Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2009, 6:45 PM | 8 comments |
 

Caution
options
 
Mickael Pietrus shooting free throws before tonight's game. Pietrus has defended Andre Iguodala well this series, in the minutes he's been matched against him.

There are a lot of people who are already talking about Saturday's Game 7. No Dwight Howard. No Courtney Lee. That should equal an easy 76ers victory tonight, shouldn't it? Two starters gone from Orlando's lineup, 36 points per game, 18 rebounds. It's an interesting position for the Sixers. Through five playoff games, they've been the underdog, not expected to win a game. Now, after a couple of Howard elbows, they are presented with this: A should-win game, an elimination game that, if Orlando wins, would be quite an embarrassing way to end this season.

For the first time in this series, there is all kinds of pressure on the Sixers and none on the Magic.

There seem to be two options at each position for the Magic. To replace Lee, either J.J. Redick or Mickael Pietrus. To replace Howard, either Tony Battie or Marcin Gortat. *Update: Redick and Gortat will start.

We've seen all four of these guys off and on this series. Some thoughts.

1.) If Pietrus gets the bulk of the minutes tonight, maybe shifts to the small forward spot at times, keep on eye on his defense of Andre Iguodala. Throughout this series, when he's guarded Iguodala -- when Hedo Turkoglu rests -- he has been very effective on Iguodala. He seems to have no help responsibilities and he's very physical with Iguodala. The Sixers might be getting a break with Lee's offense missing, but Pietrus is an improved defensive option. Redick? Not so much. Willie Green should score anytime he wants against Redick. But the one thing with the former Dukie that he has shown in all his minutes this series (and all his life?) that he will shoot the ball -- all the time. So far, he's shot it poorly. But we've all watched Redick, for the better part of this decade, go on streaks and make 4 or 5 three-pointers in a row. The Sixers have kept the Magic's three-point shooting at bay. Tonight can't be the night that effort goes by the wayside. 

With Redick on the floor, Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said the Sixers would go after him on the perimeter, but only "in the flow" of the offense, that they won't go out of their way to isolate Redick outside.

2.) Howard missing. All right, so that's going to be a gaping hole for the Magic. But let's remember that in Game 2, in the last 3 minutes after Howard fouled out, the Magic grabbed a handful of killer offensive rebounds. They came from Pietrus, Gortat, Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, etc. They did not come from Howard. It was that game that Howard had his worst game of the series, and the Sixers lost by double digits. So .... 

So you would expect Samuel Dalembert to make his presence felt. That's what you would expect. He'll be playing two backup NBA centers, so he really should dominate the paint tonight. He should have 15 rebounds -- at least. I think a huge portion of this game rests on Dalembert's shoulders: Is he still going to pick up two early fouls, is he going to dominate like he should? Your guess is as good as mine. Really.

One other thing to watch is Thaddeus Young on Rashard Lewis, and Lewis dominating him on the block. DiLeo said this was because Young was in foul trouble last game, but I still think it's worth watching to see if Lewis will take Young to the block and continue to make those little 5-footers. Lewis and Turkoglu will be getting the bulk of Howard's shots. Given these guys haven't been great this series, that could be a good thing. But, also, given these guys have yet to be great, and might start being great, and given a lot of their makes will count for 3 points, and given they will shoot 80 percent from the free throw line, you never know.

I just asked DiLeo if Dalembert should dominate tonight. He avoided mentioning Sam's performance specifically, saying only that "the Sixers" should dominate the lane.

Those are just a few thoughts. We all know the Sixers should win this game. They know they should win this game. Let's hope that doesn't become a problem. DiLeo said he didn't even address the issue of overconfidence with his team. He said this is the playoffs, not a regular season game. They are focused.

Also of note, this game should draw about the same crowd as the first two, which means about 4,000 empty seats -- and that's using the Sixers attendance numbers.

One more thing ... If you want to read how Dwight Howard feel's about this suspension, click here: Howard blog.

