Andre Who? Spencer Hawes Steals the Spotlight in Season Debut

Last night, I attended the Philadelphia 76ers' 2012-13 season opener against the Denver Nuggets with silver fox and a friend of ours.

The game itself was mostly supposed to be about Andre Iguodala playing in first real game as a Denver Nugget right back here in Philadelphia, against the only NBA franchise he had known prior to being dealt in the blockbuster Andrew Bynum-Dwight Howard trade. His return and reception were billed as the biggest storylines, even more so than the new-look Sixers since Bynum is out of commission at the moment as he mends his knee.

And while Iguodala's reception was a smattering of cheers and a larger contingent of boos, as Jrue Holiday predicted, the Iguodala storyline quickly faded in this one — though there was one hilariously enthusiastic kid sitting at the end of our row who started saying "Boo Andre, boo Andre," about 20 minutes before tipoff and never relented. Pretty funny stuff.


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However, the return of Andre Iguodala was about as underwhelming as it gets, mainly because Iggy played one of the worts games of basketball I have ever seen him play in his entire career. I don't know if he was pressing and trying to do too much to sort of show the Philadelphia fans and Doug Collins that he really is a star or he was just having one of those hideous offensive shooting nights that drove us nuts during his time as a Sixer, but Andre was bad. Real bad. As in almost comically bad, to the point where I wouldn't have wanted him on my team under any circumstance last night.

Not only did he shoot an abysmal 5-13 from the floor, including going a woeful 0-4 from deep (yeah, Andre, that's why Doug didn't want you launching those), he was way off. He didn't just miss shots, he missed them badly. I mean, it looked like he had never shot a basketball in his entire life, to be honest with you. Beyond that, he didn't even really stuff the stat sheet the way normally does. It was an all-around pathetic showing by Iguodala in his Denver debut, in front of his longtime fans no less. Booing him wasn't even necessary. Frankly, fans should have been cheering every time he had the ball because it was beneficial for the Sixers.

In fact, that was kind of the story of the entire game for Denver. The Nuggets, a trendy team that some people even consider a dark horse for the Finals, looked completely lost on offense without the injured Danilo Gallinari in the lineup. Corey Brewer was laughably terrible, to the point where I was ecstatic when he had the ball. Ty Lawson was contained early. Iggy was a complete non-factor. Ditto Jordan Hamilton and Kenneth Faried. Hell, Wilson Chandler was trying to do things on offense it was so bad for Denver.

Truthfully, the only Denver Nugget who looked like he could do anything in the first half was that other former Sixer, Andre Miller. Miller, playing his typical old-man game, just seemed to do whatever he wanted, getting the rim the way only wily old men do, finding passing lanes and creating the few chances the Nuggets had.



But the Sixers jumped out early and never looked back, playing the type of basketball that is completely opposite from what we're used to. With Jason Richardson, Nick Young and Dorell Wright rotating in and out, this team just guns it. There is no shot these guys won't take, no moment when the three isn't' a viable option. And it's damn exciting to watch, at least when the team is winning and hitting those shots. Last night, they were in the first half, which allowed the Sixers to build a lead.

But it wasn't the shooting, or even the impressive first half of Jrue Holiday, or the woeful night for the Nuggets that allowed the Sixers to kick off the season with an 84-75 victory. Actually, those same entities flipped midway through the third quarter, and the Sixers were dangerously close from letting their lead get away. Wright and Richardson went cold from beyond. Jrue started forcing stupid shots early in the clock and playing really dumb basketball. And Ty Lawson finally kicked things into gear. Before you knew it, a 14-point lead had shrunk to three.

However, there was one guy there to save the day: Spencer Hawes and his ridiculous haircut.



In a game that featured two young, exciting point guards, a game that featured Andre Iguodala returning to Philadelphia, a game that featured a hard workers like Kenneth Faried and a talent like JaVale McGee, a game that included former No. 2 overall pick Evan Turner — who was invisible by the way (credit Iggy for some of that, at least) — it was Spencer Hawes who was head and shoulders the best player on the court. I mean, he was better than everyone else out there by miles. It was stunning to see, even more impressive than his early-season dominance last year.

Hawes had one of the most impressive games of his life, scoring 16 points and nabbing 12 rebounds on 6-11 shooting and even hitting 2-3 from beyond the arc. But it was so much more than that. He added five devastating blocks, which felt like 15. He was literally defending the rim with his life, altering countless shots beyond the five he blocked. Hawes was also all over the place on both ends of the floor, picking up two steals, hustling his ass off and simply outworking everyone out there.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around and Hawes threw back yet another intimidating — yes, I said intimidating — block, the Wells Fargo Center was in a total uproar, first starting the absurd and yet wholly appropriate "M-V-P! M-V-P!" chants, followed by a deafening chorus of "SPEN-CER HA-WES! CLAP, CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!" It was not even remotely what I expected heading down to the game, and it was everything that makes basketball great.

The crowd was electric from the start, anticipating a new season with new players and a new philosophy, not to mention amped up to go all out against Andre Iguodala. The game, even with all its sloppiness and poor shooting, was exciting. And Spencer Hawes put on a show that no one really expected. It was as fun as a season opener gets.

The game was supposed to be about Andre Iguodala returning home. Instead, it was about an oafish-looking 7-footer with an absurd haircut making all those fans who wished the Sixers would not have re-signed him this offseason stand up and cheer his name in unison. The NBA is back in Philadelphia, and I could not be happier about it — or happier about the very friendly (four years, $41 million) Jrue Holiday extension.

This season is going to be fun.

Evan, Andre, Andre & One Wild 4th Quarter (& Horrible OT Call)

Do you see the woman above that Allen Iverson is screaming at? Her name is Violet Palmer, and she is the worst referee in the NBA. Don't believe me? Just ask Steve Nash:



Last night, she showed exactly why damn near every image you see of her on the Web involves someone yelling at her or mocking her by making one of the absolutely worst charging calls of all time. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that. With the Sixers down by 2 in overtime, Evan Turner drove to the lane, jumped sideways to avoid making contact with Nene Hilario as Nene was sliding sideways to bump Turner when out of nowhere, Palmer called a charge on Evan. It was quite literally as bad of a call as I've ever seen. This wasn't even close. It was a textbook block by Nene, who intentionally slid into Turner as Turner was in the air, jumping sideways purposefully to avoid contact, and yet this sorry excuse for a referee made an impossibly horrid call on Turner, handing the ball unjustly back over to the Nuggets, who then would hit what turned into the game-winning shot.

It was a disappointing, deflating end to an otherwise outstanding basketball game — one that had everything basketball fans could ask for.

