NBA Playoff Sunday
(ERIC SEALS / DFP)
Reggie Evans came to play no matter how much Sheed tried to hold him down. Did you see the fall away 17 footer at the shot clock buzzer and the swishing of two free throws?
Philadelphia 90, Detroit 86
Philly’s first playoff win in Detroit
Who else was I supposed to start with? I’m going to try and be chill here and not go overboard but DAMN THE SIXERS REALLY WON?
OK, I’m good on that. Writers around the country are calling this win a perfect storm. Rip missed some early fourth quarter shots, Roscoe missed a bunny that would have tied the score, Mr. Big Shot shot 5-8 from the stripe in the fourth and Tayshaun missed a good look from the left elbow in the waning seconds. Louis Williams and I’ve said this many times has the heart and soul we all should have in any form of competition. He hit big shot after big shot when it counted. It’s crazy but if he is making shots and hoppin’ on centers around the rim, the Sixers usually win. Thaddeus Young hit for 10 in his first playoff start. Willie Green scored a playoff high 17, and Andre Miller had his usual game–going for twenty.
The star of this game–other than Sheed who went for 24, 9 boards and a franchise playoff record 7 blocks–was Reggie Evans. Reggie as straight African in this game. He’s always cordial in the locker room and had this look in his eye before the playoffs began that he was going to do some damage. I’m proud of the cat because he’s definitely Philly’s cult hero and has kept plays alive all season hustling and diving after loose balls.
Mo Cheeks had the fellas ready to play.
There were 8 lead changes and 7 ties. Like I said in the preview, if the Sixers put pressure on the Pistons and cause Flip to make decisions they could actually win a couple more games. I’m not going to get ridiculous–yet.
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(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
36, 16 and 8? Paul had a monster game
Los Angeles 128, Denver 114
Pau goes off!
I said in the Lakers/Nuggets preview that if Iverson and Anthony both hit for 30 they would have a chance. I also said Denver needs to play a modicum of defense to stop a team that picked them apart at will from seemingly everyone. Gasol has been overshadowed by Dirk his entire career, but could you imagine Dirk with Pau’s fire?
Kobe, who jawed with Kenyon Martin most of the game, didn’t shoot well (9-26 for 32 points), but the Lakers still hit for 50% of their shots. I know the Lakers won, but they also need to shore up their defense. I noticed late on a couple of occasions Allen Iverson driving into the lane and scoring uncontested. Not good.
Lamar Odom played well 17, 12, 6 and Luke Walton hit for 16 to round out a true team effort.
For Denver, Melo had 30 and 12, Iverson had 30, 7 dimes, and 5 rips and Linas Kleiza went off for 23–he’s athletic and looks like a pretty good player.
I wonder how Denver is going to respond. The team bus caught on fire before the game–no one was injured–they better hope a fire is lit under their ass or they might get swept.
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(Jim Davis / Globe Staff)
One of the best dunks of the year
Boston 101, ATL 84
Boston is just too good.
Al Horford scored 20 and added 10 rebound in his playoff debut–he reminds me of Elton Brand–Joe Johnson added 19, but Josh Smith was just abysmal and scored just 6 points.
He’ll remember this more than anything…
Atlanta had nothing for the C’s. It’s not their fault, Boston is just a great team. As soon as the Hawks got close, the Celtics just pulled away. I can’t stand the +/- stat but Boston was +29 with KG in the game. Wow.
No Celtic scored 20. It was just a professional beatdown with some home cookin’ to boot. Atlanta is just too young. Bibby disappeared also–scoring just 5.
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(Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel)
Even Maurice Evans felt sick after this dunk
Orlando 114, Toronto 100
Superman becomes the Hulk.
Remember earlier in the season Dwight Howard was considered to be one of the top MVP choices?
What happened?
Leviathan (The Last Poet’s moniker) scored 25, snatched 22 boards and smacked 5 shots. Jameer Nelson (Sup Fam!) had 24 and 7 dimes. He and Howard won their first playoff games as professionals. Hedo Turkoglu hit for 21. Every starter was in double figures. Rashard Lewis score 13 but also played some nice defense on Bosh when it counted.
Candace’s Parkers big bruh Troy led the Raptors with 24. Bosh had a quiet 21 but didn’t contribute much on the board and had only 6. Jason Kapono had 18 and Rasho Nesterovic had 16
Sphere: Related Content
April 21st, 2008 at 2:01 pm
As bad as I want to get ridiculous I won’t. I’m curious to see how they start out in Game 2, and how will they handle a big run or if they fall behind 8 or 9 points. Will they continue to believe or will they feel like last night was just luck.
Considering Iggy had a rough night and they still pulled this one out is going to go a long way for their confidence.
Reggie Evans reminded me of Tyrone Hill/George Lynch (circa 2001) last night. He doesn’t give you along in terms of points but he’ll hits the boards and do the dirty work inside.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Corrcction: Alot in terms of points
April 21st, 2008 at 2:19 pm
The Sixers are the team with nothing to lose, which prior to the game getting underway makes them very dangerous. Lou Williams after this series will no longer be his team’s best kept secret.
Its good to see Philadelphia on the national stage.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Enjoy the win, I guess it is good that you guys in Philly have something to cheer for. I the sense of happiness and hope won’t be around for too long though.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
AXG and TBR we’ve been watching this team all year. Why are they being slept on? Like Fred Flintsone snorin?
April 21st, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Because the NBA is a league fixated on superstars, and to be honest the Sixers don’t have one. They’re the only team in the playoffs w/o an All-Star on the roster.
The other reason it’s obvious; It’s Philadelphia and they love to see us fall on our faces.
April 21st, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Andre igund%#$%Q isn’t a superstar? Since when? Andre Miller isn’t an elite player, since when?
