12/13/12
The 76ers were coming off a win against the Detroit Pistons
on Monday. Last night they were playing a Bulls team that was riddled with
injuries and were playing their second consecutive game. It would be
inexcusable for the 76ers to lose this game if they don’t exploit the Bulls
weakness in playing the game fast. Playing the game slow would benefit the
Bulls because they would have energy for all 48 minutes of this game. In
general, the Bulls are a physical and aggressive team that rebounds with the
best of them. They also play defense very well and they are in the top 2 in
points allowed per game. Besides Derrick Rose, the Bulls were missing Rip
Hamilton and Kirk Hinrich. Hamilton has torn plantar fasciitis and Hinrich has
a leg injury. The 76ers were missing Royal Ivey and Damien Wilkins. Ivey had
strep throat while Wilkins has a strained calf.
The first half looked like it was going the 76ers way. They
were outworking the Bulls and grabbing rebounds on both ends of the floor. They
were also making their shots, tough shots too. The Bulls still made this a
close game even when they dressed nine players to play last night. Nate
Robinson and Marco Belinelli were replacing Hinrich and Hamilton in the starting
lineup. At halftime the 76ers led 44-41. Jrue Holiday was on his A-game in the
early portion of this game. He led the 76ers with 16 points. Joakim Noah led
the Bulls with 10 points.
The Bulls looked like a different team in the second half.
They looked energized, ready to compete, and brought the intensity up from the
first half. Not only did the Bulls look like the better team in this half, they
were getting to the free throw line and making every free throw. The 76ers on
the other hand were not getting to the free throw line a lot and not making
most of their free throws. They also didn’t make their three pointers. The
Bulls, normally not a three point shooting team, were making more three’s than
the 76ers. The Bulls won the game 96-89. Evan Turner had a solid game scoring
16 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Thaddeus Young had a decent game. He
finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Holiday was the star for the 76ers
scoring 26 points and dishing out nine assists. Nick Young had a good first
half, but a poor second half. He is a streaky shooter and finished with 10
points. Spencer Hawes quietly had a double-double. He collected 10 points and
10 rebounds last night. For the Bulls, Noah had 21 points last night along with
many celebratory gun-finger-pointing after every basket he made. Luol Deng was
the star of the game for the Bulls in getting a double-double. He scored 19
points and snatched 12 rebounds. Belinelli finished with 16 points and Robinson
finished with 14 points.
Overall, the 76ers again need to practice drawing fouls and
getting to the free throw line. More importantly, they need to make their free
throws too. They also need to get back in making their three pointers. The
76ers have done a better job in rebounding as of late. I was impressed how the
Bulls played well after playing a late game last night and playing without both
of their starting point and shooting guards. Noah was motivated to play well
last night because he will always think back to last year’s playoffs against the
76ers in which the 76er fans cheered Noah when he exited Game 3 with an ankle
injury that had an impact on his overall play.
How can the 76ers get
better at drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line? Sound off and stay
tuned on Friday when the 76ers travel to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana
Pacers.
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