The Sixers asserted themselves quite emphatically in the opening quarter, opening up a 14-point lead at one point and finishing the first 12 minutes up 9 against a very good Denver team. Making it even more impressive, the Sixers did it without starting center and early-season star Spencer Hawes, who missed the game with back trouble, giving rookie Nik Vucevic his first career start. It was the type of start we've come to expect from the 2011-12 Sixers, smothering one of the highest-scoring teams in the league with relentless defense to hold the Nuggets to just 19 first-quarter points.

However, things went south from there. George Karl inserted a familiar face in Andre Miller, and the potent Denver offense began to bare its teeth. The wily former Sixer showed just how comfortable he still is in Philadelphia, taking over the show with 8 points and 5 assists to close out the first half as the Nuggets exploded for 32 second-quarter points. And Miller was only getting warmed up.

Conversely, the Sixers stopped doing what they had in the opening quarter, namely on offense. This season, the Sixers have become one of the top-scoring teams by sharing the ball and moving it around on offense. When they're doing that, they put up points in bunches. Where they get in trouble is when they stop moving the ball and start playing a one-on-one type of game. That's what happened in the second quarter. All too often, there'd be a possession where the ball stopped with one player trying to make something happen in an iso situation. Whether it was Jrue Holiday's youth coming through by jacking up a quick, ill-advised shot or Andre Iguodala attempting to break down his defender, it turned ugly rather quickly. Elton Brand's jumper stopped falling. Lou Williams could never quite get going. If it wasn't for Thaddeus Young's 12 first-half points, who knows how far the Sixers could have fallen.

But the 4th quarter is really where the drama began to unfold. After the Sixers and Nuggets battled to a 27-27 stalemate in the 3rd, the game shifted to an intense, back-and-forth playoff-type atmosphere of a game, with two of the deepest, most athletic and most well-coached teams in the league going at it.

It was nothing short of thrilling, and the Wells Fargo Center was rocking. On one side, you had Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner and Andre Iguodala teaming up with ferocious defense, aggressive drives and huge buckets. On the other side, you had the aging Andre Miller almost single-handedly pulling his teammates along with him.

I mean that quite literally. Here are all the scoring plays, and relevant big plays, from the 4th quarter:

Turner jump shot made, 74-82
Turner free throw made, 75-82
Iguodala rebound
Young layup made, 77-82
Brand steal
Brand layup made, 79-82
Iguodala rebound
Iguodala dunk, 81-82
Iguodala rebound
Iguodala tip in, 83-82
Turner rebound
Turner rebound
Turner layup, 85-82
Miller jump shot made, 84-85
Lawson jump shot made, assist by Miller (his 10th), 86-85
Brand dunk, 87-86
Turner two free throws made, 89-86
Miller three-pointer made, 89-89
Iguodala jump shot made, 91-89
Iguodala rebound
Turner jump shot made, 93-89
Miller layup made, 91-93
Miller free throw, 92-93
Miller jump shot made, 94-93
Holiday layup made, 95-94
Miller jump shot made, 96-95
Iguodala free throw miss
Iguodala free throw made, 96-96
OT



Turner had an absolute breakout game, filling the stat sheet with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals — and more importantly, he looked more confident than he ever has since entering the NBA. Turner wanted the ball in crunch time and came through time and time again. At least until the bogus charging call on him OT.

Thad was outstanding all game long, chipping in a team-high 22 points and creating a steal that led to a dunk to make the WFC erupt.

And Iguodala had a tremendous fourth quarter, playing remarkable defense, dunking on people and even hitting a couple huge shots. Of course, you can't talk about late-game moments and Andre Iguodala without having something disappointing happen. Last night was no exception.

After Jrue Holiday showed some balls and drove for a bucket to put the Sixers up 1 with 16.9 left, Andre Miller came through again, hitting yet another bucket to score points 25 and 26 and put Denver up 96-95 with 7.9 to play. As I was relaying how crazy the fourth quarter was and updating silver fox on the play-by-play since he was out at the time, I wrote:

Miller just put them ahead, 7.9 left

It's crazy

His response:

Don't give it to Dre

Of course they did, and Andre got fouled with a chance to put the Sixers ahead. Instead, Iguodala did what he's starting to become synonymous with doing, missing the first free throw. Luckily he hit the second to tie the game up, and Andre Miller's last-second heave missed, sending the game to overtime. But god damn, it sure would have been nice to see Iguodala hit both freebies and come away with the victory. Sadly, that just doesn't seem to be in him. In fact, he's been miserable at the foul line this year, shooting an inexcusable 66.7 percent. Defying all logic, Iguodala has been somehow becoming a worse free-throw shooter over the years, shooting under 70 percent last season and dipping even lower this year.

The guy is a career 74.3 percent free-throw shooter, hitting a career-high 82 percent in 2006-07. But since, he's topped out at just 73.3 percent, and now is down to 66.7 percent. That's simply not acceptable for a shooting guard in his 8th season as a pro.

Still, Iggy had a great 4th quarter and helped the Sixers get to overtime, and the game was simply awesome to watch. The drama kept up in OT. The teams continued to go back and forth, with the Sixers looking like they were going to get the victory behind back-to-back buckets by Thad Young, only to be answered by a tough step-back by Afflalo right in Turner's grill and Andre Miller scoring yet again to put the Nuggets up two following that horrendous charging call by Palmer on Turner.

What I don't understand is why Doug Collins decided to take out Evan Turner and Thad following Miller's bucket. There was just 42.9 seconds remaining and the Sixers trailed by 2. For some reason, Collins took out Young and Turner, the two leading scorers for the Sixers on the night and two guys who had been hitting huge buckets in the 4th quarter and overtime, and brought in Lou Williams and Jodie Meeks, two players who had been sitting for a long time and, in Lou's case, who had played sparingly on the night. It made no sense to me at all. The Sixers didn't need a three, especially since they were at home and the crowd was rocking, and the two guys Collins took out were having much better games both offensively and defensively than the two guys he put in.

Collins' decision didn't work out either. Lou Williams did get wide open for a three, a great play call and a great shot to take, but he missed it. It's not hard to understand why given he was coming in cold and had been having a horrid day from the field. That's why I don't understand the move, taking out Thad and Turner, two guys who had quite literally been carrying the team all game long. I guess Doug can't win them all, and neither can the Sixers.

Still, that shouldn't take away from a brilliant game. It was awesome to watch, and exciting to see the Sixers battle another deep, athletic, good team. Maybe things would have been different had Hawes been able to go, especially since Vucevic struggled and Tony Battie is 8,000 years old. The lack of size definitely showed, as Nene proved too much of a load inside, putting up 20 and 14, and even Al Harrington gave Elton Brand and company trouble down low.

But it was a great performance by Evan Turner (who of course I left on my bench in fantasy), a great 4th quarter (minus one free throw) for Andre Iguodala and a nice game from Thad. Though it was the former Sixer who had the last laugh, as Andre Miller showed he still has some life left in those old legs.



