Posted: Monday, March 23, 2009, 9:49 PM | 18 comments |
 

From the Rose Garden
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The Sixers and Blazers exchange warm greetings before tonight's game.

It's been a long road trip -- and I'm not the one playing. But here we are in Portland for the final game of this five-game swing. Game 5 in seven days. And the back end of a back-to-back. That is to say, in many ways, tonight's game is challenging. And, the Trailblazers are good. They're currently in sixth place in the Western Conference with a record of 44-26 -- but, like all the teams in that 2-8 crunch in the WC, they're two games out of second place.

After last night's win over the Sacramento Kings, the 76ers are now 35-33, and in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. They're 1-1/2 games out of both fifth place (currently held by the Miami Heat) and seventh place (currently held by the Detroit Pistons).

After last night's game, Sixers coach Tony DiLeo did say that he tried to rest his starters -- no one played more than 35 minutes. That's not to say tonight won't be a tough, tired game, but that is to say if DiLeo said the reason the Kings cut a 29-point lead to 11 was because he was resting his guys, then the Sixers shouldn't be as tired tonight as they were the night after the big win over the Lakers.

Lou Williams did mention last night that at this point in a road trip, it would be your reserves that win or lose games for you -- because the starters will be drained. But guys like Speights, Williams, Ivey, Evans, Marshall, etc. should have some legs left. So you have to think if the Sixers can run with the Blazers tonight, it will be because of some big nights from those guys.

A couple of things that seem interesting about tonight: 

1.) Andre Iguodala. He looks like he is shifting his mindset for this stretch run. He has a tendency to let chunks of the game drift past without asserting himself. But lately it seems he isn't doing that. He knows this is his team, and if anyone is going to bring them down this stretch with a chance to catch Miami, it's him. I think he knows that. He's the guy, and he is more than capable of doing it. Tonight he should play well. He started strong against the Kings and -- for the most part -- that was all the team needed from him. Tonight, they'll need more. And my guess is he will be ready.

2.) The key reserve. Who will it be? There have been a number of them lately: Williams has been playing well, Donyell Marshall has had a huge impact on the perimeter game, Marreese Speights has been scoring. I know Kareem Rush played well against the Kings the other night, but I would be surprised to see him in tonight's game. But we'll see. Regardless, the second unit will have to play very well if the Sixers are going to win tonight. The second quarter -- where the second unit makes the biggest appearance -- is going to be crucial.

3.) Portland will not be cruising down the stretch. What is tough when playing any decent Western Conference team is that they are scrambling for playoff position. A win or loss can drop a team from second to eighth (that's only a slight stretch). But the Blazers are not secure with either their playoff berth or with the seeding. And the Rose Garden will most likely be sold out. Before the game, we spoke with Nate McMillan, Portland's coach, about Greg Oden's injuries. McMillan was asked if Oden was -- or might be starting to be considered -- a bust.

Nate said: "You guys are sitting over there with Elton Brand ... injuries are part of the game." <-- good answer.

Sixers guard Andre Miller said before this trip that a successful trip would be three victories. So far, the Sixers are 2-2.

Game tips off in about 30 minutes ...

