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I know the election will be over by then, but I needed an excuse to make a themed thread.

Looking forward to seeing Beasley in action, Marion with a mask, and a resurgent D-Wade leading my fantasy team to a win!

Miami's best hope was that their players turn into complimentary pieces. But Mario Chalmers is nothing but an average college point guard. And their big 3 doesn't even fit together in a half-court scheme. Look for the Heat to be similar to the Sixers in trying to run the table and get some easy buckets. Since, that's pretty much the only way this team can win a basketball game.

Riley:Screw risking to sign a PF, you already have one in Beasley. Try trading Marion for a center...Oh wait, you had one .

I can confidently say Sixers +15.

This is another should win game early in the season. They have to keep beating on the weaker teams until they get it together enough to take on the big boys consistently.

That Atlanta loss may have actually been a good thing. The way this team has played in the last 3 games, it appears as though we could see the Sixers up by 20+ in quite a few games. The Atlanta loss may have taught this team to keep it's foot on the throat of it's opponents for a full 4 quarters.

I don't think we'll blow the Heat out but I do think we win this by 10+.

The Guilty Party wrote:That Atlanta loss may have actually been a good thing. The way this team has played in the last 3 games, it appears as though we could see the Sixers up by 20+ in quite a few games. The Atlanta loss may have taught this team to keep it's foot on the throat of it's opponents for a full 4 quarters.

I don't think we'll blow the Heat out but I do think we win this by 10+.

The Atlanta game also made Mo realize that he shortened his bench too much, especially in a back-to-back. Seeing some of Speights and having WG bring the ball up at times and allow Lou to play off the ball was nice. Good adjustments by Mo. The balanced scoring by this team is nice to see also.

I agree, Skates. The Atlanta loss was as much Mo's fault as it was the players. He does need to extend his bench, especially on back-to-back nights. With the way Speights is playing, I think he'll end up as part of the 8 man rotation in almost no time.

What's the deal with Theo? Is he injured??

I think Mo is probably doing the smart thing and saving Theo for the second half of the season and a potential playoff run. Or he could be injured. With his history of britleness, neither would surprise me.

Cheeks seems to have learned from the Atlanta game. He admitted as much when he said that as a coach, you're sometimes too hesistant to use rookies and often over-rely on starters early in the season.

The benefit of a deep bench is the ability to create and respond to various match-ups as well as keep players fresh in back to back games. Obviously, the goals is to win and when starters are going good or when playing top teams, the starters will likely play more and the bench less. That being said, I think in some games it makes sense to use the bench more and get them used to their roles. Most teams have an 8 to 9 man rotation and we'll be no different. I think Mo, having so many new guys on the team, will also get a better handle on what he has to work with and which line-ups work the best together as the season progresses and as he gets to see these guys operate a bit more during practice.

The Guilty Party wrote:I agree, Skates. The Atlanta loss was as much Mo's fault as it was the players. He does need to extend his bench, especially on back-to-back nights. With the way Speights is playing, I think he'll end up as part of the 8 man rotation in almost no time.

What's the deal with Theo? Is he injured??

Speights was inactive the first night, supposedly in deference to the vets. Since then Marshall and Theo seem to take turns being inactive. With the way Speights and Reggie are playing, I think Theo has assumed the Calvin Booth role at best.

I expect to see another easy win. Atlanta's got many players with talent. Miami has 2 very good players, and 1 of them has claimed to be off his "rhythm".

Miami is short on size, so hopefully Brand will dominate like he should. We might see a lot of Green in this game if Iggy can't slow down Wade. Young vs Marion should be an interesting match-up as well.

I suspect we'll see a lot of:

Miller
Williams
Iguodala
Young
Brand

and various derivatives. Should be an exciting game. And kanga, props once again on the game thread.

Sixers by 7+

Sixers will have to play good defense or they will end up with an L. Miami is not a great team. They probably aren't even a playoff team. In fact, they might very well be one of the 6 to 8 worst teams in the league. However, at home, they still can cause some damage and they do have a lot of firepower with Wade, Marion and Beasley. Haslem is a very good NBA player, albeit incredibly miscast as a center. Even guys like Chalmers, Cook, and to a lesser degree Banks and Blount, are capable of having productive offensive games shooting the ball. They are undersized and they might get killed on the boards, but they also take care of the ball relatively well and force a decent amount of turnovers with their small lineup. In our two losses, we had a big problem with not forcing enough turnovers on the defensive end and then turning the ball over too much on offense. I think Sixers realize that they aren't good enough to take anyone lightly and come to play, but if they sleep on the Heat, they could end up going to Orlando disappointed.

I dont think the Sixers are going to have too much of a problem tonight with the Heat. They have a rookie PG, a Rookie PF, and an undersized PF playing Center. Sixers are too strong with their bigmen and will pound Miami all night on the boards. Also, I think we see Iguodala break out of his scoring funk tonight, as the undersized DWayne Wade wont be able to put enough pressure on Iggy to effect him. BLOWOUT!!!

Wade will get his, Beasly will flash a ton of potential, Haslem will look solid but over matched and Marion won't be able to keep up with Thad. The Sixers are way too deep for the Heat, I expect a solid win, but no blow-out.

The one caveat is that DWade could go off for a huge game. He presents match-up problems for everyone, but particularly bigger/taller SG's. Hopefully WG can use his strength and quickness for some good minutes on defense.

Wade has been struggling according to the Heats board.. hopefully that doesn't change tonight.

tk76 wrote:The one caveat is that DWade could go off for a huge game. He presents match-up problems for everyone, but particularly bigger/taller SG's. Hopefully WG can use his strength and quickness for some good minutes on defense.

That'll be the main problem for Philly, without a doubt. Let's hope a good team effort can trump any sort of big game Wade might pull out.

...And Wade sends Iggy to the bench.