This team is exciting and fun to watch — in fact, both teams are— and last night was as good of a basketball game as you'll see all season. Don't be surprised if neither the Nuggets or the Sixers go anywhere anytime soon. They're both relatively young, deep and athletic teams that featured balanced scoring attacks and excellent coaches. Come to think of it, it's pretty eery how similar these two squads are. The difference in the end was that the Nuggets put the ball in the hands of a 35-year-old veteran point guard who made every right decision whereas the Sixers' 21-year-old 3rd-year point guard threw the ball away to squander any last chance the team may have had. In time, hopefully Jrue can get to where Andre is at in his decision-making, and this already fun team will become even more fun to watch.

Wait, Andre Miller Can Dunk?

So I saw this today and was completely and utterly stunned:



No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is former Philadelphia 76er and current Portland Trail Blazer Andre Miller throwing down a big-time dunk. The same Andre Miller that Bob Salmi used to repeatedly, relentlessly tell us had the best shot fake in the NBA, presumably because he couldn't elevate over players, so he had to outsmart them. An athletic force Andre Miller is not.

That's what makes this highlight so astounding, so astonishing. After seeing it, I really tried to wrack my brain to try and remember if I can recall ever seeing Andre Miller dunk. The answer is no. I cannot. There isn't a single instance that I remember him dunking. Not one. And I've been watching the guy since he was teaming up with Keith Van Horn at Utah.



I really couldn't remember one. I didn't think he even could dunk. But turns out, he's done it a few times in his career. Who knew? Here's a few (notice, none in his Sixers highlights):



The guy is awesome at throwing alley-oops that others throw down though. That's for damn sure.

Anyway, here's some more Andre Miller highlights, because the Sixers were never this bad with him running the show.

From the Scene of the Crime: How the Sixers Got Dismantled

Thanks to my connection, I was awarded four free tickets to game 6 last night — in the sixth row no less. So, Toonces, silver fox and a friend of ours headed on down to the game hoping the Sixers, going against a Superman-less Magic squad (and no Courtney Lee), could force a game 7.

That, uh, didn't happen.

This did:



Sweet mother of God was that pathetic. Simply and utterly awful. It's one thing to come out and lose a game 6 to a better team, even a team without its best player. But to lose at home, facing elimination, 114-89, completely rolling over and dying? That's just sad. And it seems to be a trend for teams calling the Wachovia Center home.

To me, the most maddening thing about last night wasn't the fact the Sixers lost to the Magic without Dwight Howard and Courtney Lee. It wasn't the fact that Skip to My Lou scored 21 points or that, playing just eight players, the Magic had six of them finish in double digits. It wasn't even the fact that Willie Green, Thaddeus Young and Sammy Dalembert gave the Sixers absolutely nothing on offense. No, it was the fact that in a game where the Sixers fell behind 30-15 in the first quarter, the coach didn't make a single adjustment. Not a one.

As pathetic as the effort was for the Sixers last night, it was nothing compared to the incompetence of Tony DiLeo.



For starters, the Magic were without Dwight Howard, without the defensive player of the year, without their protection at the rim. Naturally, a smart team would attack this and do everything in their power to get to the hoop, especially when they can't shoot. So what do the Sixers do? They come out and settle for jump shots early, letting Orlando off the hook and falling behind quickly. The few precious moments the Sixers actually attacked the rim, they cut Orlando's lead to 5 points. Then they stopped, and the Magic took over.

Speaking of taking over, Rashard Lewis was the man last night. He completely abused Thad Young, often found himself in a mismatch with Andre Miller and completely lit it up, doing most of his work in the post, scoring a game-high 29 points on 11-22 from the field, nabbing 7 boards and blocking 3 shots.



Every time down the court, the ball seemed to get in Rashard's hands, and he was either taking Thad to the weight room, or completely ignoring Andre Miller on a terrible switch. And the Sixers could not stop him. At all. The Magic essentially did the same thing over and over, running a pick and roll with Lewis, and almost always, the Sixers would automatically switch, with the 6'2" Andre Miller guarding the 6'10" Rashard Lewis, allowing Lewis to easily score over the smaller man, or Thad would fight through with Lewis, only to get pounded in the paint.

So, with Rashard lighting the Sixers up, did DiLeo change up his defense on him? Nope. The only solution was to play zone for about 3 minutes while Orlando was scorching from three (the Magic made 12 of 26 threes, 46 percent), which, uh, also didn't work.

Well, Tony, here's a novel idea: How about, you know, trying a different defender on Lewis? Like Andre Iguodala maybe? You know, your best defender? Iguodala has, after all, done a pretty fine job on Hedo Turkoglu during the series. So, seeing as the Magic were scoring at will, why not try and change things up? Why not see if Iguodala could slow down Lewis? What did you have to lose?

The answer is nothing. Tony DiLeo simply didn't do it because he's not a good coach. The result was Orlando shooting 53.7 percent from the field, 46.2 percent from three and scoring 114 points. J.J. freakin Redick had 15 points for christ's sake. J.J. Redick.



To make matters worse, DiLeo buried a key player down the stretch of the regular season on the bench the entire series, claiming that Marreese Speights wasn't strong enough to defend Howard or quick enough to defend Rashard Lewis. Fair enough. He knows his players. But with Howard out, why not give him more than a short run in the first half and then garbage time in the fourth? Could it have hurt? Especially with Sammy Dalembert looking completely atrocious out there, getting outplayed by Marcin Gortat? It just doesn't make any sense to me. It really doesn't.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't think the Sixers could win this series. I didn't think they'd even be this close. But in an elimination game, why not pull out all the stops to try and stay alive? Hell, DiLeo played a completely ineffective Dalembert 30 minutes last night while not playing Theo Ratliff (4:57) or Donyell Marshall (3:47) at all, two guys who have been integral in the Sixers' two wins in the series.

Now they're sitting at home after just six playoff games, again, for the second year in a row. Make no mistake, this team has some work to do.

Sure, Elton Brand will be back and hopefully the second go-round will be much, much better than the first. But there are players that absolutely must make themselves better this offseason, starting with Thaddeus Young.



Before his ankle injury, Young was becoming a rising force for the Sixers, playing the most assertive basketball of his young career and looking like a star in the making. The injury slowed down his scoring, but the thing that became painfully obvious in this series is the work he must do on defense. Young was abused time and again in this series, either getting taken down low or beaten off the dribble. Numerous times he found himself lost, not just in the series but all season long, scrambling to find his man or failing to know if he should switch or stay with his man. If there's one thing he needs to improve more than anything else, it's his defense.

And that holds true for Lou Williams too. Lou is a spark plug off the bench and an exciting scorer. But man, he can't play a lick of defense. He needs to at least not be a horrible liability on that end; right now he is.