--Kate

 
Posted by Kate Fagan @ 9:49 PM  Permalink | 18 comments
18
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:05 AM, 03/24/2009
    Great game and great win. A win AT Portland - on the second night of a back to back - on the final game of a west coast road trip - in overtime. Wow
    — oldcitymatt
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:09 AM, 03/24/2009
    "89% FT shooting should be the goal every game." Absolutely agree but tonight ... 35 of 39 ?!? Wow. btw, anyone still carrying around the absurd notion that Andre Miller should have been moved before the trading deadline??
    — elbinkogrande
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:23 AM, 03/24/2009
    watched the game on NBA TV and was my first exposure to the Portland announcers. Brutal. Biggest homers I've ever heard, it's like those two jokers for the White Sox who yell "YES!" after every homer....but these two do it after every bucket. +++ The older guy was the worst. He would exclaim, as if he were a fan, on EVERY PLAY in the 2nd half. Before Roy's airball at the end of regulation he yelled out "Ivey is about to be put on a POSTER!" ++++ Every time the Blazers had the ball stolen or turned it over, it was because a Sixer ran into them or fouled them. Every time the Sixers made a nice play, it was off a travel or something. ++++ Also harped on the foul disparity....while failing to mention the Blazers chucked up 30+ 3's and the Sixers took 5 or 6 I think. As the game progressed, I became more and more infuriated with these two jokers. Minor league.
    — jmudukes79
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:57 AM, 03/24/2009
    Sixers could have rolled over very easily with bad calls and tough breaks after getting behind in the 4th...great character win!
    — JBP
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:01 AM, 03/24/2009
    jmudukes79: completely agree about the Blazers announcers, but the worst part was when NBA TV decided to cut out of OT a couple times to show the last seconds of the PHO-DEN game! Re: homerism, I live in the Boston area, so I'm used to it from the color guy (Tom Heinsohn is the worst), but I was amazed how biased the Blazers' play-by-play guy was. On one play when Iguodala was fastbreaking and nearly lost control of his dribble, he accused Iguodala of traveling, charging, and losing the ball out of bounds, when none of those things actually happened. On the crucial play of the game (Iguodala's drive and Aldridge's foul at the end of regulation), all they could talk about was how Aldridge's feet were outside the circle, not a word about how his feet were still moving. And on Dalembert's monster stop of Roy in OT, the play-by-play man kept shouting that Roy got fouled twice. Aren't play-by-play guys supposed to report what *actually* happens, not what they *want* to happen? In some ways, though, a win against a team with homers for announcers is even more satisfying ...
    — Statman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:30 AM, 03/24/2009
    Some comments about the game: (1) Team showed great resilience by coming back after losing their huge lead and trailing 85-79. Previous games where they got blitzed by a barrage of 4th-Q 3's [I think of @NO, @DEN, ORL], they couldn't recover; this time they did. (2) Thad Young is on a serious roll, shooting 54% and averaging 21 ppg this month. He struggled keeping Aldridge off the boards [Aldridge 10 o-rebs to Thad's 5 d-rebs] but more than made up for it with his own offense. Safe to say the Sixers have a Big Three now, which portents good things going forward. (3) Iguodala came through in the clutch again, with 4 big free throws, including the two high-pressure ones at the end of regulation. (4) I've been down on Evans lately, but he made a huge impact on this game [it helped that he made his lay-ups and free throws], with no play bigger than the kick-out to Iguodala for a 3 with 7 mins. left. (5) Sam struggled big-time for most of the game grabbing defensive rebounds, an unusual occurrence for him. The whole team really had trouble on the defensive glass, grabbing only 58% of the avail. d-rebs; if not for those struggles, the game would have been a blowout. (6) Credit Ivey for the huge stop on Roy at the end of regulation. Also credit DiLeo for bringing Miller back in for Ivey in the 4th after about 1 minute when things were getting out of hand. (7) FT-shooting was incredibly good, and they needed every one. (8) Roy was the 3rd superstar in the last 5 games the Sixers have held under 20 pts [after Wade and Kobe], so give a hand to the combo of Green and Ivey [to begin games] and Iguodala [at the end]. If only the defense were there against PHO and GS! (9) Overall, successful trip, and let's hope they don't let down vs. MIN on Wed.
    — Statman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:21 AM, 03/24/2009
    statman: keen observations and nice commentary since i only followed the game via blackberry which is not very satisfying/illuminating except for simply tracking the play instead of really having a sense of the action. one interesting "statistic" is point 8 of your second post-namely, holding superstar players under 20 points (and also seemingly rendering them otherwise ineffective in addition to scoring). the defense has weaknesses but shows some potential. how to get them to lock down consistently seems to be as big an issue as the actual scheme(s) employed. kate: nice to see the photos and have the late post-game reports.
