I come away from tonight's game with the same feeling one has after hooking up with a super-hot, really drunk chick at a party. The feeling being, "Man, that was fun and really easy, but I wonder how I'll fare tomorrow night, and I wonder how differently tonight would've went if that girl hadn't consumed 13 captain and cokes." The Sixers dominated tonight, but it was against a free-wheeling, disinterested, discombobulated, defenseless Golden State Warriors -- the same team who allowed a 20 year old rookie to drop 55 on them. So, they're a lot like my drunk sorority chick; everyone score on 'em, even rookies. The dubs were also playing the final game of a long road trip and playing without their head coach. The Sixers showed a lot of positive tonight, both as individuals and as a team, but until I see it against a good team -- one who plays defense and doesn't jack up bad shots -- then I'm going to hold off on the excitement. Is this team beginning to turn the corner or was tonight a product of the hot mess known also known as the Golden State Warriors? The answer will come soon enough; the Cavs and Celtics are up next. On to the positives...
Thaddeus Young was an absolute man. He torched people on the block, converted offensive rebounds and mixed in a couple jumpers. Yes, he was being guarded by Vladimir Radmanovic most of the night, but an impressive showing nonetheless. In the past, Thad would get hot and then not touch the ball for the next 20 minutes. Tonight was a different story, and since I'm in an awesome mood, I'm going to give Eddie Jordan all the credit. Thad's 26 points was impressive, but what impressed me most -- and left me quite thrilled -- was his career-high 14 rebounds. That's two games in a row Thad had double-digit rebounds. If he keeps it up I'll stop calling him overrated.
Tonight, Monta Ellis was 3-14 from the floor. On December 2nd Russell Westbrook was 1-11 from the floor. The common denominator? Both were defended by Jrue Holiday. 'Nuff said. (The reason I went all the way back to December 2nd is because that was Jrue Holiday's last start before tonight.)
I'd spend more time on how much potential this team has when Lou and M16 return from injury, but again, I want to see them do it against someone other than a hammered sorority girl.
Player of the game: Thaddeus Young