From boys to men before our eyes
by Jordan Sams on Jan 28, 2009 8:52 PM PST
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PrintDespite the poetic title, I'm in no condition to write a coherent recap. It's just one of those nights. They come along every once in a while, where a game emotionally drains me. Tonight's game took a lot out of me. As Sandy Lyle would say, "I'm burning up; my lungs are burning." My eyes are burning. My stomach is growling. I seriously cannot believe the Sixers pulled it off. Here come the random thoughts.
Likes:
-Happy Birthday Andre Iguodala. Did you see his dunk?! Add that to his ballsy (new favorite word) jumpshot down the stretch and I think we found ourselves a player.
-Sammy D? Did you just block Tracy McGrady's game winner? Yes, yes you did. Sammy has quietly put together a solid month of basketball. He's been rebounding. He's been limiting the stupid plays. And he's been playing defense. Good for you Sammy, good for you. For the time being, I'm going to retract my "I want Sammy D traded NOW!" statement.
-Elton Brand looked fabulous. He finished around the rim and played tenacious/inspired defense. 25 minutes, 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6, count 'em 6 blocks.
-Speights played 20 meaningful minutes tonight. He seemed eager to play defense and rebound after his benching last game.
-Lou-Will played decent. He still takes too many difficult shots, but I'll live with them as long as he's getting to the line 6+ times a night. He also had 6 assists.
-Reggie Evans beard
-Watching Andre Iguodala's dunk over and over and over again.
-A win against a healthy Rockets team...in Houston.
-Back to .500!
-The Sixers swagger. Tonight they looked like they thought they were the better team. They weren't scared. They looked like they expected to win and they did just that.
-Willie Green's minutes continue to dwindle. Soon he won't play at all.
-The fact that Rafer Alston isn't on our team.
-20-21 from the free throw line.
Dislikes:
-The Rockets announcers
-They called Sammy D Theo Ratliff and Marreese Speights Sammy D. To top it off, they uttered this sentence, "Now Eddy Ratliff will come off the bench."
-Luis Scola
-Yao's overrated-ness.
-14 o.rebs given up.
-1-12 from beyond the arch
-18 turnovers
Bottom line:
Tonight told us a lot about the Sixers. They went into Houston after a huge letdown in New Orleans. They took Houston's best punch. They hung around and pounced in the end. Good defense, transition buckets and Andre Iguodala's balls dropping mid-fourth quarter lead to a HUGE victory. Next up they have 7 straight home games, including a couple against the likes of Washington and Memphis.
Tomorrow is when we find out if either Andre's prayers of making the all-star team are answered, so we wish them luck.
And just for good measure, take that Yao!
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just watched the game
on archives on league pass broadband and wow was that oop ridiculous… anyway i really like how elton played tonight… normally we see him posting someone up and either looking to make a move or turn and shoot and tonight i saw him cut to the basket a lot which set up all those dunks he had (or at least it seemed everytime he got points it was on a dunk)… the best part about it was that he had a fast break dunk it was a sight to see
by Tanner Steidel on Jan 28, 2009 10:59 PM PST reply actions
yeah
elton fit in very, very nicely tonight
Pimpin' ain't easy and neither is being a Sixers fan. I manage to do both. Join me at Liberty Ballers, the SBNation 76ers blog. Don't make fun of the name either. It has nothing to do with the New York Liberty of the WNBA.
calm yourself
"Sammy D? Did you just block Tracy McGrady’s game winner? "
Uhhh… did you really think an unblocked McGrady attempt would actually go in?
Not f**king likely!
in the past few weeks i've seen
dirk hit a game-winner
and
tony parker hit a game-winner
it would’ve only been fitting for the star on the third texas team to do the same
Pimpin' ain't easy and neither is being a Sixers fan. I manage to do both. Join me at Liberty Ballers, the SBNation 76ers blog. Don't make fun of the name either. It has nothing to do with the New York Liberty of the WNBA.
You know – just to play devils advocate, if Sam Dalembert is playing the best ball of his career for a limited period of time it’s probably the best time to trade him – his value would never be higher, and we’ve seen Sam play well in limited periods before – I say strike while the iron is hat and maximize his value, because he’s still Sam Dalembert folks…
I hate that i missed this game – but ah well
by jemagee on Jan 29, 2009 7:08 AM PST reply actions
I don't disagree.
