Knicks 110-Sixers 104
Thank God this is the pre-season because a regular season loss to Knicks at Wachovia (for the time being) Center would be devastating. Like I said, it's just pre-season though and believe it or not, there were some good things that went down in this game. None of which I actually saw, since it wasn't on TV, but hopefully I'll see some highlights soon. Listening to games on the radio doesn't really hit the spot for me. Anyway, here are my quick observations based on the box score and the 2nd half, which I listened to on league pass.
Things I liked:
-Elton's numbers speak for themselves. He dropped 24 points (18 of them in the 1st half) on 13 shots. Not only that, but the radio announcer made it seem like Elton was just dominating. He was being guarded by Zach Randolph, but still a good sign for EB.
-Lou dropped 12 off the bench again. He only shot 40%, but it sounded like he was playing well. He did have one horrendus air ball while I was listening, which I absolutely hate. I don't think any NBA player should pull up for a jumper and hit absolutely nothing. Oh well, I still love me some Lou-Will.
-Speights had a very solid line of 7-3 with no turnovers in 16 minutes. He did have 5 fouls, but hey, it's pre-season for the refs too. He had a couple nice plays in the second half, including a put back slam that sounded emphatic. Hopefully it makes SportsCenter.
-Iguodala 16-6-3 on 60% and no turnovers. Field goal percentage and turnovers are what I'm looking for from Iguodala. If he can thrive in those categories, the rest will follow. Tonight he did just that and also hit two threes!
-'Dre Miller with 12 dimes. As long as he can run the offense, he doesn't need to do much else. Unless of course he feels like helping out the Henderson Bumholes (My fantasy team).
-No major, major injuries, but we'll get to that in a second.
Things I didn't like:
-Thaddeus Young failed to build on his studly performance in the first game, which will happen with young players, but the bigger problem here is he left the game and did not return. Dun dun dun. He got poked in the eye sometime in the third quarter and it sounded like he was in some serious pain. He held a towel over his eye and slowly walked off the court. He was not seen again. The announcer said it was an eye scratch, in more confusing terminology. He said something like an abrasion? I don't know; I like eye scratch better. How bad can an eye scratch be though? There should be no reason he's not back in action soon, opening night at the absolute latest. However; this hurts because, I'd like for him to get as many pre-season reps as possible.
-Losing to the Knicks at home.
-Being outscored 38-13 in the second quarter. Really?
-Our defense is supposed to be improving. The Knicks shot over 50%. Everyone say it together now. Pre-season. Pre-season.
-Getting out-rebounded by 8.
-Our bench players shot 36% and turned the ball over eight times. Not good.
-One more thing. I just read the recap on NBA.com and apparently Lou-Will left the game with a cut on his chin. It required stitches and he never returned. No big deal, but worth mentioning.
-Did I mention we lost to the Knicks?
Player of the Game: Elton Brand. His first as a Sixer with hopefully many more to come.
Record: 1-1 in the pre-season.