Sixers Wrap Up Road Trip in Grand Fashion with Win Over Portland

What a road trip it was! Before heading out west, I was hoping the Sixers would just take care of business and beat the Warriors and Kings. They sure made it interesting by knocking off the Lakers to start the trip. Then the hope was that they could grab 3 out of 5 games. After the unfortunate loss to Golden State, they took care of the Kings (no drama expected there) and returned the next night to beat the Blazers...in Portland...on the second night of a back-to-back and at the end of a 5-games-in-7-nights road trip. Simply unreal. For starters, the Blazers were 28-6 at home going into last night. They also have been 17-3 against teams who have played the previous night. The Sixers got out to a nice lead in the first half with some hot shooting but it was widely expected things would settle down in the second half. It's so tough to shoot so well for a whole game and keep up a fast pace when you've played the night before. Everyone stepped up for this. The Miller-Iguodala-Young trifecta supplied the offense and guys like Evans, Dalembert and Ratliff sure gave a great effort on the defensive end. Sammy was unreal in the closing minutes on the boards against Oden and Aldridge. Also something to note was the Sixers' foul shooting. They were 35-39 and needed every one. I was nervous about Iguodala's 4 shots in the closing moments of the 4th because he has been suspect to miss those on more than one occasion.

One more thing to note has been the Sixers overall defense, especially against star-caliber players, lately. The held Dwayne Wade to 18pts (avgs 29.9/gm), Kobe to 11 (avgs. 27.7/gm), and Brandon Roy to 12 (avgs 23/gm). It was obvious during this trip that they were letting up a lot of cumulative points, but there is more behind the final score to Phoenix and Golden State. Golden State has the fastest-pace offense in the league while Phoenix has the 4th highest. That means these teams get a lot of possessions considering many factors (e.g. avg time of possession, takeaways, etc.). Also, the Sixers played Phoenix the night after LA and it was an uphill battle from the start. Not making any excuses in that regard but despite the points let up, they have done a great job of limiting baskets down the stretch when it has mattered.

Ok...one more thing...Thad Young. I find a large part of the reason that the Sixers have won 6 of their last 8 to be the play of Young. He has averaged 23 points over that stretch (his season average is 15) and he has done it while shooting 58% from the field (up from season avg of 49%). He is just more confident these days in his low-post moves, his timing, his range, his right hand, and his awareness on the court.