reCAP: Washington Wizards vs. Philadelphia 76ers

1/31/13

What a game that was last night. The 76ers make you want to pull your hair out, but in the end, a win is all that matters. The 76ers were coming off a tough loss against the Memphis Grizzlies and they had an easier matchup against the Wizards. The Wizards are not as good as the Grizzlies are, but the Wizards have some talented big men in Nene and Emeka Okafor, plus a healthy John Wall. Wall made his season debut on January 12 and the Wizards have gone 6-4 since Wall returned to the starting lineup. It seemed like a tough challenge for the 76ers because they are an undersized team. I expected this to be a low scoring scrappy kind of game because both teams are terrible on offense. The Wizards have a top 10 defense and the 76ers do not even though Doug Collins preaches defense to his team. Bradley Beal did not play for the Wizards due to a sore right wrist. Garrett Temple replaced Beal in the starting lineup. Jason Richardson did not play for the fifth straight game with left knee synovitis and Damien Wilkins was unavailable for the 76ers due to personal reasons.

The first half was interesting. The Wizards displayed in the first quarter how great they have played since the return of Wall. The 76ers were good too on offense, but couldn’t get any defensive stops. In the second quarter a switch went off for the 76ers. They forced the Wizards to turn the ball over six times. That’s a big number for turnovers in a quarter. Another bad stat in that quarter was two fast break points by the 76ers on six Wizards turnovers. At halftime the 76ers led 48-39. The 76ers held the Wizards to 11 second quarter points after they allowed the Wizards to score 28 in the first quarter. Nick Young led the 76ers with 11 points at the half while Okafor led the Wizards with eight.

The second half was all 76ers. They didn’t look back after losing the first quarter to the Wizards. The 76ers had their largest lead at 16 points in this half and almost coughed it up. It has been difficult lately for the 76ers to close games out. This one they closed out, but that’s only because the Wizards kept turning the ball over and Wall played out of control. Wall used his blazing speed to get to the basket, but has always had trouble making layups because he throws the ball up trying to draw the contact and draw fouls on the 76ers. The 76ers won this game by a final score of 92-84. Jrue Holiday led the 76ers with 21 points, six assists, and four steals. Nick Young finished with 18 points. Thaddeus Young and Lavoy Allen both ended with 14 points. Thaddeus Young collected eight rebounds while Allen grabbed six. Spencer Hawes had a double-double. He scored 12 points, snatched 11 rebounds, and he blocked four shots. For the Wizards, Okafor had a double-double. He scored 15 points and collected 17 rebounds. Martell Webster also had 15 points. Nene finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Trevor Ariza ended with 12 points.

Overall, the 76ers played good enough to win. They left a lot of points off the scoreboard when they kept missing fast break layups and point blank shots in general. This style of play is exactly how the 76ers need to play in order to win in this league, especially without their prized big man Andrew Bynum. The 76ers need to start rolling to the basket when they run the pick and roll offense. Too many times I saw the 76ers players set their picks and run just inside the three point line. They need to draw contact too when they drive to the basket instead of kicking the ball out to the open man to hit a deep two pointer. The Wizards’ 18 turnovers was the reason the 76ers won this game. If those turnovers were cut down in half, I don’t see the 76ers winning that game.

How can the 76ers finish the fourth quarter of games better? Sound off and stay tuned until next time…

reCAP: Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers

1/30/13

I know all of you will be surprised to know that this is my first blog on the Flyers. I’m expanding my horizons on what to blog about. The Flyers were coming into this game with a surprisingly bad 2-4 record. However, the Rangers had a surprising record of 2-3. Both teams are expected to be playoff contenders which explains why their records are surprising to me, but will that be the case now? It’s too early to tell. The last time these two teams met, the Flyers finally beat the Rangers 2-1 for the first time since 2011. Tye McGinn was a healthy scratch for the Flyers, which was shocking because he was playing well in the past few games filling in for Zac Rinaldo.