Pimpin' ain't easy and neither is being a Sixers fan. I manage to do both. Join me at Liberty Ballers, the SBNation 76ers blog. Don't make fun of the name either. It has nothing to do with the New York Liberty of the WNBA.
Sammy
Can we get a clip of that Sammy D drive to the bucket from the top of the key? I know every Sixers fan out there was saying. “Noooo, What are you doing?? WOOOOOOW THAT WAS ACTUALLY A GREAT MOVE!!!! and HE MADE LAY UP!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!”
That was hilarious.
I remember being like “wtf” in the game thread. I’ll see if I can get the clip.
Pimpin' ain't easy and neither is being a Sixers fan. I manage to do both. Join me at Liberty Ballers, the SBNation 76ers blog. Don't make fun of the name either. It has nothing to do with the New York Liberty of the WNBA.
-Willie Green’s minutes continue to dwindle. Soon he won’t play at all.
We can only hope …
Luis Scola
I’ve said it before I hate all Argentinians in the NBA … Scola, Ginobli, Oberto … all of them.
"I need to do a better job of putting players in the right position to perennially come up short of expectations"
Statement Games
Statement games are overrated. To pinpoint one game during the course of an 82-game season that signifies some sort of seismic shift in a team is asinine. Seasons don’t change fates in one night and teams don’t gel against one team. It doesn’t happen. But if there was anything that would classify as a statement game, last night’s defeat of the Houston Rockets comes pretty close.
The play of Elton Brand was the most encouraging part of the game. He vastly improves the defense and is now finding ways to fit in on the offensive end of the floor. If we get that Brand for the next few months, the Sixers may just sneak into a fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference.
Chris Iafolla http://heardinthecheapseats.com/
asinine
look what you’ve started john.
yeah, brand’s play was inspiring last night
Pimpin' ain't easy and neither is being a Sixers fan. I manage to do both. Join me at Liberty Ballers, the SBNation 76ers blog. Don't make fun of the name either. It has nothing to do with the New York Liberty of the WNBA.
by Jordan Sams on Jan 29, 2009 11:25 AM PST up reply actions
Hey – if irrational exuberance is replaced with measured responses, in both directions, i’m a happy boy :)
by jemagee on Jan 29, 2009 12:22 PM PST up reply actions
Boyz II Men
jsams, this was going through my head as I was reading your post. Almost brings a tear…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b3mftcV0dY
http://www.phillyarena.com - Philly sports forum/blog
lol
i thought about them when i wrote my title as well
Pimpin' ain't easy and neither is being a Sixers fan. I manage to do both. Join me at Liberty Ballers, the SBNation 76ers blog. Don't make fun of the name either. It has nothing to do with the New York Liberty of the WNBA.
by Jordan Sams on Jan 29, 2009 11:26 AM PST up reply actions
Im glad you came around on Sammy
When people call for Dalembert being traded, it really reminds me of all the people who want to drive McNabb out of Philly too(i know your a Cowboys fan jsams, but how happy would you be to not face him). Good centers are rare, kinda like great QBs, and Dalembert is a unique talent at his position because of his speed, hops, and overall athleticism. He just isnt very skilled because hes a soccer play. If we trade him were not gonna find another center.
@Chris: Its true there cant be one statement game out of and 82 game season, but there are often a few games throughout the season that can be considered turning points. Certain games can spark losing or winning streaks. Hopefully this game can spark a nice run to move up the standings during this homestand, and we dont regress and start losing to any under .500 teams. I wont mind a loss or 2 during the stretch but id like to keep up with the suns and especially the celtics
And a post like this is why I can’t take the ‘Sam Fans’ seriously. You just put Dalembert is the same category of McNabb…that’s insulting to McNabb and to the rest of the centers in the NBA.
He’s mediocre at best – he’s had too many bad games in his career, (look at his entire career) and still has very little clue how to perform the fundamentals of basketball…comparing him to McNabb is just ridiculous and maybe a little nuts
by jemagee on Jan 29, 2009 11:13 AM PST up reply actions
Agreed.
I would put Sammy D. in the category of a different Eagle. Greg Lewis … isn’t horrible but isn’t great and always does just enough to warrant enough support to stay on the team.
"I need to do a better job of putting players in the right position to perennially come up short of expectations"
But easily outplayed as i understand it most informed eagles fans (blogs i read) seem to think lewis is gone and replaced by celek
Ala Speights/Dalembert
by jemagee on Jan 29, 2009 5:19 PM PST up reply actions
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