Win One, Lose One
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Win One, Lose One
Grant Hill, who scored 21 points last night, walks onto the court after a timeout in the fourth quarter.
Probably nobody thought that if the 76ers won one of their first two games on this Western swing that it would be the one against the Los Angeles Lakers. Or at least I didn't. But that's what just happened.
One night after stunning the Lakers with Andre Iguodala's buzzer-beating three-pointer, the Sixers appeared to fade against the Phoenix Suns, losing 126-116. After this game, everyone in the Sixers locker room agreed upon one thing: There just wasn't much defense played. Not by them. Not by the Suns. And that's just the way
As much as the excuse was offered that the Lakers win drained them, the Sixers wouldn't use it.
So what does this loss mean for this five-game, seven-day road trip. You know, I don't think it takes anything away from that win over
Some positives:
1.) If Donyell Marshall keeps getting minutes, and keeps shooting like he's shooting, then teams won't be able to zone the Sixers.
2.) Lou Williams is back. He is aggressive, shooting better, and providing that pop off the bench.
3.) Andre Miller, despite battling that nagging right calf strain, looks ready to make sure the Sixers finish the season strong.
These next two games on this trip, both of them, will determine if this swing is successful. Miller said going into the swing that three wins was the goal. Now that they've stolen one of the first two games, three wins is what they should come back to Philly with.
Okay, also, as we did last night in
By Kate Fagan
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
PHOENIX – Inside the sold out US Airways Center last night, defensive stops were about as plentiful as empty seats: There weren’t many.
And that’s just the way the Phoenix Suns like it: They ran end-to-end and defeated the 76ers, 126-116.
On the season, the Sixers allow an average of 96.4 points per game.
“We just didn’t play much defense,” said Sixers swingman Andre Iguodala.
Less than 24 hours earlier, the Sixers had left Los Angeles with a buzzer-beating win over the Lakers.
Bu playing the Suns the night after beating Los Angeles is a little like running a 5K the day after finishing a half-marathon: you’re tired, physically and mentally.
And then the pace quickens.
Last night, the ball went through the rim with about as much defense as the all-star game – played in this city a month ago.
The Suns, who hadn’t played in three days, were more rested than these Sixers, who played the second of a back-to-back.
There were other reasons for last night’s loss – the dominance of Shaquille O’Neal (26 points), the efficient play of Grant Hill (21 points), the finesse of Steve Nash (24 points) – but the Sixers looked like they had taken a body blow from which they could not, in time, recover.
Had the emotion of that Lakers’ win affected the Sixers’ performance?
“Nah, not at all,” said small forward Thaddeus Young, who finished with 23 points. “We went out there and played hard, we just couldn’t get stops. We were just trading bucket-for-bucket.”
Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said the emotion of the previous night’s victory did not affect his team, but the energy deficit did.
Added DiLeo: “We just couldn’t stop them.”
More specifically, the Sixers couldn’t stop O’Neal, who appeared on the block last night like a cement pillar: unmovable. Despite an ever-changing defensive scheme – one-on-one, a quick double team, a delayed double team – O’Neal finished 12 for 18 from the field with 11 rebounds.
The loss ends a four-game winning streak and drops the Sixers to 34-32. The Suns improve to 37-31, but are still one spot outside of the Western Conference playoff race.
Earlier in the day, the Miami Heat, one spot in front of the Sixers in the Eastern Conference standings, had lost to the Boston Celtics; the Sixers missed a chance to close the gap but retained the sixth spot.
The Sixers continue their Western swing by returning to California for a game against the Golden State Warriors on Friday then play the Sacramento Kings on Sunday before finishing on Monday at the Portland Trailblazers.
“We’re playing good basketball …” said DiLeo just minutes after the loss. “I like the way we’re playing.”
Last night, the Suns shot 57.6 percent from the field, the Sixers 54.9 percent, which signaled either precision shooting or non-existent defense.
Or both.
Early in the game, the Suns built a 10-point lead by playing a 2-3 zone.
Then, Donyell Marshall checked into the game.
Recently, Marshall’s three-pointers have carried the Sixers perimeter effort. Each time the Sixers brought the ball up court, Marshall would lick the tips of fingers, preparing in case the Suns left him a sliver of space.