    — 127sixer59
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:49 AM, 03/24/2009
    I was at the Rose Garden last night for the game. 6th row - near the Sixers bench. My first time seeing the team in person. The place was loud. Sure didn't look like a Sixers team on the last night of a long road trip. Andre Miller was the clear star of the game, and commanded everyone's attention - even during timeouts. He would sit on the scorer's table near the TV guys by himself and a number of players, coaches, etc would pay their respects each and every timeout. Sure seemed to me that it's Miller's team - and not Iggie's. Reggie Evans had some nice minutes - and seemed pretty upset that he was not seeing time when things go interesting in the second half. Donyell Marshall loved visiting with the TV guys during timeouts and getting new pieces of gum. He seemed more interested in the gum than anything else. Thanks Kate for terrific blog. You are appreciated.
    — Zentner
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:50 PM, 03/24/2009
    Interesting comments re: the blazers announcers. I often wonder how non-philly fans take Zumoff's "For the win...YESSS!!!", "Sammy (or whoever) has been LARGE here in the 4th", and his other catch phrases. To a certain extent, i think homerism is expected from home announces (recall Wheeler's little dance when the phils won...). Sounds like these guys were particularly egregious though...Anyway, good result overall on the West Coast swing. I was starting to think these guys were coming apart, but esp. the LA game and this one were good character wins...If they were an NCAA team you might talk about how those types of wins put them in consideration for the tourney. Good stuff. Lets keep it up.
    — K,M
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:53 PM, 03/24/2009
    KM: I don't get annoyed when announcers get excited about great plays by the home team -- that's expected to some degree, as you note. But when an announcer (esp. the play-by-play guy) starts complaining about calls or non-calls, that's when it gets annoying. For the most part, Zumoff avoids that kind of homerism. Zentner: interesting observation that Miller is the emotional leader of the team (I can believe it), but he was NOT the star of the game. He played well in the first half, but he had a very spotty 2nd half until the very end (3rd Q was esp. brutal, 0-4 with 2 turnovers, outscored by Blake 12-1). Stars of the game were Evans in the 2nd, Thad in the 3rd, Iguodala in the 4th, and then a team effort in OT.
    — Statman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:56 PM, 03/24/2009
    Statman, great points as always. Love the way Philly grinded out this west coast swing. Living in CT, i could not agree with you more about Tom Heinson. He is absolutely the most horrendous color commentator in the history of sports. I've been watching the Sixers since 1990 and i have always hated him. I actually call in to WEEI to complain about him after Sixers games but they never put let me get on the air. The Iverson years were probably the worst to swallow. everytime AI got to the line Heinson was on the verge of having a heart attack. Can't wait for him to retire. Gorman on the other hand is top notch play by player. Too bad with the leage pass we still have to watch the Celtics local feed for Sixers games. Oh well. Anyways, GO SIXERS
    — CT6ersfan
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:32 PM, 03/24/2009
    CT6ersfan, don't know if you're old enough to remember Johnny Most, but he was an order of magnitude worse than even Heinsohn (who is certainly the worst today). Johnny, who was the main radio voice of the Celtics for many years, would get so riled up when calls went against the Celtics that it was hard to tell what was going on. His call of the 86-87 Finals Game 4 ending was classic: he was ranting and raving about how Mychal Thompson didn't control the missed free throw before calling time out, spent about 2 seconds mentioning that Magic's Junior Skyhook went in to win the game (only one of the most famous shots in NBA history), then went back to ranting about the bad call that stole the game from the Celtics. In those days, the Celtics/Sixers rivalry was white hot, so all the Sixers were fair game ... but his favorite targets were Darryl Dawkins and Moses -- often calling them "yellow" and "gutless," words that would get any announcer fired today. But yeah, it's still painful to have to listen to Tommy today (don't look now but there's a chance the Sixers could play the Celtics in the first round!).
    — Statman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:15 PM, 03/24/2009
    While we would all HOPE they can win the next 3, I would be fine if they won two, provided they whack DET on Sunday. MIA has a rough TX trip to deal with, and we, unfortunately, have 2 games at end vs Cavs which both are Sixer back end back to backs, neither 4 Cavs. Am unsure a matchup vs ORL is any more difficult (for this team) than vs Hawks; Sixers are more than capable of winning 1 of 2 playoff road games in open of series vs Either, if Sam is ready v ORL. Horford is a beast for Sixers w that Hawks lineup. OK, am ahead of myself. Sixers, at a minimum, will again be a scary foe for any opponent, in East. I think
    — Sausalito Slick


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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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