THE HERO RETURNS

Sometimes in life you get to re-live great memories, sometimes you are given a second helping of a great thing. Allen Iverson was meant to end as a Sixer. He was turned free to try and get his championship but now returns to the fold in the city that adores him. No one is expecting him to carry us to the Finals, but everyone knows he was meant to be here, flaws and all.

Welcome home AI. Light it up and thrill us again.

Sixers Acquire Kapono

In a move that the majority of Sixers fans will view as positive, the team traded Reggie Evans to pick up Jason Kapono. This move addresses the Sixers' 3-point shooting woes in a big way. To start, Kapono is tied with Steve Kerr for the highest all-time 3-pt FG%. He has won 2 All-Star 3-point Shootouts and also been part of the Heat's championship team. I was one to criticize the contract he received from Toronto as a free agent but seeing how the money lined up with both him and Evans put me at ease a bit. They both have 2 years left on their contracts and Kapono makes only about $1.5 million more per year. Seeing as how the Sixers have finished dead last in the league two consecutive years in 3-point shooting, this is a glaring weakness that needed to be addressed. You cannot run an effective offense without the spacing that outside shooting (or at least the threat of it) creates. This is even more of a pressing need if Eddie Jordan is going to instill a new Princeton offense that relies on spacing. It's likely, but not certain, that this precipitates the exit of Donyell Marshall and/or Kareem Rush. Yes, both are shooters but hardly got playing time. It will be better determined after the draft. I think the Sixers will look to keep Royal Ivey, who provided wonderful role-defense and some shooting.

Let not the contributions of Reggie Evans go unnoticed. He was always a hustle guy for us, a "glue" guy who wreaked havoc on the defensive end of the court. He was everywhere at once and that included under the skin of the opponent. He'd take a charge, run out to help double, and pull down rebounds at a rate he was famous for. He was also the guy who had the last word to say to each of the starters before every single game right before they each took the court. He was the first to meet his teammates as they came off the court for a timeout or quarter end. But in the end, he provided absolutely nothing on the offensive end and was part of a glut of PF's on this team. With the return of Elton Brand and Jason Smith, as well as the quick growth and versatility of Young and Speights, Evans was expendable. This really is an upgrade for the Sixers. It is tough to lose another fan favorite the way we lost Korver but at least with this one, there is clear upside to the trade.

And The League Strikes Back!

The League has reviewed the most dubious elbow of Tuesday night and determined that Howard is to be suspended for Game 6 tomorrow in Philadelphia. I'm a little annoyed that the rule book was not followed at the time because he would have been ejected in the 1st quarter and the Sixers would have had a very good shot to win the game down there. Then potentially close it out at home tomorrow night. Either way, this is big news that could still swing favor toward the Sixers. A big win tomorrow gives them the mindset that it's a 1-game series and anything can happen in Orlando. They won once before down there...

Pick Your Poison

Well the Sixers indeed ran into a wall last night. The Magic have stepped up their defense in a way that is giving the Sixers fits. The more alarming issue, however, is what happened to the Sixers defense. Throughout the first four games of this series, the Sixers have focused their attention on the perimeter and limited Turkoglu and Lewis from scoring in bunches. They have mitigated the damage by allowing the entry passes to Howard and then quickly collapsing on him, usually fouling, and forcing him to earn his points at the line. Last night that strategy seemingly disappeared. Howard had his way inside and on the glass, and was very effective from the line. Fine, I'll let that happen if the Sixers clamp down on the perimeter. Not the case. The Magic were getting several open looks and frankly could have won by a greater margin but missed a bunch. The Sixers needed to hit the majority of their outside shots and they simply could not do it. Marshall entered the game only to provide porous defense, quick fouls, and missed shots. That's not the game we can have from him. Dalembert once again couldn't stay on the floor and was caught gambling for offensive rebounds and fouling, thus forcing Ratliff to have to play even smarter minutes on Howard. The frontcourt's fouls need to be strictly limited to fouling Howard on the low-block while he has the ball or stopping slashers on their way to the basket to prevent easy scores.

One interesting wrinkle is the blatant elbow that Howard threw at Dalembert's head after a tangle for a rebound. The league despises thrown punches/elbows to the head and no doubt will look at this very seriously. If this were the regular season, Howard would almost certainly be forced to sit a game but since we are in the playoffs, the league will hate to influence anything (especially when it's clear who they would rather have advance from this round). Howard might just be facing a hefty fine. News just came out that Courtney Lee, Howard's own teammate and another victim of his flying elbows last night, broke his sinus and is out for at least Game 6. Lee has been the benefactor of the Sixers' defensive attention to Lewis and Turkoglu and has had a few strong games this series. Let's see what the league say about Howard this afternoon. Obviously a suspension would greatly impact the Sixers' chances to win Game 6.

Series Tied 2-2

I didn't chime in after the incredible Game 3 victory because I was living it up for several days (am I still? maybe) but I do not want to let it go by how great of a game that was. The Sixers rose to the occasion and gutted it out to win on a beautiful play by Young. He sensed Howard out of shot-blocking position and struck quick. Now Game 4 was also close and we all know how it ended, with Turkoglu hitting a big-time shot with 1 second left to take the victory. Similar drama to Iguodala last Sunday if you think about it...

