Posted: Sunday, March 29, 2009, 9:49 PM | 12 comments |
 

A Motor City Loss
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No matter how far these 76ers roam from .500 -- this latest time was four games away -- they always seem to return.

That's what happened tonight at The Palace of Auburn Hills: The Sixers were ahead 89-83 with 9:57 left in the fourth quarter, gave up an 18-8 run, and lost 101-97.

The Sixers are now 37-35 and in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Two games ago, before this loss to the Pistons and Friday night's to the Charlotte Bobcats, the Sixers were in fifth place, ahead of the Miami Heat. The Pistons, who used guard Allen Iverson tonight for the first time in 16 games, are now 36-37 and pulled out of the eighth spot into the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference.

(After the game, Iverson said: "I'm just as happy as I can be to come back and be around the guys and get in front of the fans and contribute and get a win. And now my whole thing is trying to be the best 6th man I can be, the best 6th man in the league.")

It's tough to decide exactly how tonight's game was lost. Afterward, the Sixers were saying it was the lack of fourth-quarter free throws that cost them the game. Through three, they had shot 20-23 from the line. In the fourth, the Pistons were called for only one personal foul, which was non-shooting.

Sixers coach Tony DiLeo and Andre Iguodala, both alluded to the non-calls: (DiLeo: "We tried to be aggressive in the fourth quarter, take it to the basket, but for whatever reasons, we didn't get the free throws." Iguodala: "They didn't have any fouls in the fourth, so that means they were playing great 'D', I guess.")

Perhaps someone who watched this game on TV will have a different view point, but I don't remember thinking the Sixers had many blatant, aggressive drives thwarted by no-calls from the referees. In the fourth quarter, the Pistons were 4 for 5 from the line, the Sixers 0 for 0. It seemed the big problem was not stopping backup guard Will Bynum, who had nine of his 12 in the fourth quarter, including a handful of killer pull-up jumpers.

DiLeo also said his team needs to rebound better: The Pistons had five offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter. Missing, of course, was Sixers center Samuel Dalembert, who played seven minutes in the first quarter and appeared to leave the game because of foul trouble, checking out immediately after picking up his second foul. After halftime, the Sixers announced that Dalembert had strained his right calf and would not return. In the second quarter, he was icing his right calf, but no one was sure whether he was injured, or just precautionary.

After the game, the Sixers said Dalembert was day-to-day. Although Theo Ratliff, who started the second half in place of Dalembert, played well, it seemed obvious the Sixers were missing Dalembert's inside presence.

What's this loss mean? It's tough to say. The Sixers have had such an up-and-down season: They'll go stretches playing so well, then stretches playing poorly. They just finished a 7-2 stretch, and you gotta hope that doesn't mean they'll fall into a bad stretch (although they have lost the last two games). With so few games remaining, and so much for which to play, it seems impossible they'd let themselves lose focus. And that's not what appeared to happen tonight. Except for those three technicals -- which seem so pointless, and yet it's NBA culture to be frustrated with the referees and display that frustration -- the Sixers played hard and appeared to be in a position to win this game.

On Tuesday, they have the Atlanta Hawks at the Wachovia Center. That, to me, will be the swing game. Will the Sixers start down another slide toward mediocrity, or plant their feet and battle for the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference? 

