The Starting Five

Three of the Sixers last four wins had come by 20+ points against teams that you don’t expect to see fighting for a playoff spot in April. Last night the surprising 6-2 Indiana Pacers came to town looking for their third straight win.

The Pacers kept it close throughout, but in the end it came down to some timely defensive stops as the Sixers held on for their fifth straight win, a 96-86 conquest that wasn’t decided until the final minutes.

Thaddeus Young (12 pts. 7 rebs. 2 stls. 1 blk.) is the 76′ers version of Ray Lewis.  The fifth year forward roams the floor at will deflecting passes, blocking shots and causing havoc where he can. He is the Sixers best defensive stopper since former Sixers great Bobby Jones who was dubbed the Secretary of Defense in the mid 1980′s.

Last night Young was in the midst of a personal defensive exhibition that allow the Sixers to remain the NBA’s best defensive team.

The Sixers faced a game Pacers squad who were without leading scorer Danny Granger (food poisoning) and were able to use their size advantage to keep the home team at bay momentarily.

Then Doug Collins went to his bench led by Young and Lou Williams(13 pts. 6 assts.).

The bench has been able to jumpstart the team’s offense with creating turnovers and easy baskets when the first unit struggles. Young’s versatility as a low post defender is key in putting the clamps on any perimeter or interior threat the opposition may have.  Last night the Sixers were able to force Pacers coach Frank Vogt to go with a smaller quicker lineup which eventually played into the Sixers hands but not without the Pacers making a game of it. The visitors placed five players in double figures led by center Roy Hibbert (19 pts. 8 rebs.) free agent acquisition David West showed no ill effects of a knee injury suffered last season as he recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes of playing time. Second year player Paul George continues to improve as he finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists filling in for Granger.

Andre Iguodala played his best all-around game of the season thus far with 20 pts. 9 rebs. and 5 assts. Iguodala seemed intent on dictating the pace of the game from the start and his play was timely at both ends when the Pacers looked to close the lead.

For the second consecutive game Collins was able to rely on rookie big man Nikola Vucevic as he was able to spell Elton Brand (6 pts. 5 rebs.) who played only 18 minutes. Spencer Hawes who was playing with a sore back paced himself with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Hawes could’ve easily taken the night off but understood the importance of this challenge early in the season, which Collins appreciated as he shared a hug and some heartfelt words with Hawes in the locker room after the game. “We knew this was one that we had to come get especially with the week that we’ve got ahead, especially at home taking care against home court against a team that’s going to be right up there in the Eastern Conference when it’s said and done.”

But the talk of the locker room was Young who should be an early season favorite for the NBA All-Defensive Team. Hawes realizes what having a player like Young in front of him does for his overall game. “He takes so much pressure off the defense because he covers so much ground and he’s so active that it makes my job of protecting the hoop much easier.”

Young appreciates the accolades that come from his teammates but realizes that it’s always a unified effort. ”We all play on a string. I may look like the most athletic out on the floor at times, but we play as a team.” Young continued, “Sometimes, I may be out of pocket and ‘Dre (Iguodala) helps me out and I help him out, we all make up for each other’s losses.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 at 9:31 am and is filed under Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.