Posted: Monday, April 21, 2008, 6:38 PM | 11 comments |
 

Sixers Didn't Need Perfect Game To Beat Detroit
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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – After losing Sunday's opening playoff game 90-86 to the 76ers, the Detroit Pistons insisted that they didn't take their opponent lightly.

And in this case the Pistons are to be believed. What seemed to happen is that when the Pistons took a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter, Detroit appeared to think the game was over. At that point, the Pistons appeared to relax mentally, while the Sixers kept charging.

"Usually when get leads in the second half it's because we take care of the basketball, get shots we want and our ability to make free throws," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said after Monday's practice. "Those are games we don't let slip away."

But?

"We let it slip away," he said.

The Sixers meanwhile were doing their best not to gloat after the big win. True to their nature, the Sixers didn't give Detroit any bulletin board material.

"We understand the type of players and team Detroit has," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said after Monday's light workout at the Palace of Auburn Hills. "We know it's a long series. It's not like they get rattled after losing a game."

No, but the Pistons were officially angry. The Sixers, meanwhile are loose. It should make for an interesting Game 2 on Wednesday.

So much of the talk the day after the win was what the Pistons didn't do. Detroit shot just 32 for 82 (39 percent) from the field. In the fourth quarter when the Pistons were outscored 27-16 and shot just 4 for 17, the Sixers' young legs seemed to win out.

Sure, Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey Billups Rip Hamilton and Antonio McDyess shot a combined 15 for 48 from the field for the game and that won't always happen against the Pistons.

But there is a flip side – no pun intended Pistons – to the thinking that the Sixers won because Detroit didn't capitalize on opportunities.

What if the Sixers had a decent shooting night from Andre Iguodala or Samuel Dalembert who were a combined 6 for 25?

It's not like the Sixers had to play the game of their lives to upset Detroit. The Sixers played far from a perfect game and still won. Remember, Andre Miller was shooting just 4 for 12 before entering the final period. Lou Williams shot 4 for 12 for the entire game.

So even though Detroit didn't play its best game, neither did the Sixers. And they were still able to win.That has to be an encouraging sign.
Posted by Marc Narducci @ 6:38 PM  Permalink | 11 comments
11
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:12 PM, 04/21/2008
    I was really upset watching Iggy last night. He has gotten worst at handling the ball, particularly at end of games. He reminds me of something I would see in High School. He either mishandles it; dribbles into trouble; and throws up a pray over his head. I know it probably wrong to change a guy's shot, but he really does not need all that arc on his shot as it takes away ability to put up a soft shot on the rim. Why doesn't Mo learn and just have Andre and Williams handle the ball at end of the game. At least, his recent end of game performance should make Ed more willing to fight a "max" contract for him. Having said that, I do recognize he has a lot of ability; has shown year-to-year experience; and is a valuable contributor. So, I am not trying to drive him out of Philly. P.S. -- I am having trouble with this new posting method --not as user friendly. I guess it is because people may have abused the old method.
    — gba
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:44 PM, 04/21/2008
    Iggy is still learning his handle, but a middle game is also a weakness of his. It is either a jump shot or dunk. R. Allen!s biggest weakness when he got drafted was his handle but through repetition and practice he improved bigtime. He has won me over in the last month or so and I think they sign him to a salary worthy of his talent level.[12 to 15 mill.]Marc, agree about our level of play but as long as we get the W, especially on their court, they have to feel good. E.S. has to feel good about the level of maturity the young guys showed and the more playoff games they play this year the better.
    — seude
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:14 AM, 04/22/2008
    Thanks Marc, for keeping the site going. While I think there may be a fewer posts now that people are held accountable, I think that this will keep the trolls out. To his credit, Iguadala played some good defense. Let's see if he can bounce back next time. I would not be surprised to see this team take it to DEEEEtroit. They aren't intimidated, and Willy is one of the gods there. Keep it up, fellas.
    — xing
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:00 AM, 04/22/2008
    Marc, loved the article on Cheeks today. Also, I think i may have mentioned yesterday on one of the two shifting boards that i completely agree with your assessment re: our level of play. By all rights we shouldn't have won, but did anyway. I think its a great thing, since its hard to imagine getting worse games out of some of our main guys. Detroit has to know this, and would explain the flip's demeanor as you describe in the article now after beating them in the last three games, you have to think that we're getting into their heads. I may be going out on a limb, but i think we ride this momentum and take game 2 also.
    — K,M
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:22 PM, 04/22/2008
    Thanks for the new blog address, Marc. i must admit, after the game i was not impressed with the win. fresh in my mind were lots of bad plays (sammy d throwing the inbound out of bounds), bad shots (Iggy high arcing, man in face, fade away, 19 ft 2-pointers), Piston screw-ups (billups 3 missed FTs) and what seemed like horrendus Philly rebounding. i felt like Detroit gave the game away rather than philly winning. but after looking at the box score, i was actually quite impressd - we outrebounded detroit 45-43, and were just about even with offensive boards. held rasheed to a dismal 9-21 shooting, held RIP to 5-17 shooting. id like to see better shot selection and fewer mistakes tomorrow night.
    — AaronMcKie4MVP
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:17 PM, 04/22/2008
    Why isn't game two nationally televised? This is really upsetting to sixers fans who don't live in greater philly area. Philadelphia and Detroit are big enough media markets for every game to be nationally televised. Instead, I left watching another Boston-Atlanta blow out!
    — EtB
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:14 PM, 04/22/2008
    I agree with you i am a long time sixer fan here in upstate NY, i would rather see them and the pistons instead of the celtics blowing out the hawks
    — USMC07
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:30 PM, 04/22/2008
    I guess Sixerville doesn't like this new format. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted...
    — sixerzguy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:33 PM, 04/22/2008
    Just checking to see if this works for Internet Explorer 7...
    — sixerzguy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:40 PM, 04/22/2008
    I submitted this comment with Internet Explorer 7.
    — sixerzguy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:17 PM, 04/22/2008
    Sixerzguy, I hope everybody comes back. This is such a nice release Marc. Notice the end of game lineup when we needed a stop, it was the lineup we all wished was starting. Can!t believe how good Thad will be in 4 years when he!s 23. Scary!!!
    — seude


11 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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