RING PHILLY'S BELL
-VS-
Game Time Start: 7:30 PM ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Officials: S. Foster, J. Phillips, H. Workman
Media Notes: Indiana Notes, Philadelphia Notes
Television: FOX Sports Indiana / Comcast SportsNet / NBA TV
Radio: WFNI 1070 AM / WPEN 97.5 FM
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PACERS Danny Granger - sore knee (out) SIXERS Andrew Bynum - Bilateral Knee Bone Bruises (out) Jason Richardson - Left Knee Surgery (out) |
Jared Wade: No Kobe, No Problem for the Lakers Sweeping the Miami Heat in the regular season was a pipe dream. This could well be the best NBA team in a decade and while the Pacers had to thrilled to come away with two victories, it is bittersweet considering just how lopsided this game was. Miami simply out-classed Indiana on both ends, clearly illustrating just how wide of a gap exists between the two teams when each is playing at its peak. I’m not sure how much to make of this loss. Obviously, the leaguewide angle is that Los Angeles can now beat high-level teams on the road without its best player. And that reflects as poorly on the Pacers as it does positively on the Lakers. I saw a lot of Lakers writers talking about how big this win was in a game where the team was able to get everyone involved. Maybe that is true. But more than anything, this game was just gross. The whole first half was a slog-fest of fouls (including a ton of offensive fouls) and video replays. A game that tipped off right after 7:00 pm didn’t see the third quarter start until something like 8:40. Indiana shot 30.8% (16-for-52) in the first half vs. a scorching 35.7% (15-for-42), which was the key reason they were unable to capitalize on a 10-to-3 offensive rebounding edge. So many extra shots. So few extra points. David West and Paul George couldn’t hit sand in a desert, but as usual, the bench did more than its far share of the damage as well. In the 5 minutes bridging the first two quarters in which Orlando Johnson played, for example, the Pacers were out-scored by 10 points. Essentially, the Pacers were up big early and then completely stopped being able to score as Los Angeles dropped about 4 points for every 1 Indiana was able to put on the board for a good 10-minute stretch. Really difficult stuff to watch, and it was similar to the Miami game in the sense that a bunch of the turnovers (9 in the first half; 16 in the game, which led to 20 points) were just careless. Only, ya know, the Lakers don’t employ the type of passing-lane-jumping super-athletes...CONTINUE READING AT 8p9s |
Jake Fischer: Not So Dynamic Duo 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. Ever since the 76ers miraculous come-from-behind victory over the Golden State Warriors on March 2, Doug Collins’ club has dropped three-straight games and are back to their losing ways. Now, at this point in this season, it’s far too late to write posts saying what the Sixers can change in order to play better and win some games, but it’s never too late to analyze the team’s losses. On this three-game losing streak, Sixers fans have seen a number of players in the red, white and blue uniforms go cold from the field. Surprisingly enough, the team’s lone All-Star, Jrue Holiday, has gone cold for a decent stretch of games for the first time this year. Not surprisingly, the ever-inconsistent Evan Turner — or “The Enigma” as we like to call him here at Philadunkia.com — hasn’t shot the ball efficiently as well. On the surface, Holiday is shooting just 13-48 from the field (27.1 percent) and Turner has made just 11-39 field goal attempts (28.2 percent) over the last three games. Unfortunately, looking at the shot charts for the Sixers starting back-court in those games doesn’t make the situation seem any brighter. In the Sixers’ 90-87 loss to the Wizards last Sunday, Jrue put in a pretty poor 4-19 shooting night. When you look at Jrue’s shot chart from that game on ESPN.com, it gets a whole lot worse. Five of Jrue’s 19 misses were long two-pointers — the shot we all know is the least efficient shot in basketball. Of course we all know it’s also Collins’ favorite look for his offense. Jrue also missed four three-point attempts. Additionally, Jrue missed 10 shots from outside the paint. Only 5 of Jrue’s attempts in this game were in the lane and he was 1-5 on those FGAs. In short, a night filled with inefficient looks turned very ugly because Jrue could not find his stroke. Against Boston, Jrue’s shooting numbers were slightly better — but still woeful — 6 of 17 shooting from the field. In this match-up Jrue was being hounded all game long by Avery Bradley one of the Association’s premiere perimeter defenders so that probably had a negative impact on his stats. To his credit, the All-Star did look to drive more when he realized his shot wasn’t falling (0-2 from 3PA in 1Q, 4-4 from FGA inside the arc). Jrue only took 5 FGAS from 10+ feet out after the 1st Q. So, what happened as the game progressed? It appears that a combination of Bradley’s tenacious defense and his own efforts to get to the basket frequently simply wore Jrue out. As the game went on he miss fired on numerous close looks — 2-9 inside 15 feet after the 1st quarter and looked gassed. On the second night of a home-then-road; back-to-back set Jrue’s shooting issues were magnified when he sustained a hand injury against Atlanta. The result was a 3-12 outing during which his shot chart reveals that he was 0-6 from 14-16 feet. The chart also shows that Jrue only attempted 4 shots in the paint (2-4) . Jrue was clearly injured, exhausted and frustrated after the game as you can see in this