Game 74 - Sixers @ Cavs 6:00 PM FSN

[calibanPK]

Oh yeah we played a game today, and we actually won.

Phillys gonna be a scary ass team in the playoffs.

[ITK9]

holly crap...we already have a 12 pages thread about this game and you guys have one post?

[B Mac]

Sixer fans = Excited about their team playing surprisingly well (and rightfully so)

Cavs fans = Disappointed in their teams play

I actually envy Sixer fans in a way. We've become spoiled by the last two years and take the playoff run for granted. I guess once you've seen the top its hard to get excited over small things.

[LoveThemCavs]

I caught the end of the game. Sounded like Delonte had a great game tonight. He seemed to really get into the lane more than I've seen him do for us. It was great seeing Boobie draining some three balls too. Philly will be a tough out for someone if they keep playing like this. A little down on the team recently, but definately not out. Put together a decent finish to the regular season and we'll see what happens.

[B Mac]

I have a couple of problems with Philly and why I dont view them as much of a threat..... yet. (admittedly I havent watch a whole lot of them recently)

1. That team is Andre Miller. Plain and simple. Yes the young guys have bright futures, yes Dal and Iggy are skilled, but that team goes as far as Andre can go and thats it. Allow me to take this opportunity to say I was wrong about Andre. I dont care that he's not a good shooter he does so many other things well that he can make up for that. We should have gone after him harder.

BUT I dont think you Miller being the best player on their team is enough to make them much of a threat. Iggy cannot beat LeBron one on one. It was not only showed on offense tonight but also on defense. He flat out cannot do it. No disrespect to Iggy, because no one else can either, but what I dont get is why he still tries?

2. They dont have near enough experience to win multiple close games in the playoffs. We held them scoreless for the last 2+ minutes tonight when we finally started playing playoff intensity D. Their fastbreak opportunities which have attributed in large part to their recent success will be extremely limited come playoff time, and I will be very interested to see how they score for 48 minutes out of the half court.

Their defense is solid, although its obviously not as polished as it needs to be. Iggy is a solid man defender, and Dalembart is a great shot blocking threat. I also really like Evans for his hustle and energy, but they dont play team defense well enough yet, and as we've seen that is far more important than individual skill. (although having that too doesnt hurt)

3. Mo Cheeks. I like the guy and think he has done some great things with this team, but also see him make some boneheaded decisions. In tonights game alone his questionable timeout usage left Philly with no way to advance the ball and setup a play when they needed one at the end. Also his insistance of using Willie Green is puzzling. As I said above I admittedly havent seen a ton of the Sixers, but every game I watch I see Green, for a lack of a better word, sucking. They've got lots of talent on that team, so why play Green so many minutes when he is obviously struggling?

Anyway, I think Philly has a bright future, especially if Andre has another few years in him. But for now I dont view them as much of a threat.

If any Philly fans see that, I'd love to hear what you thought of my take on your team. Hopefully you dont view it as bashing, just my opinion on things.

[B Mac]

Oh and as for the Cavs tonight.

- An absolutely great come from behind win. Felt good to bounce back after last night's debacle.
- The defense down the stretch was top notch. They didnt score over the last 2 minutes? Amazing.
- LeBron was great in the clutch on offense and defense.
- Delonte was a stud and had a great all around game. The way he kept attacking was what I liked the most, even though he didnt always finish.
- Joe Smith was who brought us back into the game. Major props to him.
- Z was again proved his worth.
- Boobie made me happy when he hit his 3, but made me sad when he got hurt again.
- Im not sure how I feel about Devin being moved into the starting lineup. I think we will miss Sasha's D more than we realize, BUT Devin is ALWAYS looking to attack which is something this team desperately needs, so Im OK with the move. However, I do not at all agree with Sasha not getting any burn. That made no sense, especially since he has been night and day better than Wally.

[CzBoobie]

Wtf, Boobie got hurt again??

[STChaser]

We held them scoreless for the last 2+ minutes tonight when we finally started playing playoff intensity D.

Actually, the Cavs may have tightened up the D but they had a little home-court help in pulling this win out. This game came down to one no-call at the end of the 4th; Iguodala was clearly mauled across the face by Ilgouskas (even the Cavs commentators were laughing about the no-call) going to the rim and the refs swallowed their whistles. He, by all rights, should have been sent to the line, which would have put the Sixers up 5 points. Instead, Iguodala goes down, Delonte nails a 3 on the other end, and the Cavs tie the game up.