But it didn’t appear Phoenix would, as the corner defender for the Suns – often Grant Hill – would spy where Marshall went, calling out who should cover the Sixers most legitimate outside threat.
For Marshall’s first five minutes, he couldn’t find the gap in the Phoenix zone.
With 3:56 remaining in the half, the Sixers trailed 59-49. Ninety seconds later, they were ahead 60-59.
How?
A three-pointer from point guard Andre Miller, who finished with 23 points, back-to-back threes from Donyell Marshall, and a fast break dunk from Andre Iguodala (11 points). The Sixers went to halftime leading 66-63.
Quicker than it takes to circle City Hall, it was a whole new ball game.
But as the frantic pace extended into the third quarter, and through the fourth, the Suns began to put a few possessions difference between themselves and the Sixers.
And in a game where defensive stops, especially for the Sixers, were rare, closing a gap proved to be impossible.
“There wasn’t any defense out there by either team,” Miller said.
Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.
--Kate
Comments (14)
Did Sammy take the night off? I didn't watch the game but that's my impression from reading the box score.— old baseball guy- No we got screwed horribly. Shaq walked two times, the refs counted a 3-pointer from jason richardson when the shot clock clearly went off, and we didn't get 2-3 shooting foul calls. Yeah we lost, but you can't take away from us due to bad officiating.— deasytrent
- Am i the only one that is frustrated with DiLeo's rotation and substitution patterns? Last night's game was winnable, if he had better rotations and mixed it up a little.— sixersphan
- I am usually a Sam supporter, but he looked lethargic last night. I guess banging with a 350 lb. hulk can do that to you though. He just didn't seem into the game. Shaq totally dominated him. There were some bad calls, but we didn't deserve to win anyway. I still think Reggie is getting too many minutes. He never should have been matched up with Shaq.— zebra
- Turnabout is fair play: the Suns came into Philly and got blown out after a big road win in Detroit the night before (Sixers were rested then). Playing the second game of a back-to-back is tough against a good offensive team. While the Sixers had a good shooting game (and also an unheard-of 24 assists to 6 turnovers), they were a step or two slow on defense and on the defensive glass. Nash was aggressive early (trying to atone for his 1-8 for 2 points in Philly) and caused lots of trouble with his dribble penetration. Combine that with Sam's inability to stop Shaq 1-on-1, and the Sixers had no answers on defense. Two moments that stopped any comeback thoughts: the crazy clear path foul on Miller (just a horrible call) and Thad's inability to rebound Shaq's missed free throw, followed by JRich's rebound bucket to stretch the lead from 7 to 9. Onto Golden State, where the Sixers *must* pay attention to defense and not take the Warriors lightly. The Warriors have scored at least 116 points in 5 straight games, winning 3 of them, and have a bunch of wing players who can score well. In many respects, Friday is the key game of the road trip, because a win would lead into an even more winnable game against Sacramento, allowing the Sixers to think about stealing that last game in Portland.— Statman
- Statman, good point about the back to back. I was at the game in Philly and the Suns looked awful that night. Shaq could barely get up and down the court. Nash looked 42,etc. I agree that this Warriors team is dangerous. Their strength (shooting the 3) is our weakness (defending the 3). This is the key game! The Sixers need to bring out their 'A' game Friday night.— zebra
- That clear path foul was absurd. Miller had a clean shot to make a play on the ball and the contact was incidental. I don't know what the letter of that rule says, but they need to re-examine if it really allows for that call to be made. I was actually more angry about the no calls on shaq's many travels. He may as well start calling himself rick friggin steves. There were at least two times that it was blatantly obvious before the replay was even replayed that he took more steps than an aerobics instructor. I try to avoid complaining about officiating, but when it changes the game, its a problem. And there's a stong arument that between the 3 that wasnt, shaq's step class, and the clear path foul you're looking at in the neighborhood of a 10 point swing. but anyway, all other things beging equal is tough to get a W if you let the other team shoot over 60%. Agree with statman that we need to tighten up the D in order to have a chance at winning against GS.— K,M