The Rangers quickly got on the scoreboard in the first period as Michael Del Zotto slapped the puck right past Ilya Bryzgalov’s right skate to make it a 1-0 Rangers lead. The Rangers scored another goal in the second period on the power play to make it 2-0. Ryan Callahan got credited with the goal as the shot by Rick Nash rebounded off of Bryzgalov and Callahan scored off the rebound. The Flyers got on the scoreboard in the third period when Kimmo Timonen slapped a shot in the middle of the Rangers zone and the puck found its way past Henrik Lundqvist to make it a 2-1 game, which was the final score of this game.

The Flyers looked careless in the first two periods of the game, but woke up in the third period. They had many chances to get back into this game, but failed to do so. The Flyers were one for six on the power play, including a five on three power play in the second period. It’s unacceptable that the Flyers didn’t score a goal on a two man advantage. The Flyers were also terrible in winning faceoffs. The Rangers won 19 more faceoffs than the Flyers. Some of those faceoffs the Flyers lost were critical because it ruined their chances to score another goal or two, especially when they were on the power play. Another critical stat that the Rangers took advantage of were giveaways. The Flyers had 11 giveaways while the Rangers had five. The Flyers may have only lost by one goal but they were lucky that it wasn’t a wider margin because Bryzgalov was playing “out of his mind” in the net.

Where has Flyers captain Claude Giroux been and why is he in this scoring slump? Sound off and stay tuned until next time…

reCAP: Memphis Grizzlies vs. Philadelphia 76ers

1/29/13

If anyone wanted to watch an NBA game tonight, you didn’t want to miss this 76ers game. It was a fun game to watch. These are two teams who like to emphasize playing defense. In the last meeting, the 76ers won, but the Grizzlies were without Rudy Gay. This game, the Grizzlies were without Mike Conley Jr. with a sprained ankle and Quincy Pondexter has a knee injury. The 76ers were still without Jason Richardson, who has left knee synovitis. Earlier this month, the Grizzlies were involved in a trade that had Marreese Speights, Josh Selby, and Wayne Ellington shipped to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Jon Leuer. This trade was a way for the Grizzlies to dump salary and try to keep their core of Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, and Rudy Gay (who has been the subject of trade rumors) together for years to come. The 76ers were coming off one of their best regular season performances on Saturday against the New York Knicks. They also made a few changes in the starting lineup as they inserted Spencer Hawes and Nick Young into the lineup. Lavoy Allen and Dorell Wright were sent to the bench. That change paid dividends against the Knicks. Could they repeat that same performance against the Grizzlies?

The first half was very entertaining as both teams took turns on who displayed flashes of brilliance. The 76ers had a fantastic first quarter and were right where they left off on Saturday against the Knicks. The 76ers attacked the basket and made their shots. Hawes surprisingly was playing like a center and played inside. He was making his jump hook shots and rolling to the basket on the pick and roll plays. In the second quarter, the Grizzlies overcame a 17 point deficit the 76ers had in the game. The 76ers got away from what they did in the first quarter and went back to what they’ve been doing the entire season. They were shooting, and missing their jump shots and not attacking the basket. The Grizzlies were making almost everything. The Grizzlies led at halftime by a score of 57-54. Thaddeus Young led the 76ers in scoring with 13 points. Jerryd Bayless, filling in for Conley Jr., led the Grizzlies with 19 points.

The second half was even better than the first half. Both teams played solid basketball. The defense was more clamped in this half than the first, and the game went down to the wire. This half was like a duel between Gay and Evan Turner. Turner single handedly took over the 76ers in the second half and kept his team in the game. Gay did the same thing for the Grizzlies. The 76ers had chances to close this game out with a win. However, the Grizzlies kept fighting and the 76ers had poor offensive execution in the final few minutes of the game. The Grizzlies won the game when Gay grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed shot by Bayless and leaned into his shot and dropped an easy two with 13 seconds left in the game. The 76ers had a chance to retake the lead, but Thaddeus Young missed a short jump hook shot that he normally makes 80% of the time. The 76ers had to foul the Grizzlies with 1 second left on the clock. The Grizzlies sank their two free throws to make it a three point game. The 76ers had one more chance to tie the game when Turner inbounded the ball to Nick Young and his three point shot got blocked by Marc Gasol and that ended the game. The Grizzlies won by a final score of 103-100. Gay, Gasol, and Bayless scored a combined 74 points out of 103. I have to point out that Bayless had a season-high 21 points filling in for Conley Jr. For the 76ers, Evan Turner finished with a season-high 27 points and seven assists. Thaddeus Young collected 23 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. Jrue Holiday had a double-double in the game. He scored 18 points and dished 10 assists. Nick Young finished with 13 points.