--Kate

 
Posted by Kate Fagan @ 9:49 PM  Permalink | 12 comments
12
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:08 PM, 03/29/2009
    10 points in the 2nd qtr against CHA and 14 tonite in the 4th wont cut it.Iggy lost his cool on a call-and he seemed to be in the right--5 point swing-4 point loss. But another entertaining game to watch.#16 looks lost in the last few.
    — HO HUM
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:11 PM, 03/29/2009
    The Sixers are what the are. They are middle of the pack talent wise. When you have no low post game and no consistent outside threat, you have to run and gun and sometimes you dont get the steals and rebounds to do so. Dalembert and Willie Green are not starters for a serious NBA title contender.
    — igglegreen
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:46 PM, 03/29/2009
    when are we gonna see a lineup change?? no more willie green. He's a starting shooting guard on an NBA playoff team? he can't shoot or guard all that well. It's not his fault he's starting, it's iguodala's. But it will be painfully obvious to Iguo next year that he is not the best, nor 2nd best player on this team. Elton Brand will be back bangin and Thad Young is a true superstar in waiting. If the Sixers send Thaddy to the bench when Brand gets back because they are paying Iguo superstar money they should all be fired. Let's move Green to the deep part of the bench, start Reggie Evans at Power Forward, move Iquo to 2, Thad to 3.. and try to win some games. It's time coach D, make the right move.
    — craigkmg
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:08 AM, 03/30/2009
    The last two losses can be attributed primarily to two factors: poor offense and terrible defense by Andre Miller, and Dalembert's absence on the defensive boards. Dalembert has really struggled recently on defense (rotating, rebounding, staying with his own man), and the Sixers definitely miss the stops he was getting when he was healthy. They also can't run as frequently if he's not in to control the defensive boards. It also doesn't help that Speights has struggled mightily at the same time. And Miller has been atrocious at keeping his man out of the paint or challenging on jump shots -- even more so than usual, getting torched now by Blake, Felton, and Stuckey/Bynum in consecutive games (not exactly a who's who of offensive point guards). It's unfortunate, because the Sixers have wasted strong back-to-back games by both Young and Iguodala because of poor production from the other three positions. (How about that Willie Green? 0 rebounds in his last 65 minutes over 3 games, hard to do even at guard.) Anyhow, a win against the Hawks on Tuesday will improve morale greatly, I think.
    — Statman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:25 AM, 03/30/2009
    From here on out it looks like the Sixers will go 2-8 or 3-7 to end the year. Hopefully they'll beat Milwaukee at the Failed Bank Center and Toronto in Toronto, but the rest of those games? Cleveland x 2, Boston (with KG) and Detroit (probably with Sheed this time). The Sixers could end up 39-43 or even 40-42 and just barely still the playoffs only because Bobcats final schedule is even worse than theirs. Can we just start Speights at the 4 already. And no, don't start Reggie. I love his heart but the guy can't hit a layup. Platoon Reggie and Speights at the 4. Of course this will be difficult if Dalembert is out. . .
    — phasor
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:33 AM, 03/30/2009
    Hey, Kate. Detroit Baskettttballl.
    — Drew777
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:01 PM, 03/30/2009
    kate: you're correct-there appears to be some gravational force pulling these sixers to .500! unfortunately, nothing new here, either offensively or defensively (or combined). sure, certain aspects wax and other parts wane, but any surge is relatively short-lived. still, hoping for the best position possible in the playoffs since i'm still illogically optimistic enough to dream about some improbable run. not even a photo, though, this time...!
    — 127sixer59
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:40 PM, 03/30/2009
    Since we can't trade Iguodala's big contract, we need trade our future star, Thaddeus Young, for a shooting guard who is as good as Thaddeus. We love Thad, but how else are we going to get a perimeter player who shoot jumpers and run the fast break. We won't get a high draft pick and we have very little salary cap room. Other than Speights and (maybe) Williams, who else can we trade to get a two guard? Nobody will give is anything for Sammy and Brand is impossible to trade, too.
    — Peter Cornish
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:42 PM, 03/30/2009
    Iggy would have to score 300 points in the last 10 games (30 PPG) to get his average as high as it was last year (19.9 PPG)
    — Peter Cornish
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:43 AM, 03/31/2009
    The Pistons shot well over .500 from the field. Thats why we lost. Its the reason we lose a lot of these game. I am pretty sure the Bobcats shot 50% as well. There is no rhyme or reason to this team. Beat the Lakers and Blazers on the road and then lose to bad teams like the Pistons and Bobcats. They just are not consistent enough in any aspect of the game to be more then a team right around .500. Very dangerous on any given night but capable of losing, rather badly, to anyone at anytime.
    — brannigan73
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:41 PM, 03/31/2009
    As Gm Ed would say "this is a results oriented business" well this is the result of what you gave us Ed, firing Cheeks did nothing to improve the team, they are the exact same as last year. You need to trade Young for a starting 2 guard and then you need to find a real NBA coach, not one of your friends, a real NBA coach...
    — lalleva
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:48 PM, 03/31/2009
    You can't trade Young.
    — brannigan73


12 comments
About John Mitchell
John Mitchell is in his first year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.

Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.

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.

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