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After having a great couple of months, the Sixers have definitely not been on their game lately. Don't get me wrong though. The Sixers are definitely as good as they have been playing over the last couple months. This isn't some mirage that is finally wearing off. I think they have been getting away from what made them so successful.

Annoying things we have been doing a lot lately:

-Instead of getting easy baskets, they have been taking tough perimeter shots with defenders right in their faces. The Sixers are not a good perimeter shooting team, so this is a sign of disaster.

-A lot more quick shots than I remember. I'm not talking about transition either. When we are in the half court, instead of working the ball around, someone will fire up a pointless shot with still 18+ seconds left on the shot clock. The Sixers play good team ball and need to move the ball around to get some good looks.

-Stupid turnovers. They have been forcing tough passes and making cross-court passes without checking if defenders are in the vicinity.

-One quarter on, one quarter off. These last 8 games, the Sixers have played really hard for stretches, but haven't kept a consistent effort up for the entire 48 minutes. Totally inexcusable. Like in that game in Philly vs the Hawks. One quarter they were moving without the ball and attacking, and the next quarter they were standing around waiting for everyone to play one on one ball.

-Carney struggling has hurt us. Other than a good game here and there, Carney hasn't been bringing much off the bench. He used to be a spark off the bench that can hit 3s and run the break. Now he hasn't been able to hit a shot for the last 3 games. He needs to get back on his game.

Those are just some of the things that have been annoying, but the playoffs start soon. If we can correct these issues, we can beat anyone. If not, we are looking at an early first round exit. This will definitely be a character test over the next week or so.

we've officially cooled off... and we'll probably face detroit in the first round.... tonight's game pretty much decided the rest of the season and the post season.

Dalembert's play is very important to the 76ers. They don't have much scoring from the frontcourt at all. Dalembert has to find a way to contribute a consistent 12-15 points or so. Thadd is only going to provide about 10-12 and those are the only two scorers in the frontcourt. The guards have to make a point of somehow getting SamD the ball where he likes it because they need his points. Andre Miller shooting the ball 22 times per contest isn't a good sign.

Frontcourt offense is a big concern. I think Reggie Evans should start. I don't know why Mo changed that. Lou and Thadd off the bench was great. If anyone should get benched it's Willie Green in favor of Carney.

ankle420breaker wrote:we've officially cooled off... and we'll probably face detroit in the first round.... tonight's game pretty much decided the rest of the season and the post season.

Obviously you guys would want to face Cleveland, but since that's not going to happen anymore Detroit is Philly's next best opportunity. Orlando is a horrible matchup for Philly.

Orlando has a quick point guard in Nelson who is a tough matchup for Dre, Dwight is a horrible matchup for SamD. With Nelson and Howard Orlando can play the exact game they want to, pressure inside and blaze away outside. Philly can't answer Orlando's balance and fire power.

Detroit has a slow point guard and literally no inside game. They are always one of the worst teams at scoring in the paint. Detroit is strictly perimeter oriented. Detroit doesn't fair well against athleticism, that's where Thadd's speed, Iggy's ability and Lou Will can really hurt them. Detroit is a better matchup for Philly.

This team goes as Andre Miller goes and lately, in crunch time, Miller hasn't been delivering. He was horrible tonight in the 4th. Other things I noticed: Thaddeus' defense on Songaila during the 4th was an abomination. He and Arenas singled-handedly beat us. Iguodala has been settling for too many jump shots - granted, he's probably still hurting from last night's injury. Carney and WG have been nothing short of trash these last two games. Green does not belong in the game when he's not defending, which he did a horrible job at tonight against Stevenson. This team is slowly losing their identity. They need to regroup, do some serious soul searching, and come ready to play with some new, fresh legs. The energy just hasn't been there these past few games.

STChaser

All of the things Westbrook listed happen when you lose your confidence.

You pull the string on shots, you settle for jumpers because you doubt your ability to create- or you doubt you teammates ability to finish. You get indecisive on the break (and double dribble, travel or miss the lay-up.) Instead of trusting team defensive concepts you overcommit on defense- leaving open three point shooters.

You rush long shots early because you are afraid to run the offense and be stuck late in the shot-clock, so you don't drive and create. You can't h stay loose on the foul line, so you start missing.

Now that the Sixers are being counbted out and their back is against the wall- watch them recapture their form and beat the Pistons...

tk is a lot more optimistic than I am...I hope he's right in his analysis, because going into the playoffs limping is the last thing we need.

We aren't as good as we were playing and aren't as bad as the last couple of games. We are somewhere in the middle. Hopefully, with our cap space and draft pick we can use those assets to get to that next level. We are one or two players short of being a contender.