Of course, Speights must go through his growing pains, but it's obvious he has talent. Andre Iguodala seemed to take another step, this time actually becoming an effective player in the postseason, but a superstar he is still not. He needs to get better, especially with his shot selection. Iguodala has turned into an OK shooter at best, but he's at his best attacking, which he failed to do last night and at numerous times during the season. He should be a guy who goes to the rim as often as possible with his great finishing ability, and thus, get to the free throw line more.

And the rest of the Sixers have to improve as well, though there's no telling as to who will be here. Andre MIller is a free agent, and I can't help but think he'd at least take a gander at the Lakers. Imagine that team, whose only weakness is a lack of a point guard, with Andre Miller setting up the likes of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. That would be scary.

Theo is at the end of the line. Ditto Donyell Marshall. Kareem Rush has been invisible. Royal Ivey is a nice on-the-ball defender and all, but he's nothing special. Samuel Dalembert is a plague that must be vaccinated. Reggie Evans is what he is and a guy that will always have a role. Willie Green is a player who has long overstayed his welcome as a streaky (see bad) shooter.

Yes, Elton Brand and Jason Smith will be back next year, and the Sixers have a nice young core. But they need a shooter in the worst way, and a coach who can instill in them a true system, both offensively and defensively. I certainly don't think Tony DiLeo is that guy. But who that guy is, I have no idea.

Let's hope Ed Stefanski does.

A Split, a Sweep, a Draft, and an Epic, Epic Collapse

Another wild weekend for Philadelphia. Things started out well enough on Friday, as I was in attendance at the Wachovia Center to watch the Sixers defeat the Magic thanks to the game-winner by Thaddeus Young, and the Phillies won thanks to a grand slam by Shane Vicotrino in the ninth that propelled the Phils from a 3-0 deficit in the final inning to a 7-3 victory.



Unfortunately for me, I didn't get to see a single second of the Phillies' comeback, but as I said, I was in the 12th row at the Sixers game, so I was doing all right. Although, I had no idea that would be the case when I headed down to the game with two of my roommates, silver fox and uncle jellyfish, especially on our way there. Honestly, if you headed down to the sports complex area in south Philly Friday, you know there was absolutely no traffic at all. None. We made it down there easily, and the parking lot even looked empty at the Wachovia Center.

I became disheartened and fearful that the building would be nearly empty. Turns out, I was wrong. The place filled up quickly, and the crowd was into from the start. And my section was fantastic. Now, I generally don't like people. Truly, honestly, I'm just not a fan of them, and I typically don't enjoy when strangers try talking to me, unless of course they are attractive females. So when I sat down in my seat and this older gentleman began to chat me up, I was annoyed. Being my standoffish self, I didn't really respond much, but the guy knew basketball and was really into the game, so I quickly began to enjoy his presence. But not as much as the guy in front of me.

This guy was pretty tuned up, and he was all sorts of into the game. He was griping like Sammy Dalembert after a foul call, and every time Dwight Howard touched the ball, he'd scream, "HE TRAVELED! THAT'S A TRAVEL!" Every time. I swear. He was great.

Of course, Thad was the hero at the end, but it was Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller who carried the load, as they have really all season for the Sixers.



The game was tremendous, but it was also infuriating to watch. It was the antithesis of games 1 and 2, where the Sixers fell behind by 18 both games and made a comeback, one that succeeded, the other that came up short. Well, on Friday, it was the Sixers who built a 17-point lead in the 3rd, only to see Orlando, led by Dwight Howard's beastly night (36 and 11), come storming back. Thanks to some horrific free throw shooting by the Sixers (18-26), especially by Louis Williams (2-5) and Andre Iguodala (9-13), it took a last-second bucket from Thad to win the game.

The thing that pissed me off was that it was the scorers who were missing free throws, a guard and a small forward who shot 79 and 72 percent from the foul line this year, respecitvely. Meanwhile, Howard, who was a dismal 59 percent free throw shooter this year, went 12-14. That's inexcusable for Philadelphia's guard/small forward to be that much worse than Dwight Howard. But hey, the Sixers won, we got a celebratory cheesesteak, and the Phils' victory made the night a complete success.

And then there was Saturday. At the crack of 3, the Flyers came out and looked determined to send the series back to Pittsburgh for a deciding game 7. After holding off an aggressive Pittsburgh start, the Flyers scored twice late in the first, first on a goal by Mike Knuble, then on a beautiful shot by Joffrey Lupul on a great pass from Claude Giroux.



The Flyers continued to roll, scoring a beautiful power play setup as Simon Gagne hit Danny Briere in stride, and Briere buried it to make it 3-0. I was thoroughly enjoying myself as Arkansas Fred, The Charles and myself ate a ton of candy, pizza and hoagie at our friend's house, watching the Flyers on the high def and the draft on the smaller TV.

And to make things even better, Daniel Carcillo took down Max Talbot seconds after Briere's goal, and the place was roaring:



Now, as you can hear, Eddie Olczyk thought Carcillo took the bait and made a huge mistake by fighting Talbot immediately after going up 3-0 in an elimination game, giving Pittsburgh a little jolt, even if he did win the fight. At the time, I thought Enzo was out of his mind, especially with the way Carcillo handled Talbot and the fans roaring.

Turns out, Olczyk was absolutely right. Fourteen seconds after Carcillo and Talbot went to the box, former Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko scored, and the Penguins got the shot of life they were looking for. I guess that's why Enzo gets paid the big bucks and I just watch. Mark Eaton and Sidney Crosby each scored to tie the game, then Sergei Gonchar put Pittsburgh ahead in the third, and Crosby's empty-netter ended the Flyers' season. It sucked.

Coughing up a 3-0 lead at home in an elimination game, and doing it by surrendering five straight goals, is simply and utterly inexcusable. Heads should roll. A team that had six 25-goal scorers, a team that made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, a team that had all the talent in the world, lost in the first round, two of the losses coming by coughing up leads. Clearly, the players aren't going anywhere, with the exception of perhaps the goaltender, and I have to say, Marty Biron didn't play all that bad in the series, but he was awful Saturday.



There's no excuse for him not to have covered the puck on Fedetenko's goal, and even though it was deflected, he should have caught the puck that he got his glove on before Crosby's first goal. And the goal by Gonchar, while definitely an impressive shot, should have been stopped. You can't give up goals from that far out when your team is grasping for its life. It was pretty pathetic that both Ryan Parent and Kimmo Timonen backed off Gonchar, but Biron had an unobstructed view of Gonchar and the puck. He simply couldn't stop it. We may have seen the last of Marty Biron as a Flyer. Then again, maybe not, seeing as there are no goaltenders out there at all.

Anyway, one guy who should be gone is John Stevens. To allow his team to play terrible down the stretch, lose home ice advantage, watch the once potent power play fall apart, come out flat in game 1 of the playoffs, choke away two leads, continually fail to play good defense, see no improvement from the beginning of the year to end in the faceoff circle and just basically underachieve, the guy should be fired. A first-round exit isn't good enough. At all. Get a coach in there that will use Claude Giroux on the man advantage, a guy who can motivate Jeff Carter in the playoffs, and a guy who can, you know, actually coach up his players to teach them defense and winning faceoffs.

