Pistons Take Control Of Series With Game 5 Rout Of Sixers

Unfortunately for the Sixers, reality started to creep in last night. That cold reality is that the Pistons are a better basketball team and there is a reason they are heavily favored in the series. The only real thing that surprised me was how they shot the ball SO well last night. They are a team with a lot of offensive weapons but never have been known as an offensive powerhouse. They like to slow the game down and burn the clock and not allow running teams like the Sixers to get into their flow. With the scoring pace last night, you would have thought the Sixers were playing the style they know and would prefer. Tough to see each and every shot fall like that for Detroit. Iguodala showed up for this game, even managing to disrupt Prince a bit, but the Sixers needed more from Miller and he struggled. Not a whole lot else to say.

The good news is that this series is not over just yet. I think the Sixers, possibly the greatest "fighters" in the NBA this season, still have something left in them. I really hope the the fans come out and support tomorrow night and push this series back to Detroit. Amazing I have to wonder about that in a city like Philadelphia but that's a post for another time.

Sixers Blow Out Pistons in Game 3

Many people may wonder where I have been for the first couple games of the playoffs. Well here's the truth, I've been in Jamaica in the warm sun cheering the Sixers on from afar yet not able to post. What we have going on right now is something amazing. The same Sixers that scrapped their way back from 12 games under .500 to make the playoffs, the same ones that people said would lose in 4 or 5 games to Detroit and who "didn't have a prayer" are suddenly up 2 games to 1. Not only that, last night they completely dominated the Pistons and crushed them. Now four members of this Pistons squad have played 85 playoff games TOGETHER. The Sixers have significantly less than that from most of their whole team. The key in this series so far has been the second half defense exhibited by the Sixers when it is needed. Dalembert has stepped up and contributed more so than expected as have players like Young and Evans. With Iguodala struggling from the field, they need a total team effort and that's what we're seeing here.

It's KILLING me to not be at the actual games since I have been to so many during the course of the year and watched this team grow but I will be at every one possible once I arrive home late tomorrow night. The question of course is: can the Sixers maintain this level of play and perhaps win this series? The answer is not certain but we need to remind ourselves, as has been stated several times toward the end of the year, that anything is possible with this team....anything.

Refs Give Sixers the 7th Seed

Now before everyone gets up in arms, I must start off by admitting that I really think the refs made the correct call at the end of the Cleveland game. It was tough to accept from a Sixers' perspective but the call was correct. Dalembert knew he fouled Brown, even though it was a light foul. We just have to live with that. Miller and the rest of the players were clearly frustrated but they have to accept it and move on. The real concern, and thankfully it was addressed by Cheeks, was that the Sixers clearly have not been playing good basketball over the past few games. The losses to Indiana and Washington were killer for their playoff positioning. Now they are sitting at 2-4 over the important final seven games with one more left to play. They know they will face Detroit in the first round but let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. The Sixers in the 4th against the Cavs finally found that fight that they know so well and made it a game again. They turned up the defense, got steals, rebounded, and got on the break. That's their strength and that's the style we need to see from them every night if they expect to make any kind of noise in the postseason of an already overachieving regular season. We need Dalembert to be a rock, Iguodala to be consistent, Miller to be himself, and the bench to be capable of entering and maintaining the momentum in a game. We did not see that in the past few losses but we saw it late in 4th the other night. Let's hope we build on that against the Bobcats (just don't get hurt!) and roll into the playoffs looking to prove something.

For The Stat Lovers

I'm a big fan of stats and I had to share this one that I read courtesy of Marc Stein's ESPN Power Rankings: the Sixers are one of only two teams in the last 20 years to go from 12 games under .500 to a record over .500 in the same season. It's interesting where they might be if the Korver trade didn't set them back so far when it happened. They lost 7 in a row and were looking lost before the turnaround. Was it growing pains of acclimating the young guys? Was it a tough Western road swing? Was it perhaps that losing streak that gave this team the mentality to step it up and play better? We don't really know the answer but that defines this season. There wasn't one exact turning point or factor for success but rather a combination of many things (i.e. Cheek's coaching, overall team play, Miller, Dalembert's defense, etc) that has them where they are now.

Five To Go

The Sixers have 5 games left in the schedule and they figure to be important until the end. It always amazes me how people can say that certain games, especially toward the beginning of the season, don't matter as much because there are plenty left. Untrue. The Sixers will need every win to solidify a possible 5 seed. I previously said they needed to win 8 of their last 11 to do that. Well, they better win out because they already have those 3 losses. Hosting Detroit will figure to be the toughest win but the most important game is the Wizards one. We need to beat them head to head to take the tiebreaker and move up. The loss to Atlanta was a rough one they need to bounce back from if they are going to finish strong. They must take care of business against Indiana, Charlotte and probably Cleveland. The possible saving grace is the fact that the Wizards play Boston on Wednesday and then at Detroit the night before they play us. We will be coming off hosting Indiana. I love this time of year and we haven't felt this in a few years. Isn't it great when you actually take each game individually and truly care about the outcome? Should be a great 10 days here.

Isn't It Nice...

...when your playoff positioning can improve so much on a night when you don't even play? The Sixers had off last night but key losses for both Washington and Toronto moved them into a 3-way tie for the 5 seed. Every game here on out is critical. People like to say at the beginning of seasons when a team loses that "there are plenty of games left". I hate that statement because it's clear every year how many teams are needing every win they can get on the final stretch. Sixers must take care of business against Atlanta (twice), Indiana, and Charlotte. Their tougher games will be against Detroit, Cleveland, and a possible very important game in Washington (on no rest). The defensive play that Dalembert has been exhibiting must remain at this high level. When he is able to pull down 12+ boards and 3+ blocks each game, and spark the Sixers fastbreak offense, they are a very dangerous team.

Another thing that is impressive is how our rookies are not hitting the "college wall". That's a reference to the final stretch of the NBA season where a lot of the young players are used to their college seasons ending and they have a difficult time dealing with the physical and mental demands at this point. Thad Young seems as if he's better than ever right now and maybe it was the slow phase-in they used with him. we will certainly need his contributions from here on out.