Overall, the 76ers had another hard fought game, but couldn’t close it out with a win. I do have to say that this is the best stretch of 76ers basketball I’ve seen since two months ago. They are playing with energy, playing at a quicker pace on both offense and defense, and starting out fast in the beginning of games. We have to accept the fact that the 76ers won’t be a team that will get to the free throw line as often. The thing they need to fix now is closing out games. It may be tough to do because they don’t have a go-to scorer that has a clutch gene. The one thing I was surprised with in this game was the performance of Zach Randolph for the Grizzlies. This guy was named last week to the all-star game and he looked lackadaisical out on the court. He may have grabbed 12 rebounds, but he only scored four points. That’s not all-star caliber numbers.

How can the 76ers do a better job of closing out games? Sound off and stay tuned on Wednesday when the 76ers host the Washington Wizards. I will be in attendance of that game.

reCAP: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks

1/23/13

Another 76ers game another 76ers loss. That seems like the theme of their season as of late. The 76ers were playing their second game in as many nights and had to travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks. The Bucks are an uptempo, athletic team that plays scrappy on defense. Earlier this month, the Bucks mutually parted ways with their coach Scott Skiles and replaced him with interim coach Jim Boylan. Rumors had it that the players were tuning Skiles out and they needed a new voice to guide them the rest of the way. The Bucks have a few superstar players playing for their next contract in Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. They also have a lot of size on their team. The only injury in this game was on the 76ers. Jason Richardson was not with the team as he is still recovering from left knee synovitis. Royal Ivey made his first start of the season replacing Richardson in the lineup. They started Ivey because he could defend Monta Ellis.

The first half was another disappointment for the 76ers. They had a slow start in the first quarter and the Bucks took advantage of the 76ers slow start. Teams can’t win games when they shoot 30% in the first quarter while the other team shoots close to 60%. As the game went on, the 76ers started attacking the basket, but they didn’t try to get any contact so they can get fouled and go to the free throw line. The Bucks were shooting well and they couldn’t miss. Whenever the 76ers kept clawing at their lead, the Bucks would answer back with a big shot no matter how guarded they were. The Bucks rebounded the ball better than the 76ers and were getting second chance points. Second chance points are critical in a game because an element of winning games can be decided on who crashes the boards in an efficient way. At halftime the Bucks led 55-47. Evan Turner and Nick Young both led the 76ers with 12 points in the half. Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with 14 points.

The second half was better for the 76ers, but it was not enough. When the Bucks had their largest lead at 14 points, the 76ers cut that lead down to four points at one point in the game. In the end it was not enough to salvage a win against the Bucks. The 76ers did things differently on offense too. They did attack the basket, but what they did were drive-and-kick plays. They drove the ball into the lane, and passed the ball out to the three point line whenever someone was wide open, and shots went in for the 76ers. Unfortunately, the 76ers played terrible defense and couldn’t stop the Bucks from scoring. Spencer Hawes, a bench player for the 76ers, started the third quarter for the 76ers. This was a surprising move because teams usually insert their starting lineup at the beginning of the first and third quarters. Lavoy Allen, the starter that Hawes replaced, was probably in Doug Collins’ doghouse because he played with a lack of effort. At the same time, Hawes was on a roll and you can’t take out someone that’s on a hot streak. They had a chance to get a win in this game, but the 76ers, like they did last game against the Spurs, played sloppy at the end and turned the ball over a lot and couldn’t finish the deal. The Bucks won the game by a final score of 110-102. Ilyasova finished with a double-double. He scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. Ellis also got a double-double as he finished with 18 points and 10 assists. Jennings ended with 25 points, including 16 second half points, and dished seven assists. Mike Dunleavy Jr. scored 11 points coming off the bench. For the 76ers, Turner finished with 23 points and seven assists. Hawes recorded a double-double and had an impressive second half. He scored 17 of his 21 points in the half and collected 12 rebounds, which is a double-double for him. Nick Young ended with 20 points. Thaddeus Young recorded 11 points in the game. Jrue Holiday had a terrible shooting night, but collected 12 assists.

