Mullins Center in Amherst, MA.
It's official. Head coach Maurice Cheeks confirmed that his starting lineup will be:
PG Andre Miller, SG Andre Iguodala, SF Thaddeus Young, PF Elton Brand, C Sam Dalembert.
Keith Pompey has been an Inquirer reporter since September 2004. He takes over the Sixers beat after covering the Temple men’s basketball team for the past three years and Temple football the past two seasons. Pompey also previously covered the Penn and Drexel men’s basketball team and Villanova football team after initially focusing on high school sports.
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh. Follow him on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers or reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