76ers are underdogs, but don’t try to make them nothing but a team of scrubs either, TBR.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:34 pm
DMac - I’m from Philadelphia, I’ve watched the 76ers all season, I don’t pull for any other team in the NBA regardless of their record. But if you ask me is Andre Iguodala a superstar? And that isn’t to take away from his game, he’s in that 2nd tier of players that can get to that level. He fills a stat sheet and he’s active on the floor. A superstar not yet.
Andre Miller isn’t an elite player he’s found a home in Philly and I hope we keep him. I think he’s gotten to a point where he’s comfortable enough to open up his game and the interest in him at the trade deadline was evidence of that.
I’m still looking in my post where I even implied that this was a team of scrubs.
Hell, I wrote a post screaming that Cheeks should be Coach of the Year.
I watched 82 games of this team, not ESPN highlights at 2am in the morning, there’s a difference.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Andre Iguodala has the same numbers as Caron Bulter so if you ask me he is a superstar, and Andre Miller is the catalyst for the team’s recent success, and I’m dating that back to late last season post AI trade.
Iguodala will get his big pay day, and he will get in for All-Star in ‘09, see you in Phoenix!
April 21st, 2008 at 6:21 pm
“The Sixers are the team with nothing to lose, which prior to the game getting underway makes them very dangerous.”
I wish the Hawks had played with the nothing to lose mentality the Sixers played with. I’m not shocked by last night’s game because I knew Boston would be crunk. Detroit is feeling themselves way too much lately. I still think Detroit will win this series in 6 games, but I’m pulling for Philly because I tend to root for the underdogs.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:25 pm
TBR - I don’t care what you did, what you wrote, what you watched, Philly has 2 superstars. Andre Miller and Adre Igudala. You are wrong if you say otherwise.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I guess I’m wrong then, I think Iggy is close and I think that Miller is great for this team. That’s not a diss, just my opinion.
I’m still waiting for you to tell me where I wrote this team off as a bunch of scrubs.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Co Co, good to hear from you. Michael and I were on the phone doing our best job to comment on all the games from yesterday, and he and I agree that the Hawks are very exciting to watch. Horford should be the ROY, however he will not get it because of the politics that the voting writers adhere to. All in all, the Hawks are going to be a nice team next season and I expect them and the 76ers to be right back in the playoff race in ‘08-’09.
Can you tell me this much…what offense do they run? I haven’t watched enough of them this year to figure them out.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Anthony, I’ve watched this offense for the past 4 years and I cannot tell you what it is. I’ve asked around and no one else knows either. I’m dead serious about this! No one knows what the hell we’re trying to do when we come down the floor.
And David, you probably want to find out how a superstar is defined. See Bryant, Kobe- James, LeBron -Iverson, Allen- Duncan, Tim for references.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Wow, that’s crazy. Now, I’m going to pay closer attention, to see if I can figure it out.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:49 pm
co-co, I consider Andre I. a superstar, just like I consider Rasheed, Chauncey, Rip, AK-47, Deron Williams, and Chris Paul superstars. Same for miller.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:50 pm
If you find out please let me know, because it looks to me like we score on accident most of the time. lol We hardly ever pass and when we do it doesn’t seem like we pass with a purpose. The bottom line is they are a better team when they speed up the tempo. For whatever reason Woody wants to run some sort of halfcourt offense that we don’t have the personnel to properly execute. Moving forward we have to find a way to get Joe easier shots. Him going 1 on 5 was not a good idea in the regular season and it’s an even worse idea in the post season. Also, everyone not named Al played like sh*t last night. Al is good, but we cannot win if he’s the best player on the floor for our team. I fully expect Bibby, and every player on our team whose name starts with a J to play better. They can’t play much worse!
April 21st, 2008 at 6:56 pm
David, I consider Andre and everyone else you named with the exception of Chris Paul and possibly Deron Williams in the future very good players. AI2 is not there yet, Andre Miller has been good, but not transcendent like superstars are. I’m not taking anything away from them, but um no…….
April 21st, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Co-Co:
I agree with your conservative take on Igoudala. I had to take a quick look at his stats. They’re better than I thought. He doesn’t take many shots - but if he can get his percentage up to 48% or higher and get his free throw percentage up to 85% (it’s only 72%), he would probably average about 25 points (or more) - and with the rest of his floor game, the sky would be the limit.
The other guys in this conversation of 25 pts, 5 rebs, 4 assists, and 2 steals are all established headliners. They say shooting is the easiest aspect of the game because it can be practiced in isolation. The world is in his hands…if he makes these minor adjustments, he’ll have to mentioned in the same breath as the top-tier swing men in the league.
He’s knocking on the door with a big-ass club - and someone better let him in or the door’s coming off.
April 21st, 2008 at 8:22 pm
He’s not far away, and hell by the end of this series he might actually be a superstar. Especially if they pull off this upset which could totally happen if Detroit doesn’t stop feeling itself real soon!
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:15 am
Congrats to the Sixers on the win because they’re my team in the NBA but I will be honest and say that it took me some time to start paying attention to the new look team after getting over my AI1 hangover. This team is a collective live wire with some good pieces and if they can keep Miller and build the bench they can become a force in the East again just like the storied teams from the 80’s.
Living twelve years in ATL, I do pay attention to the Hawks and I’m proud of them but the learning curve would have been shorter for these guys if they had took CPIII or Deron Williams in the draft when they had the chance. They have a strong frountcourt with the Joshes and Horford but I knew before the draft that year, 2005?, the team would have been better served to get a pure, young point guard to distribute the ball to the Oaks in the paint instead of another big man with some upside but a lot of learning to go like Marvin Williams. Defense wins championships which is what I get what Woodson’s doing as coach but a potent offense greases the wheels much easier.