post game interview. Now let’s take a look at Evan Turner’s latest stretch of poor shooting. In Washington Turner posted a double-double (11&10), but shot 4-13 from the field. Turner’s shot chart from the loss to the Wizards is disturbing. “The Enigma” was 3-7 in the paint, providing further evidence that he can not finish in traffic. Turner was also 0-4 from the 15-17 foot range and attempted zero 3PAs against a Wizards team that struggles defensively on the perimeter. When you look at the box score for the Sixer’s 109-101 loss to the Celtics on Tuesday, Turner’s 6-19 shooting from the field looks terrible in its own right as well. If that stat line makes you want to puke, don’t look at this shot chart. Many have praised Evan’s ability to take the ball to rack, but once again, he hardly converted on those drives against the C’s. ESPN.com’s shot chart has Turner converting just 4 of his 11 shots in the paint. That’s just pathetic...CONTINUE READING AT THE PHILADUNKIA |
Jordan White: The Endless Conundrums of the Philadelphia 76ers In a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the Philadelphia 76ers were the rising stars of the Eastern Conference. They had traded away Andre Iguodala and acquired Andrew Bynum, perhaps their first true player around whom they could build a contending team. The possibilities seemed endless: Bynum down low, surrounded by capable shooters, or perhaps forming a dangerous two man game with up-and-coming point guard Jrue Holliday. No longer would Evan Turner, forever tantalizing and forever disappointing, be forced to shoulder the offensive load, instead cutting and weaving through a defense whilst wrecking havoc on whomever dared to guard him. Perhaps they would not contend right away, but a plan was in place, and the future was bright. At least, it appeared to be. We all know the story as it’s come to pass: Bynum’s bum knee was, surprise, bum. Evan Turner continued conducting his baffling roller coaster of stellar games followed by lemons. Jrue Holliday has been nice, an All-Star, even, but his improvement has been lost in a sea of Spencer Hawes’ atrocious play and the tears of 76ers fans after watching former first round pick Nikola Vuecvic record multiple 20-rebound games this season. This doesn’t even begin to address the Kwame Brown, Nick Young, and Dorrell Wright signings. Doug Collins had a near mental breakdown whilst absolving himself of all blame for this miserable, lost, disappointing season. The 76ers expected to head into this offseason needing to add just a complementary piece or two to bolster their line up. Instead, they face a multitude of questions, from what to do with their embattled and belittling head coach, to the Andrew Bynum conundrum. First, let’s start with Doug Collins, the coach who wished he could somehow, someway, get Arnett Moultrie more playing time, seemingly forgetting his title of head coach and decision-making powers that come with said title. Collins, in some ways, represents the antithesis of the analytics movement, favoring a system that emphasizes the mid-range jumper, long considered the least efficient shot in the league. As Grantland’s Zach Lowe explains: Bynum was supposed to change that by working as the bulwark of an inside-out offense, bullying guys down low and kicking to the army of shooters with whom Philly had surrounded him. But Bynum hasn’t played, and Collins has fallen back on the same conservative offensive philosophy, with some small X’s-and-O’s tweaks and tiny steps in the right direction. Philly now ranks a robust 21st in shot attempts within the restricted area, progress that would mean a bit more if Philly weren’t on pace to obliterate the anti–free throw record it set just last season. (Orlando is on pace to do the same, and free throws have fallen to record-low numbers over the last few seasons.) Only five teams have taken fewer 3s, though Philly, thanks in large part to Turner and Young, has added about two corner 3s per game to its repertoire. And once again: Nobody has taken more long 2-point jump shots. Of course, Collins isn’t to blame for Bynum’s injury, but he heavily influenced the Kwame Brown signing, and for some reason continues to play Spencer Hawes. One would think that, with Bynum out, Collins would have shifted his offense to emphasize a faster pace, taking advantage of the collective athleticism of Holliday, Turner, and the law firm of Young and Young. Yet the 76ers only score 93.15 points per 100 possessions, a pace that ranks 22nd in the league. Collins has a reputation for wearing on his players after initially revitalizing them, and it seems this pattern is holding true in his third year in Philadelphia. There’s no telling whether Philadelphia would have had more success if Bynum had actually played a game for them, and it’s useless to ponder, “what if?” All we have to measure the Sixers by is actual results, which are disappointing to say the least. Assuming the Sixers do get rid of Collins, it will be interesting to see the direction they go for their next head coach. Even if they re-sign Bynum (which we’ll touch on in a moment), that doesn’t make them a championship contender, meaning they’re unlikely to lure a coach such as Stan Van Gundy out of retirement. However, they’re also not quite the Hornets or even the Cavaliers: young, up and coming teams that at least have promise, thus not an attractive destination for younger coaches such as Mike Malone or Brian Shaw. Now, for the second question...CONTINUE READING AT HARDWOOD PAROXYSM |
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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