Overall, this was another game the 76ers fought hard, but it was not enough. Eventually these games will turn out as wins, but the question is when will that happen? Hawes had a terrific game. Not only did his stats tell most of his story, but he was crashing the boards. This is something you don’t see a lot from Hawes in the season. Nick Young has been playing better basketball since he was benched for a game a few weeks ago against the Houston Rockets. Holiday has to take better care of the basketball. Eight turnovers in a game like this is unacceptable.

Is there anything else to say about the 76ers season? Sound off and stay tuned on Saturday when the 76ers host the New York Knicks.

reCAP: San Antonio Spurs vs. Philadelphia 76ers

1/22/13

The 76ers served us an unthinkable come from behind win against the lowly Toronto Raptors last Friday night by overcoming a 17 point deficit. Could they do the same thing again against one of the top teams in the Western Conference in the Spurs? The Spurs have one of the best coaches in the NBA in Gregg Popovich. He is one of the best coaches because he makes his players play towards their strengths and not their weaknesses. Popovich is also a very strategic coach that tries to make a basketball game be played as a chess match to see if he can outsmart the coach on the other team. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan are Popovich’s superstars on the Spurs, and they have accomplished a lot in their careers. The one star the Spurs were missing was Manu Ginobili. He has been sidelined with a strained hamstring for the past week and will miss at least one more week. The 76ers were playing without Jason Richardson. He has left knee synovitis.

The first half was very boring. The 76ers couldn’t make a shot, and the Spurs couldn’t make shots outside of the painted area. The Spurs took advantage of a porous 76ers defense that couldn’t defend the paint. The Spurs got most of their points in layups and getting fouled at the basket. The 76ers offense was stagnant. They kept missing jump shots and not attacking the basket. At one point the 76ers were double teaming Duncan and Parker. The Spurs were getting wide open looks at three’s, but the 76ers were lucky that their shots weren’t falling from three. At halftime the Spurs led 49-35. Their largest lead in this half was at 17 points and now we wonder if the 76ers will pull another rabbit out of their hat and make a comeback. Duncan led the Spurs with 12 points. Jrue Holiday led the 76ers with eight points.

The second half was more exciting than the first half. The 76ers kept clawing at that 17 point deficit. They kept clawing until they took the lead in the fourth quarter and held a seven point lead for most of the quarter. However, the 76ers blew it in the end because they scored one point in a four minute span in which they had possession of the ball 13 times. The difference in this half was that the 76ers played more of an uptempo offense against the Spurs since their team isn’t as athletic compared to the 76ers. The uptempo style made the 76ers score more of their points and rally from a 17 point deficit. This is why Doug Collins calls his team inconsistent because you never know what you’re going to get with his team. They can look so good for one stretch and can look terrible for most of the game. The way the 76ers were shooting in the first half carried over to the Spurs as their shooting was terrible in this half. The last few minutes of the game defined why Parker and Duncan are superstar players. They brought their team back in this game when it could have gone worse and led their team to victory. The Spurs won this game by a final score of 90-85. Duncan finished the game with a double-double. He scored 24 points and snatched 17 rebounds. Parker collected 20 points and eight assists. Kawhi Leonard finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Tiago Splitter ended the game with a double-double. He scored 10 points and collected 12 rebounds. For the 76ers, Evan Turner got himself a double-double. He finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. Holiday had a poor second half, but finished with 15 points and eight assists. Spencer Hawes collected 16 points. Nick Young finished with 12 points. Both Hawes and Nick Young came off the bench. Thaddeus Young ended with 14 points.

Overall, the 76ers have made better in-game adjustments. They weren’t attacking the basket much in the first half, so what did they do? They attacked the basket more often in the next half. Holiday has a lot of learning to do to become a superstar. If he wanted to learn how to play that superstar role, he should watch closely how Duncan and Parker played last night.

Is this a good sign that the 76ers can overcome adversity? Sound off and stay tuned when the 76ers travel to Milwaukee to play the Bucks tonight.