Posted: Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 10:11 PM | 19 comments |
 

Sixers on the brink -- again
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The other day Peter Luukko, who oversees both arena sports, said it would be folly to panic over the Flyers first-round exit. Despite a season of almost seeking a level of mediocrity, Luukko proclaimed the team to be close to the elite, proclaimed to still be excited about their core group.


Well, how ‘bout them Sixers? Should we or should we dismiss their feistiness against the third seed with a superstar center as simply a bad matchup for the favorite, the equivalent of a southpaw in boxing?


After last night’s 91-78 loss to Orlando the Sixers head back home for Game 6 – the same spot they were eliminated by the Pistons last year. Thus far the formula has been the same, the Sixers stunning the higher seed by taking a 2-1 lead, dooming themselves via mistakes and perhaps, makeup.
 

Are they any closer this year or last? Or on standby? Will Lou Williams, still just 22, rise past his inconsistencies? Or is this it, or close to it? Andre Iguodala is a star. Do we know if this will all work much better next year at this time with Elton Brand in the mix? And will we have to wait out an uneven regular season to find out?
 

The Sixers are not done. But last night’s game reflected what you thought you were going to see this whole series – Dwight Howard doing pretty much anything he wanted to, dropping 24 and grabbing 24 rebounds.
 

And yet…
 

There the Sixers were, down by six with plenty of time left on the clock last night.
 

Closer than last year? On standby?
 

If nothing else, maybe Game 6 will tell us that.
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Posted by Sam Donnellon @ 10:11 PM  Permalink | 19 comments
19
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:25 PM, 04/28/2009
    The headline says, they dropped game six....it was game 5
    — dawkins20d
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:30 PM, 04/28/2009
    If you say the Sixers dropped game 6, can you tell me the powerball numbers for tomorrow's drawing?
    — 2Parm
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:38 PM, 04/28/2009
    It's been fixed.
    — Jonathan Tannenwald
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:46 PM, 04/28/2009
    I'm sorry but Iguadola sucks!! How in the world did they give him $80 million! And please don't tell me he scored 26 points1 he stinks! Maybe they can find a sucker to trade him to, but I doubt it. Stefanski has done an awful job. Bring back Billy King!
    — scars73
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:46 PM, 04/28/2009
    It's obvious (and been obvious all year) the sixers are the same team they were last year. And will be in future unless they make drastic changes. Unfortunately they won't be able to.
    — dabonz
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:56 PM, 04/28/2009
    Sam, I beg you or one of your colleagues to write an article about how moronic Stan Van Gundy is in response to his post game comments regarding what Tony DiLeo said. Tony was lobbying, but Stan Van Gundy was handling it like a five year old. Stan wouldn't be so concerned if what Tony said weren't so true.
    — phillyphan70336
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:57 PM, 04/28/2009
    The Sixers have overperformed in this series. They were never going to pull out this series once Orlando realized they had to show up to win the series. The Sixers' defense and rebounding have not been good enough to take them through a long series. In fact it's pretty terrible to watch for an NBA team. If they can improve their efforts on defense and rebounding they will be a complete team next year. If Orlando falls asleep again the Sixers may get one more win, but a series win is a long shot. Separate topic.....Wouldn't you love to see the NBA champs play the NCAA champs each year? The college kids could surprise us. The NBA is getting lazier and lazier as far as putting together quality teams. Aside from sensational solo performers like Kolbe and LeBron, it's become the least interesting professional sport to tune into these days.
    — trishiae
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:00 PM, 04/28/2009
    @trishiae - you're certifiably crazy if you think the NCAA champs could come within 20 of beating the NBA champs
    — Tartan69
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:33 PM, 04/28/2009
    @Tartan69 - I don't think it is crazy at all. If anything it would prove that it truly takes a team effort to achieve a championship (as the Tarheels proved this year. As well as in recent years with international competition- until we decided to build a team based on a "team" instead of individual players). Look, I actually like this sixers team. They play hard and have a lot of heart, but the fact is that they shouldn't have signed Brand and should have traded A.I.( for draft picks, or a shooter or a true center) Unfortunately Stefanski thought he needed to make a big splash in his first full season instead of rebuilding
    — dabonz
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:45 PM, 04/28/2009
    Tell your robotic coach to stop whining. Who does that guy think he is?
    — OrlandoMagicFan
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:21 AM, 04/29/2009
    See ya next year Sixers. Like they say...in a 7 game series, the teams that win Game 5 (if they go that far) almost always win the series. Orlando and Boston did just that and mark my words, both teams will advance to the next round.
    — PhilMar
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:46 AM, 04/29/2009
    Bye-Bye Sixers, Flyers and of course the two-time loser Eagles, hahaha.
    — Superbowless Eagles
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:47 AM, 04/29/2009
    scars73: of all the crazy statements made by the Iguodala haters this year, yours takes the cake as the most out of touch with reality. Any rational person watching this series would have to acknowledge that Iguodala has been far and away the Sixers' best player, not just for his offense (22 ppg, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) but also for his defense (limiting Turkoglu to 12 ppg on 33% shooting). Without Iguodala, the Sixers would probably have been swept. But I guess none of that matters to your way of interpreting things ...
    — Statman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:49 AM, 04/29/2009
    DWIGHT HOWARD WILL BE SUSPENDED FOR GAME 6..SIXERS WILL WIN GAME 6..FORCE GAME 7 ND STEAL IT..U JUST WATCH IT HAPPEN
    — strech215
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:55 AM, 04/29/2009
    I watched all he games Statman, and you can't go by STATS, like your name. How many tunrovers does he have? How many times does he just drive to the basket out of control and just throws up a shot, praying it will go in, or hoping he will get fouled. He is a great athelte, not a great basketball player, when I say stinks, he stinks in relation to his $80 million contract. He is maybe a number 2 or number 3 type player, not a star. he will never make an all-star team or come close to an MVP, so how do you justify the $80 million he is getting paid? And the reason he gets numbers is because the ball is in his hands so often, since that is the plays the Sixers call. Problem is, they don't have much else. Thad is a real good player, but again, not a number one go to guy. But he isn't being paid those type of bucks yet.
    — scars73


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About Sam Donnellon
Donnellon's career began in Biddeford, Me., in 1981, and has included stops in Wilkes-Barre, Norfolk, and New York, where he worked as a national writer for the short-lived but highly acclaimed National Sports Daily. He has received state and national awards at each stop and since joining the Daily News in 1992 has been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Associated Press Managing Editors of Pennsylvania and the Keystone Awards. He and his wife of 26 years have raised three fine children, none of whom are even the least bit impressed with the above. E-mail Sam at donnels@phillynews.com
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