It was a terrible thing to witness, and there are things that have to change. The Flyers' centers should work all damn offseason on winning faceoffs, because they were dreadful at them this year and it cost them big time in the playoffs. Pittsburgh manhandled the Flyers in faceoffs and controlled the puck much more as a result. Also, the Flyers should target a lethal faceoff guy, a guy that can be trotted out there to win every important faceoff the way Keith Primeau did for the Flyers.



And some guys should really look at themselves in the mirror. Jeff Carter had a fabulous season, but he was terrible in this series. He came up small, missed some golden opportunities, and really, just got taken off his game by getting roughed around a little. He needs to find a way to use his big frame a little more aggressively. Scott Hartnell needs to harness his agitator status and take a lot less penalties next season. Players like Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle need to communicate better on defense, and as a whole, the Flyers have to become better with the puck, stop turning it over and get crisper on their passes. The first course of action is to fire John Stevens. I hope it's the step the Flyers take.

Luckily, the Phillies came from behind again and won, and Chan Ho Park did this:



In all honesty, I was consumed more by the draft, and I was completely underwhelmed with the Birds trading up two spots to get Jeremy Maclin. My line of thinking was they needed a running back more, and if you were going to get a receiver, why not just trade the pick for Boldin? But as the Eagles' draft unfolded, I have to say, I like it, especially the more I think about it.



Maclin is a stud, and he'll definitely make the Eagles better. And I loved the pick for LeSean McCoy. Seeing as the Broncos took the guy I wanted more than anyone else real early, McCoy was the next back I wanted. Donald Brown wasn't doing it for me, but McCoy, I've seen him play and he's exactly what the Eagles look for in a back. Add in the Cornelius Ingram pick, and I'm pretty pumped now. Ingram is a huge target that could solve the Eagles' red zone problem, assuming he is healthy. And with the trade for Ellis Hobbs, it leads me to believe the Eagles still may not be done.



In all honesty, I'd be shocked if they didn't trade Sheldon Brown now. May I suggest shipping off a future pick, Kevin Curtis and Brown, perhaps, for Boldin? Or how about making a play for Julius Peppers? Braylon Edwards? Probably not, but I would think the Eagles are going to try and move Brown somewhere. Either that, or make his trade value completely deteriorate by making him ride the pine like they did with Lito. That would suck.

Either way, I'm cool with the Eagles' offseason, except for, you know, completely being dicks to Dawkins. But getting Peters, Andrews, Sean Jones, Weaver, Hobbs and the draft, it looks like a hell of an offseason. Which may or may not be done.

Eventful Saturday either way, and it culminated with getting very, very drunk.

Yesterday was very nice in the afternoon. For the first time all year, a Phillies starter didn't give up a home run, as Jamie Moyer continued his dominance against the Marlins.



The Phils exploded for 13 runs, and the game was never in question. Hell, they were in such command that the Marlins brought in Cody Ross to pitch the ninth. That was fun. The sweep brought the Phils to 9-8 and a game and half within Florida for the division lead. And with Park's home run and Moyer's 1-for-1 with a walk and HBP, the Phillies pitchers are hitting better than Jimmy Rollins. Someone wake Jimmy up please.

The Phils provided some relaxing relief early, but there'd be none of that late. The Sixers decided to go back to that strategy of falling behind and coming back, which they did thanks to Andre Miller just taking over in the 4th, but, as has happened so many times this year, the Sixers lost on a heartbreaking shot at the end of the game, this time by the Turkish assassin.



I have to be honest with you, I have no idea how the Sixers are staying with Orlando. I thought this was going to be a 4-1 Orlando win, but the Magic had to use everything they had to even the series 2-2. I still don't think the Sixers will win, but they are doing a hell of job staying in every game. Iguodala didn't have a very good shooting game last night, but he's becoming a legit threat, and if Orlando can't straighten out its three-point shooting, the Sixers can stay in this series.

I never thought I'd say this this season, but the Sixers have a chance now to win more playoff games in 2009 than the Flyers. Who would have guessed that two months ago?

This Time, the Comeback Falls Short

I really don't have a whole lot to say about last night's game, so here are the highlights:



I will say this, Andre Miller came out completely on fire, scoring at will, but as I've said before, when Andre Miller comes out shooting a lot, it hurts the team.



Sure, he was on fire and helping the Sixers keep pace with Orlando, but he failed to get anyone involved early on. And I mean anyone. Thaddeus Young was the only other Sixer to do any damage in the first quarter, and most of his points were on cleanup duty. It's just a fact for this team: When Andre Miller decides he's going to be a scorer and throw his distribution aside, the Sixers don't win.

Miller's line may look impressive from last night, 30 points, 7 boards, 12-20 shooting, but he only handed out 3 assists. Three. From your starting point guard. Who averages 6.5 on the year. Andre Miller didn't play his game, didn't do his job properly, and the Sixers suffered for it.

For a while there, this game looked like deja vu from game one. The Sixers fell behind by 18 again in the third quarter, and again, they mounted a comeback, this time led by Andre Iguodala, to cut it to 5. At that point, I was beginning to wonder if maybe, just maybe the Sixers could pull it off two games in a row, especially with Dwight Howard ineffective and in foul trouble.



But it was not to be. Courtney Lee, who had a very strong start in game one, bested that performance, going off for 24 points last night and keeping the Sixers at bay. And down the stretch, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu found ways to score, never allowing the Sixers to really threaten late. The bad news for Philadelphia is Lewis and Hedo did it by going a combined 2-7 from three. Once they start knocking down their shots, and they will, the Sixers will be in big, big trouble.

Here's the thing about that fourth quarter: Dwight Howard fouled out with about three minutes left to play, leaving absolutely no shot-blocker inside for the Magic. Yet the Sixers, a horrible shooting team that actually plays best when getting to the rim, didn't go inside. Like, at all. With Howard out of the game. Instead, they settled for low percentage jump shots, not a good thing for a team that can't even make high percentage, open jump shots, and essentially took themselves out of their game. It was pretty pathetic strategy and makes you wonder what, exactly, Tony DiLeo was telling his guys out there.

Still, it's hard to harbor any ill will. The Sixers come back home tomorrow tied up 1-1, which is better than I thought would happen. The good news is, even with Orlando pulling away late last night, the Sixers proved through two games they can play with the Magic. The bad news is Orlando has been ice cold from three, and they're actually one of the better three-point shooting teams in the league. Oh, and the Sixers lost when Dwight Howard had a pretty bad game.

'I Want to Ride Sammy All Game'

It's funny how a simple comment like the one in the headline, which was uttered at the Sixers game last night, can revert me back to a 13-year-old, laughing hysterically as if it is the funniest thing I've ever heard.



