Tonight the Sixers played well enough to keep it interesting, but ultimately lost their fifth straight game. The way they hung in there reminded me of the 07-08 team, which was good to see. They have no business playing with teams like the Celtics, Hawks and Cavs -- especially with 3 of their best players out with injuries -- but as long as they play with as much effort as they did tonight, they'll steal a few wins here and there. At least good teams aren't blowing them out anymore.
Andre Iguodala continues to struggle, and I'm beginning to lose my patience. His jump shot is flat-out painful to watch, and I wish he'd just stop taking them. I'd rather see Thaddeus Young shoot 30 times a game. After watching him put up brick after brick, complain about every foul and non-foul call, make behind the back passes in traffic, and have Joe Johnson back him down with ease, I'm starting to question my once passionate man-crush on Andre Iguodala. I understand that he doesn't have much help on the offensive end, and I don't care.
Jrue Holiday was equally painful to watch. The defensive stud himself was torched by Mike Bibby. However; this was his second career start, and he's the youngest player in the NBA -- he's entitled to these types of games. For much of the game I had to remind myself that Royal Ivey and Jrue Holiday did not switch numbers, because that's who Jrue looked like. If you're a Sixers fan, no further explanation is needed, but if you've never seen Royal Ivey play, YouTube him. If you don't find a single highlight, there's a reason for that.
Even though Andre and Jrue stunk, the other young fellers impressed. Carney and Smith were all over the place, and look like legitimate bench players. I'm convinced that both of them could play key minutes for a contender right now. And Thaddeus Young was fantastic on the offensive end.
The Sixers gave their best effort tonight, and I'm pleased about that. But after three straight years of "We tried really hard, but still lost," as the team's motto, I'm enjoying watching this team less and less.
Player of the game: Jason Smith.