Jeremy Pargo and Lavoy Allen Lift Sixers Over Mostly Dead Bobcats

It seems like all those quotes about hustle and motor have finally got to Lavoy Allen. Dude went FULL VUCEVIC last night against the Charlotte Bobcats "frontcourt" to the tune of 14 points (on a long two-y 7-16 shooting) and 22 rebounds, 11 of which were offensive. Everyone was literally offended by his 11 offensive rebounds. He played 42 minutes, logged a +18 and I've gotten word that Doug Collins personally gave him a massage after the game.

Equally surprising is the run that Jeremy Pargo got in his first game as a Sixer. "Not Jannero" or "Maggie Not Jannero", if you prefer, played 29 minutes off the bench, supplanting Nick Young in the lineup a whole bunch. Jrue Holiday, as Doug wanted, played an awful lot off the ball while J-Pargs ran the point. He was quick, he was relentless, and he even took a terrible fadeaway contested long two -- welcome to the Sixers, Jeremy.

With 12 points on 9 shots to go with 6 assists and 4 hustle rebounds, we're all very impressed by Pargo. Okay now you can let his 10-day contract lapse so you can sign, like, Austin Freeman or something.

Oh, the Sixers. As a team they moved the ball much, much better last night. Back screens were set, cuts were made. It looked for a time like an actual offense. But they still missed a thousand shots against the league-worst Bobcats defense, making only two 3-pointers and taking just 10 foul shots. It's telling that on a night when they generate 13 points from 3's/FTs and shoot 41.9% from the field, I'm actually pleased with how their offense looked. Guh.

Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner had mostly good games. Both managed to take defenders into the post and "score" on occasion, which was nice. Both guys had some lovely passes and tried to limit embarrassing plays, an endeavor at which they were somewhat successful. But together with Jrue (who got to wherever he wanted on the court but just missed the shots), they combined for two foul shots. I know we harp on it, but it can't be overstated how inefficient it is for them to get to the line so infrequently. It actually makes me nauseous, though that may be the beer.

Charlotte is so bad and they kept it close. Byron Mullens may be the worst player to get 12.2 shots per game I've ever seen. He is just wretched. MKG was pretty invisible. So was Kemba Walker. Ramon Sessions gets to the line and is probably their best player -- their 20-23 foul shooting (YOU'RE ALLOWED TO SHOOT THAT MANY?!!?!) is what kept them in the game.

So not exactly a celebrated 11 point win at home, but a win, they say, is a win. I'd also like to give a big shout-out to Arnett Moultrie, who played his best game as a pro even though he only had 3 points. Poultry was all over the glass (7 boards in 13 minutes WITH Gobbling Lavoy taking all the rebounds) and looked positively cerebral with his defensive rotations. Easily the first time I've seen him look so comfortable on the court. I'm SO trying to get excited about him. The needle is moving.

Tune into the Clippers game Monday night to see if they can hit any shots. This frontcourt is a tiny bit better than the last one.