- kate: agree with your points on the positive side. nevertheless, some downside as well. a zone in this game would've worked well for us as well to both prevent shaq from taking it to dalembert/evans and nash's penetration. even earlier in the year, many (well, several at least) of us were suggesting more key minutes for marshall and now it's finally paying off. sixers certainly should not take either the warriors (as statman and zebra indicated) or even the kings lightly. perhaps it's realistic to say 3 wins is a good trip but the focus should be nailing each of the remaining games. road trips and back-to-backs are hard (as the stats undoubtedly show, right statman!) but they shouldn't be a built-in excuse.— 127sixer59
- No team in the league is winning this game after beating the Lakers the night before. Not that it couldn't ever happen just the chances of it are extremely small. The Suns are not a bad tean, were rested, and play a very up-temp game. Beat Sacramento and Golden State and this was an extremely successful trip imo.— brannigan73
- with regards to the clear path foul, i found a 2006-07 nba rule book online. On page 44 it states: two free throw attempts and possession of the ball on the sideline nearest the spot where play was interrupted if an offensive player, or a teammate, is fouled while having a clear-path-to-the-basket. The ball and an offensive player must be positioned between the tip-of-circle extended in the backcourt and the basket in the frontcourt, with no defender between the ball and the basket when the personal foul occurs. There must be team possession and the new play must originate in the backcourt, including throw-ins, and the offended team must be deprived of an opportunity to score an uncontested basket. Salmi was right last night when he said the refs told him that the player doesn't need to have possession. Only team possession has to exist. Team possession begins when a player on that team has control of the ball (the player who passed it upcourt to richardson) and is maintained until the other team gains control. So even though it appeared to be a loose ball, phoenix is still in team possession when the contact occured.— zebra
- zebra: it's funny, Evans played only 8 minutes last night, but it still seemed like too many! There are times when the Sixers need his physical play to change the flow of a game, but other times his kamikaze-style defense (double-teaming the ball 40 feet from the basket) causes too many breakdowns and leaves the Sixers scrambling, switching, and rotating, none of which they do well. Unfortunately, Speights was horrible in his short stint last night too. I didn't think it was possible to give up so many and-one's in such a short time. That said, it would be a shame in the long run if Marshall's minutes (well-deserved, I must say) come at the expense of Speights'. One other note: Royal Ivey is absolutely killing the Sixers' bench play. He's a decent defender (the best among the Sixer guards and 2nd-best on the team behind Iguodala in opponents' PER at 14.3), but he's one of the worst offensive players in the league (an almost unfathomable PER of 8.7, shooting under 30% in both 2's and 3's since February) and he is by far the worst of the Sixers in +/- stats (-105, no one else worse than -48). Among Ivey, Rush, and Willie Green (who would be a good bench player but is a below-average starter), the Sixers might have the worst 2-guard combo in the league.— Statman
- statman: I noticed the same thing about reggie's minutes last night after I posted originally. Hard to believe only 8 minutes. If Marshall is going to get into the rotation, Reggie needs to be removed from the regular rotation. Right now, Speights's and Young's minutes are taking too much of the brunt. Reggie needs to be used as a situational player only if we need to shake things up a bit. There was a game recently (might have been the hornets) when he did this to perfection.— zebra
- Everyobdy would have taken a split on those first two -- the Heat lost in Boston. What happened with Dalemebert- was he Shaqed or did he not exert any energy? Sorry, Kate - seems like you are the only person actually talking reality about players and club.— buff1
- If we had to split the first two games of the road-trip, I'm fine with what happened. We won a close game in LA the night before, and most players came back and shot well. Iguodala only had 11 points, but he only shot the ball 10 times. We needed another scorer in there, and we couldn't find another one on the bench. Speights did look very bad out there, but he is the only alternative on offense, and it still would have been a good move to try him at the end, when the team was unable to score. Still, the Sixers can make this a very successful 4-1 road trip which would put pressure on Miami. There are two things the Sixers need to accomplish before the end of the season. Secure the 5th or 4th slot in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs and develop a half court offense with Speights so the team has an option when they have trouble generating offense. If we can end this road trip 6 games over .500 I'll be very happy.— ricky
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About this blog
John Mitchell is in his second 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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