Liberty Ballers - Sixers Shoot For Four In a Row as Pacers Try to Sweep Back-to-Back-to-BackHonestly have no idea what we’re arguing about anymore.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50717/lb-fav.png2013-02-07T00:21:52-05:00http://www.libertyballers.com/rss/stream/37254212013-02-07T00:21:52-05:002013-02-07T00:21:52-05:00Sixers-Pacers Recap: Offensive!
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<figcaption>Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Shirt, shoes, but no offense.</p> <p>There were a lot of bad omens heading into tonight's game. First off, a team coming in on a three-game winning streak had so little fan interest that tickets were on sale for a whopping <b><a href="http://deadspin.com/5982328/sixers-fan-buys-18-tickets-to-tonights-game-for-less-than-a-dollar">four cents apiece</a></b>. Also, the statistics board in the arena wasn't working, which I guess made it difficult for anyone on the Internet to find a decent box score.</p>
<p>And yup, it continued to be one of those nights. For the Sixers, there would be no emotional win coming in the game directly after losing a key player (which you often see in the NBA, Boston having made it an art), <span>Thaddeus Young</span> in this case. Instead, they looked exactly what you'd expect a team now missing two of its top three players to look like, undermanned in an 88-69 loss to an Indiana team that was playing its third game in as many nights.</p>
<p>Before getting to anything else, it should be said that the Sixers' inability to score in this game wasn't shocking. Coming in, they sported the second-worst offense in the league and were going against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.indycornrows.com/">Pacers</a>' top-ranked defensive unit. Indiana is an excellent defensive squad, and with an extremely loose whistle like there was tonight, one that can take a team out of pretty much anything they want to do. Make no mistake: The Sixers rallied late to reach their final point total. For most of the game, the offense was much, much worse.</p>
<p>Let's talk about that Sixer offense, specifically how they shot eight threes and got to the line seven times. We've already beat the "An offense based around long two point jumpers never has a chance to be good" drum to death (I did it <a href="http://www.libertyballers.com/2012/12/20/3787288/sixers-rockets-shot-selection-breakdown"><b>here</b></a>), but for whatever reason, the Sixers keep deciding to shoot them. There's not much to say about it, except that playing that brand of basketball still doesn't work. And it's a major part of the reason that the Sixers are objectively one of the least enjoyable (if not the least) teams to watch in the NBA. Aesthetically, they're they're just a really tough team to watch.</p>
<p>At one point during the broadcast, Marc Zumoff (who I actually like a lot) quoted <span>Doc Rivers</span> in saying "It's a make or miss league, and the Sixers have missed shots tonight." I couldn't help but think that this line of thinking is exactly what is wrong with the Sixers. Basically, they think that way, too. It's a team that doesn't seem to be concerned about what types of shots they're getting on the offensive end, but more about the end result.</p>
<p>Without getting into a "Coaching vs. Talent" debate, which is really the Sixers' own version of the chicken and the egg, Doug Collins deserves a fair amount of blame here. The Sixers don't look prepared offensively, and his explanations of "asking them to move the ball more" really don't inspire a ton of confidence. Collins would probably point to his players' talent level to explain the team's anemic offense, and he'd be right. But going forward, it's fair to wonder how much offense he would get out of a more talented roster. The fact that they do many of the same things wrong, night in and night out, is frustrating to say the least.</p>
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<li>The Sixers as a group played really hard defensively until the latter stages of the fourth quarter, and they should be commended for that. Zumoff and <span>Malik Rose</span> were talking about how they collectively matched the Pacers' physicality, something I agreed with. This team isn't giving up on Collins by any means. <br>
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<li>Dorell Wright's energy really stood out in in the first half. He somehow accumulated a +3 while playing 30 minutes of this blowout, which is quite an accomplishment. <br>