This game also saw Delonte having the game of his life, Joe Smith shooting an unbelievable fg%, and Thaddeus Young playing about as bad an offensive game as he's played all season since getting extended minutes. Willie Green also stunk up the joint last night as well. It will be interesting to see how things go next time if the Sixers match up with Cleveland in the playoffs.

STChaser

[Benedict_Boozer]

After watching this game I'd much rather play Philly than Was/Tor.

Not only for the reasons Bmac mentioned, but also the fact they don't have any 3pt shooters. We have been getting torched by teams chucking 3's on us lately.

I think they are a solid team, but I don't see how we can lose a series against them barring injury.

[B Mac]

We held them scoreless for the last 2+ minutes tonight when we finally started playing playoff intensity D.

Actually, the Cavs may have tightened up the D but they had a little home-court help in pulling this win out. This game came down to one no-call at the end of the 4th; Iguodala was clearly mauled across the face by Ilgouskas (even the Cavs commentators were laughing about the no-call) going to the rim and the refs swallowed their whistles. He, by all rights, should have been sent to the line, which would have put the Sixers up 5 points. Instead, Iguodala goes down, Delonte nails a 3 on the other end, and the Cavs tie the game up.

That was still only one posession out of the many they had in the last 2+ minutes. You have to score late in games and the Sixers couldnt do it, regardless of the refs. If they had scored on every other posession they had in the last 2 minutes except for the one you are referring to and still lost, then I can see blaming the refs, but when they had multiple attempts to make up for that and didnt? Nope.

[STChaser]

You have to score late in games and the Sixers couldnt do it, regardless of the refs.

That's quite a contradiction considering that the refs were the ones who prevented us from scoring. When you take it the rim and blatantly get whacked across the face and head, it's foul and that's two shots at the line. How would you feel if it was Lebron who got smacked upside the head in the final minute and the refs swallowed their whistles while Lou Williams ran down the court and nailed a 3? I'm pretty sure you'd feel different about the situation.

STChaser

[L&H_05]

Clearly that game came down to one no call... Coupled with guys having games of their lives and rookies playing like rookies...

[B Mac]

IF the Cavs had scored on every other posession within the last two minutes and they still lost then yes I would blame it on the refs. The fact is the Sixers couldnt score even on plays where you dont think the refs screwed them. Its so easy to blame the refs (we do it on here as well) but you need to look at what your team could have done better first. In the playoffs you will see a lot more "fouls" not being called, because the game gets a lot more physical. The Cavs had to get used to it, and the Sixers will have to as well. This was a playoff style game on our court. If you expect to get calls like that, and trying to put the game in the refs hands then your philosphy needs to change. I mean you guys blew a 10+ point lead, how are you going to complain about one foul call? The blame is on your team for not getting it done, not the refs.

Oh and I've seen plenty of bad calls late in games go against the Cavs this year. I can think of 3 off the top of my head that "cost us the game", but still those calls were not the only reason we lost. If our team had played better throughout then the calls wouldnt have mattered.

[jimmywolfrey]

Delonte played well for the most part but not the game of his life...did you see the game in college on national television when he had 30 points and was perfect on the floor and the free throw line? lol that was pretty nice game.

Delonte is a pretty clutch shooter late in games and this game just adds to that.

[STChaser]

If you expect to get calls like that, and trying to put the game in the refs hands then your philosphy needs to change.

I would expect the refs to allow ticky-tack fouls but Iguodala's was blatant. He was sent to the floor and hit twice (once in the face and once in the head). Those kind of calls SHOULD be whistled. If it was a touch call or even a reach-in, I could see the refs ignoring it. Regardless, you're right that our team should have taken care of business when they had their opportunities. Like I said earlier, Thaddeus had a really bad game offensively and missed several easy layups, which would have probably been the difference maker in this close game.

Your guys did step up - especially Delonte, who I've never seen play this well before. Miller really had a difficult time keeping up with him and Mo should have switched Lou on him earlier. And for some idiotic reason, Cheeks deactivated Jason Smith, who at 7 foot and with younger legs, would have been a much better option than going with the stopgap Booth. Carney should have gotten more burn as well.

Anyway, I think a Sixer-Cavs series will be fun to watch. Even though I know Lebron can take over games, I'm much rather matchup up with Cleveland than Orlando, who we seem to struggle with due to their size matchups.

STChaser