So now the Sixers and Magic are locked at 2 games a piece with Game 5 tonight in Orlando. Some people have brought up the bulletin-board talk that perhaps Turkoglu trashed Young by saying that he took the final shot because Young was guarding him. I honestly don't know if I have an opinion on this. It's the playoffs and it's the NBA and of course the Magic are going to go for the best matchup. I think it should be known that this is not a blatent knock on Thad, as if he were Marshall out there defending, but rather a tip-of-the-cap to Iguodala by saying that they did not want to face up against him by going to Lewis. Iguodala is one of the better defenders in the league and both Turkoglu and Lewis knew with their injuries, they might be at a disadvantage if trying to get space on Andre. Whatever, let this talk only motivate Thad. He's responded well this year when needed and should take his game right at them. I see no possible adverse affects. People rave so much over the maturity and work ethic of Thad that this can only result in a positive. The Sixers will need every positive and every break they can get if they hope to win down in Orlando tonight.

Another thing to be mindful of is how the Magic are now employing a new defense against the Sixers. This involves extreme focus on Iguodala with double teams and switching to prevent him from getting in any kind of position to shoot and also from comfortably driving the lane. Dwight Howard has also decided to keep his defensive focus much closer to the basket. Therefore, it's clear the Magic have conceded the outside shot to the Sixers and, in fact, seemingly dared them to make long-distance shots. We all know this is far from the Sixers' strongsuit. Tonight, they will need to establish some semblance of an inside-outside game and open up the floor a bit. Clogging the lane cripples the Sixers' halfcourt set. Also, the Magic are now doing a better job with their transition defense and being very mindful to hustle back and prevent the Sixers' fastbreak offense from taking shape. Defensive rebounding and limiting second chances will continue to be key as the Sixers will need to take advantage of every single opportunity they have on the break. Do they have another miracle win in them? Can they possibly return home on Thursday with the chance to close out the series?? Dare we dream but I'm sure we can rest assured that this team is not going away easily and the Magic will have to earn every inch they think is theirs.

Keys to Game 2

While I think the Sixers might have "awoken the beast" similar to what they did last year, I think there should still be optimism about this being a good series. I've been going back through games by both teams this year and especially our matchups with them to identify the keys for tonight and a successful series.

1) Limiting outside looks by Turkoglu and Lewis. The Magic have the best outside shooting and we know they like to resort to playing in and out with Howard and their perimeter. In two specific losses to them those 2 combined to go 8-13 and 7-14 respectively from 3-pt range. That was key. Right now, both are hurt with ankle and knee injuries and clearly that has carried over into the playoffs. I can't see either deciding to be slashers so the Sixers need to pay attention to them on the outside and recognize that they can perhaps drive on them and get bailed out by a foul. Guys like Williams, Green, and Iguodala have the speed to drive on them.

2) Dalembert's effectiveness. He needs to stay on the floor and pull rebounds and block shots of guards. I dont' want him racking up fouls against Howard. Leave that to Ratliff and Evans. If Sammy can't stay on the floor, that puts Evans in the middle more (bc Ratliff can't handle all those mins) and he does not block shots the same. Evans in the middle also causes our defense to scramble on pick and rolls which I really think the Magic will throw at us tonight. The Sixers have to hold tight to their defensive rotations and only allow those first two involved defenders to guard the pick and roll. If they get caught and a third has to pick up the shooter they are in trouble because it causes the whole defense to shift and they are weak there (as much as I love them, Young and Speights are particularly weak here but try to use speed to compensate). Then the Magic will know they have a wide open shooter on the floor and have burned us there before. It all starts with Sammy staying on the floor and straight up discipline and hard work because he actually does rotate well.

3) Bench play. We have the advantage here but have to optimize it. Our bench MUST outscore and outplay theirs. Williams needs to get into the lane and make things happen and also get to the line. Marshall must play effective by outscoring what he is giving up on the defensive end (and he can do this because we hide him on defense these days). He must drift to open spots and be ready to get his shot off. Look for him in the corner when we drive and at the bend when we get offensive rebounds. Ratliff must try to put Howard out of position by forcing him to set up 2-3+ feet from where he wants to set up. This will cause him to take extra dribbles to position himself (big men dribbling leads to turnovers) or making him shoot outside his range (and thus not being in position to rebound). We can't have someone like Anthony Johnson or Tony Battie have the game of their lives.

These are just some extra keys. Obviously good games are needed as usual from Iguodala, Miller, and Young. I think this one will be tougher to win but if you can come back from 18 down on the road anything can happen. Also, coming home just having won something down there is incredible.

Sixers Stun Magic to Win Game 1!

Look at that face! What an absolute death stare to Orlando delivered courtesy of Andre Iguodala. That's not the only thing he had for the Magic. How about a game-winning field-goal with 2.2 seconds left to cap a furious comeback from 18 down and take Game 1? What a game it was. The Sixers chose to focus their defense on the outside shooters with which the Magic have burned them this year and let Dwight Howard go off. That was expected but they caught a real break when Howard had to leave the game to attend to his eye. During that stretch the Sixers began to close the gap. It was the Sixers' own hot shooting in the 4th quarter where they went 5-for-7 from three-point territory and 74% overall that keyed the comeback victory. All those people who swore the Sixers would get swept can eat their words because this is now the playoffs and things are always different when you face the possibility of ending your season very soon. There is no reason for any player on the team to hold back in any regard. They fought all season without their big offseason pickup to get where they are and I hope they continue to make some noise and get the respect they deserve. Next game is Wednesday and we should expect the Magic to come out with a vengeance after this game. Then bring it back home on Friday night and I hope the Wachovia Center is rockin!