Quite a gas indeed. Anyway, onto the game. Now, I'm not sure what the attendance was last night, but considering the Sixers were playing the team that they very well could play in the first round of the playoffs, it's sad to see that very few fans seem to care. The building certainly wasn't full, but I will say that the crowd was into it, which was nice to see. Well, most of the crowd. The guy sitting in front of us did scold Joltin Joe for putting his foot on his friend's arm rest when his friend got up to go to the concourse. That was weird.

The thing is, for all the people in this city who are down on the NBA and the Sixers in particular, they missed a golden opportunity to witness an incredible individual performance by Josh Smith, who rode Sammy his own way:





Smith, the guy I wanted over Brand, put on an incredible offensive performance, scoring a game-high 33 points. He missed just two shots on the night, going 13-15 from the field, 3-3 from three and 4-4 from the line. Oh, and he chipped in 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks for good measure.

There isn't a more athletically gifted player I've seen than Smith, and he's easily one of my favorite players in the NBA. The best part about his 33-point performance though, besides his facial of Sammy, was that the Sixers still won, 98-85. The worst part was Thaddeus Young having to be carried off the floor by Marreese Speights and Theo Ratliff in the first quarter.



We were sitting behind the opposite basket, so I missed what happened to Thad, but at first glance, it looked like he was in big trouble. I was relieved to find out his X-rays were negative, but I don't expect the Sixers' rising star to be back until the playoffs, which sucks bit time.

Even without Thad, who I think has been the best Sixer of late, the Sixers were able to top the 4th-seeded Hawks in impressive fashion. Four Sixers scored at least 15 points, led by Andre Iguodala's 19, along with Andre Miller (18), Speights (16) and Willie Green (15), proving once again just how balanced this team is in the scoring department.

And just as impressive, every player who took the court scored at least one bucket. Reggie Evans had a particularly strong game, scoring 8, Sammy and Thad each had 6, Lou Will and Theo each had 4, and Royal added a deuce. And per usual, the Sixers were led by the Andres. Of course Iguodala had a team-high 19, not to mention 8 assists, 2 steals and 3 rebounds, but he also played tremendous defense, limiting Joe Johnson to just 11 points on 3-9 shooting.



Of course, it was Miller who was running the show, evident by his 10 assists to compliment his 18 points. As Joltin Joe said last night, no matter how much announcers and analysts like to tell us that Kevin Love throws the most incredible outlet passes, there's no doubt that Andre Miller is the best in the business when it comes to outletting his teammates in transition. He threw a full-court outlet, immediately off a rebound, without setting his feet or even gathering his balance, right on the money. It was a thing of beauty. No disrespect to Love, but he can't hold a candle to Miller's outlet passing skills.

It was a good win to bring the Sixers back within a half game of Miami for that 5th spot, and a step closer to taking on Atlanta in the first round. Let's hope they can get there. More importantly, let's hope Thad can recover in time and suffer no ill effects from the dreaded sprained ankle.

After the game, I eagerly headed back home to catch the Penn State-Notre Dame NIT semifinal game. My anticipation grew even stronger when some moron named slingshot sent me this message while I was on the el: "Did u hear what jopa just said bout bball bein a black mans game?" I missed what he said, but I heard it was pretty funny and honestly not offensive. When I walked through my front door, there was about 2 minutes left in the first half and my alma mater was destroying Notre Dame.



They took a 31-18 lead into halftime and looked poised to play Thursday against Baylor. Jamelle Cornley, clearly determined to go out a winner, was completely beasting Luke Harangody, who absolutely did not deserve to be an All-American this year, all night. Jamelle scored 15 points, grabbed 8 boards and clearly frustrated the oafy Irishman. Harangody shot a horrendous 5-16 from the field and was shut down for the majority of the game.

He did, however, managed to get 17 and 10, going off down the stretch to bring the Irish within three. A once huge lead shrunk to a one-possession game late because the Nittany Lions were doing just about everything in their power to give the game away: missing free throws, turnovers, fouling ND, giving up threes.

But they righted the ship, hit some clutch free throws and won 67-59 to play in the NIT championship game Thursday. Penn State played very well. Talor Battle did his thing, scoring 17, and Andrew Jones III had the best game I've seen him play, scoring 16 points, nabbing 15 rebounds and shooting 5-6 from the field and 6-7 from the line.



Stanley Pringle added 10 to give Penn State four players in double figures, while aside from Harangody, the Irish had no one else in double digits. It was a gutty performance that shows this team has no quit in them. Now they get to play one more time.

Update: About that JoePa quote:

During an interview, JoPa spouted about the good old days - when basketball was a Jew sport: "Everyone says it's a black mans game. When I played it was a Jewish mans game." Bill Raftery: "Yeah a city game right?"

Fantastic.

Look at All Those Empty Seats

Last night, I met Joltin' Joe and his roommate at the Wachovia Center to take in the Sixers-Pacers game, and I have to say, I can't remember the last time I've seen the Wachovia Center so depressingly empty.



I mean, it was just sad. Here we are, in the beginning of February, with football finished and baseball still more than a month away, and there was virtually no one there. It certainly wasn't what the Sixers had in mind after a great run at the end of last season and making a big (awful?) splash this summer. But that's what happens when an underachieving team is hosting one of the worst teams in basketball I guess.

As far as the game went, it was an underwhelming performance by the Sixers. Perhaps they were tired coming off the heartbreaking loss to the Celtics, or maybe they were depressed by the news that the $82 $80 million man was gone until next year. Who knows? What I do know is that the Sixers' three-point defense was simply atrocious last night, which Joltin' Joe pointed out has been a perplexing problem for the Sixers the past decade. Different players, different coaches, same horrible three-point defense.

After jumping out to an early lead, Tony DiLeo decided to put in a lineup completely lacking of offensive firepower, pulling 4 of the 5 starters for Reggie Evans, Marreese Speights, Lou Will and Royal Ivey, and keeping in Thad. That's when the Pacers flipped the script and took the lead, led by Mike Dunleavy's mustache and Troy Murphy's whiteness.





The Sixers did come back in the second, but they were letting a terrible team play with them entirely too long. Many of the few fans in attendance were getting restless, especially with DiLeo's coaching. However, as Joltin' Joe pointed out, no one who was actually sitting behind or next to DiLeo yelled anything. At all. It was maddening. Especially considering Tony insisted on keeping Reggie Evans in the game when he was completely ineffective. People were clamoring for Theo, for his defense if nothing else, but the long arm of the law remained seated with his nice view next to Kareem Rush.

Andre Miller did decide to sort of take over in the second half, attacking the rim and getting to the line, which certainly helped the Sixers get the lead back. And Andre Iguodala was once again the best player on the court, continuing to impress since Brand went down the first time.