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<li>This game was a little different than your typical jumper-fest from the Sixers. Collins said in his press conference that the Sixers got 50 shots in the paint, and he appears to be correct after looking at the shot chart. Holiday took a ton of five to seven footers on plays where <span>Roy Hibbert</span> was sinking into the paint off ball screens. The problem was that with his man trailing behind him and Hibbert's in front of the rim, Holiday was in effect double teamed on these shots. That's because the screener, usually <span>Lavoy Allen</span> or <span>Spencer Hawes</span>, was flaring for a low percentage jumper. And smart defenses like Indiana will give those guys that shot all day, which puts Holiday in a tough spot: <i>Should he kick it for a two-pointer that's going in less than 40 percent or take the tough baby jumper?</i> Holiday struggled mightily making the correct decisions tonight, even if I'd argue that there are no correct answers in that scenario. <br>
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<li> <span>Arnett Moultrie</span> came out of nowhere to shoot 6-9 en route to 12 points. I was impressed with his ability to actually catch and finish layups and dunks around the basket. You would hope that there will be plenty of Holiday-Moultrie pick and rolls in the near future. I can't stress enough how much even the threat of a guy rolling to the basket would open up things for Jrue.<br>
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<li>Allen played well tonight on both ends of the floor, I thought. And even though he has the ability and potential to be a solid two-way big man, 12 points on 13 shots shouldn't feel like a good offensive game from him. Over the summer, Lavoy has to work on his game in an effort to create easier baskets. Oh, and he has to play with this effort more consistently. <br>
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<li> <span>Evan Turner</span> had 9 rebounds and 4 assists, but he only shot 1-10 for 2 points and had 4 turnovers. This goes without saying, but that can't happen from a guy that the team is counting on. He did do a nice job defensively on <span>Paul George</span>, though.</li>
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<p>All this said, this was a really undermanned team (that wasn't all that deep to begin with) going against a team playing really solid basketball. Not a complete surprise, but still really hard to watch.</p>
https://www.libertyballers.com/recaps/2013/2/7/3962640/sixers-pacers-recap-2013Rich Hofmann2013-02-06T21:09:41-05:002013-02-06T21:09:41-05:00Sixers Can't Score Reaction Thread.
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<figcaption>Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Yeah. </p> <p>The Sixers played really hard tonight. They gave a ton of effort on the defensive end. They really did a pretty good job against the physical <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.indycornrows.com/">Indiana Pacers</a> on that end of the floor.</p>
<p>But that's all they did well. This game was frankly brutal to watch. I saw tickets that were going as low as four cents online. That's about how much the Sixers' offensive performance was worth. And make no mistake, a major part of this beatdown is how well Indiana is playing.</p>
<p>A bizarre power outage of the arena scoreboard made it pretty hard to find any of the game stats, so I'll just say <span>Arnett Moultrie</span> (12 points) and <span>Lavoy Allen</span> (10 points) were solid offensively. Everybody else wasn't.</p>
<p>I'll have some longer thoughts later. React here.</p>
https://www.libertyballers.com/2013/2/6/3961914/sixers-pacers-reaction-thread-2013Rich Hofmann2013-02-06T18:30:07-05:002013-02-06T18:30:07-05:00Sixers-Pacers Gamethread
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<figcaption>USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>West! Hibbert! Hawes! Kwame!</p> <p> </p>
<table class="sbnu-legacy-content-table" cellspacing="5" border="1" align="center" cellpadding="5"><tbody> <tr><th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver">Game 48</th></tr> <tr> <td width="240"><center> <a href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1425975/wd9ic7qafgfb0yxs7tem7n5g4.gif"><img src="http://content.sportslogos.net/logos/6/224/thumbs/3083.gif"></a> </center></td> <th align="center" width="20">vs.</th> <td width="240"><center><img src="http://content.sportslogos.net/logos/6/218/thumbs/qlpk0etqwelv8artgc7tvqefu.gif"></center></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><strong>February 6, 2013</strong></td></tr> <tr><td align="center" colspan="3"><strong>Wells Fargo Center</strong></td></tr> <tr><td align="center" colspan="3"><strong>7:00 EST</strong></td></tr> <tr><td align="center" colspan="3"><strong>CSN</strong></td></tr> <tr><th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><strong>Probable Starters</strong></th></tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240">George Hill<br> </td> <th align="center" width="20">PG</th> <td width="240">Jrue Holiday</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240">Paul George<br> </td> <th align="center" width="20">SG</th> <td width="240">Nick Young</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240">Lance Stephenson<br> </td> <th align="center" width="20">SF</th> <td width="240">Evan Turner</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240"><span>David West</span></td> <th