Observations: Sixers-Spurs

For me this game taught me way more about the Spurs than the Sixers. With so much young talent in the NBA I kind of assumed the Spurs would be pushed out of the top tier by now. This game showed me why they haven't been.

-Duncan might no longer be fantasy b-ball relevant but hes far from done contributing in real life.
-Tony Parker's always been underrated. Hes never been a big numbers guy but to see him play he has a huge impact on every game.
-Poppovich is the best coach in the NBA and somehow turns undrafted, low-1st round, 2nd round guys into key players. Every time the Sixers tried to help on the pick and roll Gary Neal or Matt Bonner made them pay.
-The 76ers gave themselves too much of an uphill battle tonight. They played a good 4th quarter but to put themselves down 8 was tough. Usually the 76ers can blanket a team with their defense and go on a run when they need to, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan didn't let that happen tonight.

-The Sixers missed Spencer Hawes a lot. Vucevic and Lavoy Allen couldn't get the free throw jumper going tonight, and the Spurs seemed content on leaving them open. Vucevic had probably his worst game offensively. He finished 0 for 4 with 4 Turnovers. That being said I thought he looked good on the boards...Tiago Splitter's 15 points in 17 minutes were a big reason the Spurs kept the Sixers at arms length for the 1st 3 quarters. I gotta think a vet like Hawes could've helped that a little bit.

-The worst error of the night was made by whoever decided to give Gary Neal all day to shoot an open 3 and drain his 4th of the night. I forget if it was Jrue or Turner. That shot deflated the Sixers run in a major way.

Overall I saw the same 76ers team Ive seen every night. I don't really fault Holiday and Brand on the pick and roll. Both are good defenders and were batting, especially in the 4th quarter. Anyone who knows basketball knows good offense beats good defense. This is particularly true with a properly run pick and roll, and the Spurs executed to perfection tonight.

On offense the 76ers (particularly Thad and Lou) hit a lot of shots in the 4th quarter, but each time we got it to around 5 the Spurs had an answer.

Overall Im not fretting too much about this loss, except for Hawes injury