I also have to give some love to Willie Green and Sammy Dalembert. I've never really been a huge Willie fan, but the guy has played really well this season, and last night, he hit some big shots for the Sixers. In fact, the guy led everyone with 23 points. And somewhere along the way, Willie has developed into a pretty good defensive player. He's the sole reason Kareem Rush has been M.I.A. And Sammy, for all the hits he takes from fans and media alike, has been playing some damn fine basketball over the past month. Last night, the Haitian Sensation was pretty awesome, going for 18 points on 6-13 shooting, 6-6 from the line and pulling down a ridiculous 20 boards.



It was nice to see him have an impact in the 99-94 win. What wasn't nice to see was the number of wide open looks Indiana had from three, which ultimately led to them staying in the game. Thankfully, the Pacers cooled off, and being the bad team they are, continued to jack. They took 34 threes last night. I'm not making this up. Thirty freakin four. The Sixers took 12. That's an astounding number of threes to take in a game, and it kind of lets you know why Indiana is 12 games under .500. The Sixers, meanwhile, got back to that .500 mark yet again, pulling to 24-24 with 34 left to play.

After getting dropped off graciously by Joltin' Joe, I planted myself on the couch to watch the end of the Lakers-Celtics game. If you like basketball, do yourself a favor and watch these two teams any time they're on TV. Sure, they're both hateable jerks, but they are damn good basketball teams.



The ending to last night's battle was pretty awesome. Immediately when I began watching, Kobe and Rajon Rondo were jawing at each other, with Kobe pointing his finger right in Rondo's face. Minutes later, KG and Odom were going at it. The game was intense, and the hatred was very evident between the two teams.

In a back and forth fourth, Kobe, who had been shut down most of the half by Paul Pierce's defense (I still can't believe the guy played zero defense his entire career, then all the sudden tries once he gets two HOFers on his team. Stealin money for years), remembered he was Kobe and hit some absolutely ridiculous contested three-pointers to bring the Lakers back and force overtime. I mean, Pierce was completely blanketing Kobe, and it didn't matter. Mamba was making those shots no matter what.



And, when the Celtics had a chance to win it with one last shot in regulation, Kobe didn't let that happen. Right as Pierce was about to go for a shot, Kobe knocked the ball away to prevent even a shot attempt. Lamar Odom was also a beast for the Lakers in the 4th, and Ray Allen was all sorts of clutch in overtime for the Celtics. But ultimately, with Garnett fouled out in the 4th, the Laker prevailed in OT with Pau Gasol getting the game-winner from the line. It was a crazy game though. Pierce and Allen were hitting big shots, and Paul played incredible D. Kobe was Kobe and Pau came up big in OT.



It gave the Lakers the 2-0 regular season edge against the C's, and it once again could be the finals matchup for the second straight year. Unless, you know, LeBron has something to say about it.

Don't Look Andre

Check out some of the top plays in the NBA thus far, highlighted by a nice Allen Iverson pass and Derek Rose completely abusing Andre Miller.



Sorry to do that to you, Andre. That Rose character is nice though.

Lou to the Rescue

Last night was the first time I really got to watch the Tony DiLeo 76ers, and I have to say, I was pretty underwhelmed much of the game. The Sixers came out with absolutely no defensive intensity on anyone not named Michael Redd, allowing the likes of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Dan Gadzuric and the Charlies—Bell and Villanueva—to beat them.



The result was a 7-point halftime deficit and 53 points for the Bucks. Not good. And things didn't get much better in the third. Andre Miller, who will never be mistaken for Ron Artest, decided not to even try on defense, allowing Luke fucking Ridnour—the whitest of the white—to blow by him on several occasions en route to 8 points in the quarter, expanding the Bucks' lead. It was pathetic.

And speaking of pathetic, how about Miller's play in general? Awful. Just awful. All the sudden, the guy has decided he's a scorer, not a distributor. Last night, yet again, he chose to look for his shot first, second and third. And if you don't believe me, peep this: the guy had 1, cout em, 1, assist heading into the fourth quarter. Seriously, Miller, stop fucking shooting so much. Jesus! I mean, he did finish with 19 points on 9 of 14 shooting, but that's not what he's there for. He's there to set up others, and he finished with a measly 3 assists. Pathetic. Maybe he's looking to put up numbers in a contract year. Maybe not. Either way, he needs to realize this team functions better when he has 10-15 assists than it does when he has 15-25 points. Plus, his shot is the ugliest thing since Anthony Mason's free throws.



But luckily for the Sixers, the bench came to play. With Elton Brand falling hard and spraining dislocating his shoulder, the Sixers needed someone to step up. Well, a few someones decided to step up.

The catalyst was Reggie Evans, he who earned cult status on last year's squad yet sat buried on the bench with Mo around this year. Well, Evans came in and did exactly what he did last year for the Sixers—hustled his ass off, crashed the glass with reckless abandon and gave this team a shot in the arm.



Hell, he even scored a basket for good measure. It was nice to see him get some action and contribute, pulling down a beastly 9 boards in just 18 minutes of action.

And Reggie wasn't the only backup power forward giving the Sixers life. The rookie, Marreese Speights, came in with energy and tenacity that shows he is growing in confidence each and every game. The young big man nabbed 7 boards in his own right and showed some aggression, getting to the foul line 7 times as well. Oh yeah, and he did this:



Damn! That was pretty tits. Suddenly, with some energy from the bigs, the Sixers were back in this thing. But it was the little man that did the heavy lifting. Louis Williams, who has been underachieving to say the least this season, had a breakout game.



With Brand down, Iguodala in foul trouble and Andre Miller toning it down on the shooting, Lou Will stepped his game up, son. Like a blur of light, he flew by defenders, got the rim, finished, got fouled—simply did it all on the offensive end. In crunch time, the Bucks couldn't stop him, and he carried the Sixers to victory, coming up with every clutch basket and even a key steal down the stretch.

He finished with a game-high 25 points and looked like the guy who had all the confidence in the world last season. It was nice to see. And I must give a shoutout to the Sixers' defense in the second half. They were swarming, suffocating, whatever cliche you want to put in there. Andre Miller, matched up on a switch down low with Andrew Bogut, made a huge steal, jumping the pass, at the end of the game, and his teammates, namely Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young, held Michael Redd to just 6 points on 2 of 13 shooting. Not bad. Not bad at all.

The best part of the game for me? Willie Green being nowhere in site in the fourth quarter. Willie Green stinks. Just flat out awful. He's a chucker, and a pretty bad chucker at that. I say, put Thad back in the starting lineup at the 2 or, better yet, put Lou Will there. Yeah, you won't get much defense from him and Miller, but you may resemble a real offense for once. Anyway, nice win, but I have to say, the team doesn't look all that great. And now Brand is gone. At least that means more Speights and Evans.

Send Marbury Back to Georgia Tech

Clearly his alma mater needs him. I mean, the Yellow Jackets lost to my alma mater, Penn State, last night. Maybe Steph can get permission from the NCAA to use his remaining eligibility.