--Kate

 
Posted by Kate Fagan @ 6:45 PM  Permalink | 8 comments
8
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:37 PM, 04/30/2009
    in my 43 years as a Sixer fan, this was the poorest performance by a group of grown men that call themselves professionals I've ever seen!!! I love Miller, but if I was him I wouldn't even want to play with this group of guys!!! Absolutely horrible!!! I'm embarrassed!! They should be, but for some reason I doubt if Dalembert is...
    — jthomas40
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:23 PM, 04/30/2009
    jthomas, why would these young group of millionares really care about the score? All anyone in the NBA these days cares about is getting their mug on ESPN and that their check clears. The NBA is a dying league, just like the NHL. If both leagues went belly up tomorrow, very few of us would even realized it happened. I for one would never drop a penny to watch either sport in Philly. Ther would be a penny too much spent. Sorry for going WAY over the heads of the fans either sport. Respong as you will to my post but I'm ""one and done" with my posts here so I won't see your response.
    — Bill R4
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:53 AM, 05/01/2009
    Kate, in a season filled with pregame writeups that were uncannily on the mark as far as what to watch for, your last one of the season was unfortunately accurate as well. It was, as Coach DiLeo said, a complete collapse, and it makes this series an exact mirror of last year's Pistons series. In retrospect, the last game of the regular season (when the Sixers struggled mightily to beat the Cavs' second team in OT) was a portent of things to come here. Some comments on this game and the series: (1) the Magic played relaxed from the start and the Sixers got tight when they fell behind; (2) all the talk about taking away the 3-point shooting was moot because the Sixers couldn't stop anything -- outside shots, Lewis post-ups, pick-and-rolls, penetrations; no defense and poor rebounding meant no momentum; (3) the tone of the game was set in the first quarter when Green and Miller got torched by Alston and Redick -- no excuse for that, but really no surprise for those who have watched the Sixers all year; (4) I thought the entire series turned when the Magic realized they could attack Thad by posting up Lewis -- Thad had no answers and really looked like he capitulated by the end of the game; (5) Iguodala played his worst game of the series. From a mental standpoint, he needed to be more assertive when things were going badly around the 3rd quarter, but he continued to try to play his "normal" game, giving the ball up a lot and not demanding it back. He took a definite step forward in this series, but the next step would be stepping it up mentally to be the "alpha dog" leader on the court. (6) Thad is obviously not ready for prime time. The good news is that he's young (no pun intended) and has time to improve. Hopefully, he will follow Iguodala's lead and come back next year better and tougher. (7) Andre Miller? He's got some admirable qualities, but he's not what this team needs at PG in the long run (a penetrator who can set up others and play defense).
    — Statman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:10 AM, 05/01/2009
    For next year, there is some reason to hope. The team has a good nucleus in Iguodala, Young, and Speights, and it's still possible that a good X's and O's coach could integrate them well with Brand. I'm not sure DiLeo is that coach (it's really too bad the timing worked out that Larry Brown was available only last year). If Brand is healthy, the two biggest needs are a point guard who can play defense and facilitate others and, of course, a bonafide shooting guard. It's almost impossible to win consistently in the NBA without being a good jump-shooting team, as we've seen in many of the other playoff series. None of the Sixers "shooting" guards (Green, Ivey, Lou, Rush) would see any minutes on the Bulls, for example. To me, all of them are expendable. Kate -- you've done a great job all year on Deep Sixer. Hopefully you'll be back next year, but if not, I wish you well in all your endeavors.
    — Statman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:16 PM, 05/01/2009
    Posting here rather than the new post because the new one is already flooded with the boo birds...(not that the sixers dont deserve it, but most of the responses to the new post are just incoherent). At any rate, within three or four minutes of that game i knew we weren't going to win. This team has consistently come out flat this year in games that we should win on paper, and last nite was no exception. Defensive effort was almost non-existent. the whole team was inexplicably settling for long jumpers when they had their first real opportunity to drive in the series. One of the major problems with this team the needs to be addressed are these tendencies to go on cruise control against team that are percieved as lesser threats. We also have too many undisciplined players. I more or less agree with Statman's individual assessments on that score. I doubt miller will be back, so that gives us a little cap space to play with. I'm pretty sure Rush was a one year contrat. Lou may have some trade value because he is still young. We may be able to dump Willie, but his contract makes it tough. Same deal for Dalembert. We also have to make a decision, (unless we can somehow dump sammy), between Smith and Speights. Speights seems to have a bit more offensive flair and Smith is 2 inches taller, but they are otherwise the same player.
    — K,M
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:15 PM, 05/01/2009
    taking a page from k,m, i'm posting here but pasting my comments from the post-game blog here so perhaps someone may read them if they care to. kate: before that, echoing statman you've done a fanstastic job of bringing an in-depth assessment of the players and games. glad you survived the early knocks, especially when interjecting some Colorado comments. hope you're around post-season, draft and next year. in the meanitme, enjoy some starbucks and unwind. and know percy harvin was a great draft choice for the vikings..."disturbing but sadly not surprising loss. disturbing for the effort and clear indication the team needs major changes that unfortunately will be difficult to make. kate: excellent and insightful job all year, you often seemed to have a sense for how the team would play and the key/correct analysis BEFORE the game. nicely done and hope you keep blogging, participating and chatting. statman: often agreed with your conclusions and do so with your above points. i've been following the sixers for a very long time and this performance ranks down there with them in terms of effort (lack thereof) and revealing the myriad weaknesses. magicfan: always interesting to have a perspective from a fan of another team (as long as its a real dialogue and not just calling out needlessly). still excited about brand returning and hopefully having a new coaching staff in place (ratliff's observations are pretty telling). rush and ivey were flops, marshall and ratliff about as expected, dalembert, green & evans played out and it should go for the team's benefit as well as for them. someone mentioned iverson: not sure if that would really do much for attendance but even if it did, the sixers should not go in that direction if they want to improve. hope stefanski can be creative and remake this team..."
    — 127sixer59
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:48 PM, 05/01/2009
    KM - glad to have found your comment here (the signal-to-noise ratio is much higher on this post!). Congratulations on making it through another year of Deep Sixer. So if you were the GM of the Sixers, who would you keep, who would you get rid of at all costs, and who would you part with for the right deal? (Kate might be planning a post-season post, so this question might be premature.) 127 - responded to your post briefly in the other thread, you may not have seen it amid all the shouting ;-)
    — Statman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:25 PM, 05/01/2009
    statman: saw your other post, thanks. definitely liked the facts and figures you provided as well as the points gleaned from them. read the deep sixer blog last year but didn't participate. liked kate's analysis and enthuasism early on and sort of jumped in when there were some negative comments about colorado (not that she needed any help...). core members are iguodala, brand, young, speights with everyone else being expendable (although it will be difficult to restructure). i've always thought dalembert had real potential but it seems like it's a tease. even though he has the rebounding traits we need, it's better for all if he goes despite the fact we won't get full value (if anything unless we pick up a portion of his $). and i like green but as a role player not a frontline force. as important as a new player mix will be, we also have to get the coach and staff right. ever since brown left, it's been too chaotic. it's a key decision and even though dileo will have a place in the organization, it should not be directly in coaching. a clean sweep of the staff (not said lightly since it involves careers) but from the perspective of instilling a new environment. such high expectations to start the year and the fans were ready to embrace it. almost like the '08 tigers although the sixers at least made the playoffs. cheers, statman and k,m.
    — 127sixer59


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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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