Happy Halloween! Well, hopefully it will be a happy Halloween. There is no better way to jump start my evening than with a Sixers W. We have talked ad nauseam about the clunker on Wednesday night, so I will focus on tonight's game instead.
Let's hope the real Sixers, the Sixers that we have been hyping all off-season show up tonight. We saw them in the first five minutes of the opener, then they disappeared. Tonight the new-look Knickerbockers come to town and I would hate to see us start the season with two straight home losses, both to division opponents, but it's a very good possibility. The Knicks looked much improved in their opener, beating everyone's favorite sleeper this year, the Miami Heat. New York held a comfortable lead for the majority of the game, until the Heat made a fourth quarter push, coming up just short. The notable story from the game was the fact that new coach, Mike D' Antoni sat two big name Knicks, Starbury and Eddy "I pop workout balls when I sit on 'em" Curry.
It should be a good game. Our biggest strength is creating turnovers and fast breakin' like crazy, hence the season's slogan "Run with Us". Well, tonight we'll get our chance to run. The Knicks are running the same offense the D' Antoni Suns used to run, with no real emphasis on defense. They dropped 120 points on opening night, but also allowed 115, so if nothing else tonight's game will be entertaining.
What to look for:
-Check out Posting and Toasting for coverage of the game from the Knicks P.O.V.
-A much better shooting performance.
-A change in our turnover ratio of -8.
-Even more than 18 fast break points.
-M16 being on the active roster. Hopefully.
-I think the second quarter is very important. It was a problem for us in the pre-season and in the opener. We need to win the second quarter.
-Better free throw shooting.
-Avoiding an 0-2 start.
-LESS WILLIE GREEN!
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Record: 0-1
Prediction: 116-106 Sixers
This is an open thread.