In all seriousness, this is pretty stunning to see. Sure, Penn State is now 7-1 on the year, but it's not too often they beat actually decent ACC schools. Last night, the Nittany Lions did.

I didn't see most of the game because I was too busy watching the Sixers get destroyed by the Lakers, but I did flip to it often and saw the final minute. I gotta be perfectly honest with you here, Penn State honestly looks like it has some legitimate guards. Stanley Pringle (despite his hand love in the library) and Talor Battle are legit. They're both quick, aggressive and can score. Basically, they're the complete opposite of Ben Luber.



Battle and Pringle combined for 40 points and really showed that they have game. Unfortunately for Penn State, they have absolutely no size inside, so there will be times they'll struggle mightily this season. However, it was a nice win that proved the Lions won't be an easy win on the schedule for their Big 10 opponents, mostly due to Pringle and Battle.

As for the game I actually watched in its entirety … the Sixers simply got rolled by the best team in the West. Kobe played the villain to the city he turned his back on quite well last night, making the game look easy. He scored a game-high 32 points, often simply just rising over his defender to drain a jumper. The guy is just too good.



But Bryant wasn't alone. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had their way inside. Early on, the Sixers built a 10-point lead and looked primed to give the Lakers all they could handle, but when Sammy Dalembert picked up his second foul, the LA big men went to work. Pau and Bynum felt no threat inside with Dalembert out, scoring easily over Brand, Ratliff and Speights all night.

And speaking of Brand, man, he sucked last night. He was just simply awful. He showed that he stands virtually no shot playing any sort of athletic 7-footer. He routinely had his shot blocked or altered by Bynum or Gasol and looked like a D-League power forward, not an all-star.



A performance like last night out of Brand (1 for 7 from the field, 3 points, just 5 boards) is why I wasn't thrilled when I heard the Sixers signed him. He's a really, really good player. An All-Star even. But a superstar? Doesn't look like it. Now, I know it was just one game against quite possibly the best team in basketball, and I'm sure Elton will be fine, but man did he suck last night.

And the other night, I heard some players talking about how it's hard to adjust to the new style, especially for Dalembert, because last year the Sixers just ran and ran and ran. That's why I championed for the Sixers to try and sign Josh Smith, even though he was a restricted free agent. He fit in with the Sixers' style from last season and would have added a stud to the fold. While Brand is certainly a stud in his own right, his style doesn't mesh well with the team that gave the Pistons a jolt in the playoffs last year. Maybe that's why the Sixers, specifically Dalembert and Lou Will, are struggling. Maybe not. Guess we'll find out.

Oh, and also, so much for my thoughts on when the Andres play well, the Sixers win. Miller had 26-8-5 and Iguodala had 19-5-5 and the Sixers still were handled easily. Although, I think my point still rings true, assuming Brand plays to his averages. I mean, of course they won't win when he only gets three points.

And honestly, I know Andre Miller was feeling it early on, but he needs to stop shooting so damn much. His biggest strength is getting his teammates involved, but this year, he seems more concerned with scoring, at least of late. Stop chucking that ugly-looking shot Andre, unless the team absolutely needs it.

One final note: I watched the UNC game last night, and it was just dumb. I mean, the Tar Heels are demolishing everyone in their path. They trounced one of the best teams in the Big East last week and crushed what was supposed to be a really good Michigan State team last night. Barring any injuries, this team will roll through the season.

Their entire starting five will be playing in the NBA, and it looks like Ed Davis is on that path as well. It's not fair right now. As Dickie V. said last night, they are an NBA team playing college kids. Everyone is awesome, and the team will only get better when Ginyard comes back. They are scary good.

And in honor of Jimmy V. week, the greatest speech in the history of the universe:

Andre the Giants

The Sixers finally snapped their losing streak last night, topping the Bulls 103-95 in overtime. It's been a slow start for the Sixers this season, especially given the lofty expectations heaped upon this squad after last year's surprising playoff performance and offseason acquisitions. And last night's win, along with the team's early up-and-down start, made one thing abundantly clear: This teams still goes as Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala go.



The big news in the offseason was the acquisition of Brand, reinforcements added to the bench and a new look for the Sixers. But every night, you pretty much know what you're going to get from Brand. His numbers will be there—around 20 points and 10 boards a night. Last night was no exception with 22 and 14. But the telling tale of the Sixers has been the play of Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller.

When Miller and Iguodala have played well, the Sixers have won. When one has played well and the other poorly, they've won some and lost some. And when they've both struggled, the Sixers have lost. Just take a look at this home and home mini-series with the Bulls.

In Sunday's loss at home, Iguodala struggled, as has been the case most of the season. He scored just 8 points, took just 9 shots and turned the ball over 4 times. Andre Miller also had a rough go of it, shooting just 5 of 12 from the field and struggling to contain rookie phenom Derrick Rose. Miller did have 15 points and 10 assists, but his defense was lacking and the team wasn't running.

Flip that to last night. Iguodala had by far his best game of the year, going off for 25 points, 9 boards, 5 assists, a steal and a block. He was flying all over the court, getting easy buckets, playing solid defense and gaining confidence on his his jumpers. He shot an efficient 11 of 19 from the floor, and more importantly, was involved on both ends all night.



Ditto Andre Miller. After getting embarrassed by Rose on Sunday, Andre showed the rookie he still has some game himself. Miller scored a game-high 28 points, especially taking over in the OT after missing a game-winning three in regulation (set up beautifully by Iguodala, by the way), and got to the line 11 times.

The result, a Sixers win. It was the type of performance we've been waiting for from Iguodala all year, and Miller has shown he's willing to do what it takes, whether it be dishing or scoring. And with Thaddeus Young struggling to score last night, Miller had to pick up the slack. It resulted in three Sixers scoring more than 20 points, with Iguodala (25), Miller (28) and Brand (22). If the Sixers can get 20 points from three players, or close to it, consistently, they will be just fine. Ideally, it will be Brand, Iguodala and Young, allowing Miller to do more playmaking than shooting, because you don't want Miller hoisting 26 shots very often. 15 would suffice, with something like 10 assists.

But last night's game made it abundantly clear that for this team to really reach the potential so many prognosticators believed they had heading into the season, it falls on the shoulders of the two Andres. Brand will get his. It's up to Miller and Iguodala to lessen the burden and make the Sixers the exciting, running team they were at the end of the last season.

Oh, and watching that game with my full attention once the Flyers were through, the race for Rookie of the Year is over. Yes, O.J. Mayo is scoring in bunches, but Derrick Rose is by far the best rookie in the league. He's the Dwyane Wade of the Bulls, doing anything and everything asked of him. Hell, he may be a top 5 point guard in the entire NBA already. The kid is no joke. It should be fun watching him for years to come.