RING PHILLY'S BELL
-VS-
Game Time Start: 7:00 PM ET
Where: The Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Officials: S. Foster, D. Collins, K. Fitzgerald
Media Notes: Indiana Notes, Philadelphia Notes
Television: FOX Sports Indiana / Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
Radio: WFNI 1070 AM / WPEN 97.5 FM
NBA Feeds:
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PACERS Danny Granger - left knee tendinosis (out) Lance Stephenson - right ankle sprain (out) SIXERS Andrew Bynum - bilateral knee bone bruises (out) Jrue Holiday - left foot sprain (questionable) Royal Ivey - strep throat (out) Damien Wilkins - right calf strain (questionable) |
Who would you choose to be your point guard? |
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(Yrs Active) |
(career) |
(career) |
(12-13) |
(12-13) |
Player A might be the starting PG for the Sixers tonight, per Doug Collins. Player B should be practicing dribbling instead of eating or sleeping, per PD. |
Tim Donahue: Which Wing Gets the Nod Down the Stretch? This week, the Pacers have edged out a win in Chicago and out-classed Portland at home to bring their record on the season above .500 for the first time since November 3. Given how depressing this team looked over its first 10 games of the year, that is actually a big step forward. But for a franchise that entered the season expecting to have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, this season has still been a disappointment. One of the many things lost to this Pacer team in Danny Granger’s absence this season has been a sense stability down the stretch in games. Pacer coach Frank Vogel and Pacer fans knew that – with rare exception – the wing combo of Danny and Paul George would be on the floor come the final few minutes of the fourth quarter. This season, Vogel seems to have been experimenting with a running mate for George late in games, choosing from a trio of Lance Stephenson, Sam Young, and Gerald Green. Prior to Friday night’s game against Denver, Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star asked Frank how he made the choice. “It’s typically, I’m goin’ with Lance, but if either Sam or Gerald are going good, I’ll consider those guys,” said Vogel. “If there are match-up situations that are tough for Lance, we’ll consider one of those other guys, as well.” But what exactly is “going good?” What makes Vogel go with Gerald Green or Sam Young over Lance Stephenson “Sam has a knack for impacting the game in a variety of ways,” said Vogel. “Offensively, with cuts and offensive rebounds and making the open three every now and then. Just being a ball mover. But he has the ability to really change a game defensively and to have special performances on the defensive end.” He continued. “Gerald has the ability...CONTINUE READING AT 8p9s |
Brian Ward: Where's the Respect? Typically, in this league made for TV, production equals respect. I'm not talking about respect from the national media, or respect from the fans, I'm talking about respect from the refs. When you're an unknown rookie, you don't get the borderline whistles. When you're mostly a jump shooter who rarely ventures into the lane, you don't get the borderline whistles. When you're a finesse player who shies away from contact, you don't get the borderline whistles. Jrue is none of those things anymore, and it's about time he started getting the benefit of the doubt. Here's some perspective on the team as a whole, first. The Sixers have been outscored by 43 points so far this season. From the line, they've been outscored by 48. In the past two games, they've been outscored by 35 from the line. Two home games, they've attempted 25 fewer free throws than the star-less Pistons and Bulls. That's shameful. Part of the problem is the horrendous Sixer bigs. They're pretty much all either too slow, too weak, too dumb or some combination of the three to protect the paint. Spencer Hawes is helpless as a weak-side defender unless the play is telegraphed and he has three or four seconds to get himself into position. Even then, it's 50/50 whether he'll get whistled for the foul he commits. Poor interior defense is part of the problem, but it's not the part that's most frustrating. The NBA, at its worst, is barely better than professional wrestling. When a superstar is in a game, the deck is stacked absurdly in their favor. If you look at LeBron the wrong way, he's going to the line. If OKC ever goes into a scoring drought, all they need to do is give the ball to Kevin Durant anywhere in the vicinity of the basket and he's more likely to get a trip to the line than not. Paul Pierce's plaintive wails lead to a handful of whistles every game when no one comes close to making contact with him. It's sad to watch. It's something teams without superstars have to overcome. Whether it's a mandate from the league to protect the game's stars, human nature because those players are head and shoulders above everyone else or a downright act of cowardice and playing favorites by the refs, it's institutional and has been basically since Michael Jordan started scowling at the refs, if not longer. When you're on the outside looking in (like the Sixers have been since Iverson's prime), it can be maddening...CONTINUE READING AT DEPRESSED FAN |
Tom Sunnergren: The Evan Turner Backlash, Backlash There aren’t a whole lot of areas, in sport or otherwise, where the opinion of the casual observer and the studied wisdom of the experts dovetail, so it’s worth noting that entering this season the two occasionally warring factions were in almost perfect agreement on this point: Evan Turner’s awfulness. The reasoning went like this: he hurt his team directly by being a poor shooter and missing shots, then indirectly because the opposing player tasked with covering him could, secure in the knowledge that if ET hazarded an FGA he’d likely miss it, drift off him and into the lane; shrinking the floor and undermining scoring opportunities for his teammates. The things Turner did well — like being the best defensive rebounding guard of all- time last season, for starters — were either glossed over by these critics, or explained away as insufficient to offset the harm he did to the Sixers’ offense. There were numbers involved in some of these arguments. Sometime in early November though, the sentiment swung; slowly at first, then more abruptly. Something like a pro-Turner consensus began to emerge. Corner 3s started dropping and glowing pieces cropped up in well-regarded publications. Twitter became a ‘twitter with authentic affection for the Buckeye’s idiosyncrasies; the herky-jerk handle, the occasional offensive eruptions, the bizarre stat lines, that voice. He’s been, along with Holiday and Thad Young, recognized as a key component of the Sixers “promising” triune core. The snark stopped. He’s become, if not loved, liked. I’ve been glad to see it, despite the fact that it doesn’t really make any sense. Here’s a thought exercise. Take a gander at the per 48-minute averages of these three players. Though most of us, assuming they played the same position, would prefer player one to the other two, anyone with a solid read on what these numbers mean would agree that 1.) the difference between the three is marginal and 2.) we’re dealing with sound, well-rounded players here. These three players are, in ascending order, Evan Turner in ’10-11, ’11-12, and ’12-13...CONTINUE READING AT THE PHILADUNKIA |
Pacers Mike Wells @MikeWellsNBA Jared Wade @8pts9secs Tim Donahue @TimDonahue8p9s Tom Lewis @indycornrows |
Sixers John Mitchell @JMitchInquirer Brian Ward @depressedfan Liberty Ballers @Philly76ersBlog Philadunkia @philadunkia |
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