align="center" width="20">PF</th> <td width="240">Spencer Hawes<br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240"><span>Roy Hibbert</span></td> <th align="center" width="20">C</th> <td width="240"><span>Kwame Brown</span></td> </tr> <tr><th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><strong>2012/13 Advanced Stats</strong></th></tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240">89.7 (26th)</td> <th align="center" width="20">Pace</th> <td width="240">90.8 (21st)</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240">102.6 (25th)</td> <th align="center" width="20">ORtg</th> <td width="240">101.7 (29th)</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240">99.9 (1st)</td> <th align="center" width="20">DRtg</th> <td width="240">101.7 (11th)</td> </tr> <tr><th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver">Game Officials</th></tr> <tr><td align="center" colspan="3">Ken Mauer<br> </td></tr> <tr><td align="center" colspan="3">Matt Boland<br> </td></tr> <tr><td align="center" colspan="3">JT Orr<br> </td></tr> </tbody></table>
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<p>As always, I have no feel for this game. Indy is playing well but should be really tired. The Sixers are on about the ugliest three-game winning streak possible. I'll say <strong>Sixers 90, Pacers 85</strong>, and not believe it all.</p>
<p>Also, here is my <a href="http://www.libertyballers.com/2013/2/6/3958038/sixers-pacers-preview-2013"><strong>preview</strong></a> and let's not forget our friends at <a href="http://www.indycornrows.com/"><strong>Indy Cornrows</strong></a><strong>. </strong></p>
https://www.libertyballers.com/2013/2/6/3961324/indiana-pacers-at-philadelphia-76ers-gamethreadRich Hofmann2013-02-06T13:00:06-05:002013-02-06T13:00:06-05:00Tired Pacers Come Into Philly
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<p>In an odd occurrence, the Sixers have a major rest advantage.</p> <p>Sometimes perceptions can be misleading, but if you believe the schedule-makers haven't done the Sixers any favors this season, you'd be correct.</p>
<p>The Sixers' 22 back-to-backs are tied for the league lead with eight other teams. Of those back-to-backs, 16 of the second games (SEGABABA) are on the road. While most teams accumulate a lot of their SEGABABAs on road trips because it lessens the amount of time they spend away from home, that number still is pretty high. Why is this important? Well, because the Sixers' are flat-out bad on SEGABABAs, sporting a 2-10 record thus far.</p>
<p>This trend makes tonight's game against the defense-first <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.indycornrows.com/">Indiana Pacers</a> a rare occasion. Not only are the Sixers rested and at home, they will be playing a team in Indiana on the third leg of the NBA's only back-to-back-to-back this season.</p>
<p>Remember those? No, the schedule makers didn't have nostalgia for last year's condensed schedule, but maybe Mother Nature did. After a post-Christmas snowstorm, the Pacers' home game against Chicago was rescheduled for Monday. Combine that with their regularly scheduled Tuesday game against Atlanta, and the Sixers have a chance to take advantage of a tired team. In theory, this is the definition a "schedule win."</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the Pacers are also a very good team, a club that sports the league's second ranked defense (Hey, remember what that was like?) and a balanced if underachieving offense. The Pacers aren't perfect by any means, but they're a lot better than the Sixers. That's going to be the case when you have two players the caliber of <span>Paul George</span> and <span>David West</span>, all star shooting guard and 17-Foot Assassin respectively, surrounded by players who fill their roles well.</p>
<p>All that said, there are a couple of factors that heavily tilt the figurative scales in the Sixers' direction. First, Indiana's solid record is heavily bolstered by a blistering 20-3 record at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It's not as if the Wells Fargo Center is a hostile environment, but it's not Indiana either. They're below .500 away from home.</p>
<p>Second, the Pacer starters all played heavy minutes the last two nights. George has logged a whopping 83 minutes. West was on the floor for 70 of his own. <span>George Hill</span>, (72), <span>Lance Stephenson</span> (64), and <span>Roy Hibbert</span> (60) weren't on the bench a whole lot either. The key to this game for me is simple: Speed Indiana up. They play at one of the league's slowest paces and have played all of their starters heavy minutes. Even if playing fast isn't the Sixers' forte either, tonight is a special case.</p>
<p>Even without <span>Thaddeus Young</span>, Jrue and Turner should try to push the pace. Tip is at 7:00.</p>
<p>Check out <a href="http://www.indycornrows.com/"><b>Indy Cornrows</b></a> for the Pacers view.</p>
https://www.libertyballers.com/2013/2/6/3958038/sixers-pacers-preview-2013Rich Hofmann