11/10/12
Last night the 76ers had a statement win against the Boston
Celtics. Tonight they conclude their three game road trip in Toronto. Since the 76ers played last night, I
expected them to be tired and look sluggish coming out of the gate. It is tough
to play two nights in a row, especially coming off an emotional high from last
night. Last night Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, and Thaddeus Young all played over
40 minutes. How would Doug Collins handle those three players’ minutes tonight?
Would the bench be into action more than usual? These questions will be
answered later in this entry. The Raptors were without star point guard Kyle
Lowry, who was born and raised in Philadelphia.
They were also without Landry Fields due to injuries. The 76ers had the same
injured players out - Jason Richardson, Kwame Brown, and Andrew Bynum.
In the first half and just as I had suspected, the 76ers
started out sluggish and looked tired on the court. They were missing their
shots and their free throws. They were down 26-20 after the first quarter. In
the second quarter, they roared back (no pun intended) on top and led at
halftime 52-33. What was eye-popping about that quarter was that the Raptors
scored only seven points in that quarter. I can’t remember a team scoring that
few points in a quarter in a game. The 76ers standout star in that half was
Spencer Hawes. He had 12 points and eight rebounds in the half. Nick Young
chipped in with 11 points while Jrue Holiday had 10 points. It’s tough to name
a standout star for the Raptors in this half, but their leading point scorer
was Andrea Bargnani with 11 points.
Just like last night for the 76ers, they let their opponent
get back in the game in the second half. The 76ers once had a 20 point lead
that was dwindled to a seven point lead after the third quarter, 69-62. The
76ers were having trouble when the Raptors played a 2-3 zone defense. That
defense tries to make the offensive team shoot three-pointers and not get an
easy layup. Would the 76ers respond with a strong fourth quarter? They sure
did. The Raptors made it a six point game in the beginning of the fourth
quarter, but that was the closest they could cut the margin. The 76ers took
charge at the end and finished off the Raptors 93-83.
Dorell
Wright led the 76ers with 12 points in the second half and finished with 15
points in the game. Thaddeus Young finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Holiday and Nick Young both ended up with 16 points. Hawes had a double-double
tonight and had 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Raptors had a standout star in
this half and it was Jose Calderon. Calderon had a double-double and ended up
with 14 points and 11 assists scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
Bargnani ended up with 23 points in the game. Demar DeRozan finished with 19
points.
Overall, the 76ers played well after starting slow. Their
defensive presence is becoming a constant like it has been the past two
seasons. Doug Collins went to his bench more than usual, which was expected
after last night’s game. Nobody on the 76ers played over 40 minutes. They
out-rebounded the Raptors 46-35 in the game. The 76ers went 19-25 from the free
throw line whereas the Raptors went 11-16. What needs to stop is Holiday committing seven turnovers in a game
consistently. This has happened for three games in a row. Sometimes he throws
his passes with too much zip, which makes his teammates have trouble catching
the ball. The Raptors were in trouble from the beginning because it’s tough to
play without your star player on the court in Lowry.
Did Nick Young regain
his shot for the 76ers? Sound off and stay tuned for my next entry on Monday
when the 76ers open a five game homestand against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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