11/7/12
Was I watching an NBA game tonight or was I watching a
playground basketball game? This was a nationally televised game on ESPN and it
was such a disappointment to watch. The Hornets coming into the game were
without three of their star players. Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers, and Eric
Gordon all sat out with injuries. Meanwhile the 76ers had injuries of their
own. They were without Jason Richardson, Kwame Brown, and Andrew Bynum. The
76ers were coming off two dreadful losses against the New York Knicks and were
just trying to buy a win against an injury-riddled team like the Hornets. The
Hornets were coming off a big win even though it was against the Derrick
Rose-less Chicago Bulls.
The first half was so hard to watch. Not only was it low
scoring, but it was very sloppy. There were 24 combined turnovers. Both teams
shot a combined 3-17 from three-point range. The score at halftime was 37-36,
which is typically what a score would look like in the beginning of the second
quarter, not at halftime. The standout stars at the half for the 76ers were
Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young, and Jrue Holiday. Turner surprisingly shot well
and had eight points and four rebounds. Thaddeus Young had six points and seven
rebounds. Holiday had six points and eight assists, but the bad stat he had was
his six turnovers in the half. That’s not good for a point guard to commit that
many turnovers in a half. Spencer Hawes also chipped in with seven points. For
the Hornets, their standout stars were Al-Farouq Aminu, Jason Smith, and Greivis
Vasquez. Aminu had six second quarter points and five rebounds. Smith had eight
first quarter points. Vasquez had five points and six assists.
The second half was just as hard to watch as the first half.
The only difference in this half was that the 76ers showed vast improvement on
taking care of the ball. The first half they committed 14 turnovers, but in
this half they only committed one turnover. That’s impressive considering how
sloppy both teams were in the first half. Poor shooting was still a factor for
both teams. Both teams shot a combined 5-24 from three-point range in this
half. No one really stood out for the Hornets in this half. The only stat worth
telling is Aminu grabbing 11 rebounds and finishing the game with a
double-double. He had 10 points and 16 rebounds. The standout stars for the
76ers were Holiday, Hawes, and Lavoy Allen. Holiday had eight points and four
assists and finished the game with 14 points and 12 assists, which is a
double-double for him. The great thing Holiday changed in the second half was
having the lone turnover for the 76ers. Hawes had four points, six second half
rebounds, and three second half blocks. He finished the game with 11 points,
six rebounds, and three blocks. Allen had eight points and finished the game with
12 points. Thaddeus Young also recorded a double-double scoring 12 points and
grabbing 10 rebounds. Evan Turner finished the game with 14 points and eight
rebounds.
Overall, I would not call this a great win by a 76ers, but a
win is a win. If the 76ers played every game like they did in the second half
of tonight’s game, they will be able to squeak out wins with terrific defense. They
still have to shoot better, not only from three-point range, but in general.
They can’t have games like Nick Young and Dorell Wright had tonight shooting a
combined 3-17. They get to play a Boston Celtics team that also has the same
problem as the 76ers right now. That problem is not having good players coming
off the bench. As for the Hornets, they need to get healthy. We won’t know what
their potential is if their players are not 100% healthy.
Other then shooting,
do the 76ers need to improve in anything else? Sound off and stay tuned to my
next entry on Friday when the 76ers fly to Boston to play the Celtics.
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