Heard in the Cheap Seats

Going into this game, the prevailing school of thought was that if the Sixers were going to make a move up the Eastern Conference standings, there was no time like the present.   The Grizzlies are a young basketball team that plays very little defense.  This was a game the Sixers had to have.  Despite their best effort to blow the game, the Sixers were able to squeak out a 110-105 win and get back to .500.

It was a game that featured very little defense by both teams but the Sixers came away with just enough stops to close out the game.  If they are going to get on a roll, they will have to play better than they did tonight.

Because this is a Philadelphia sports blog, naturally, I””ll start with the negatives from this game:

– Inability to Stop Ball on the Break: On more than one occasion, Mike Connelly waltzed down the court uncontested on the break.  I don””t know about you, but when I played basketball we used to do 3 on 2, 2 on 1 drills.  The primary goal for the defender was to stop ball, preferably before they get to the foul line.  Why is this concept lost on the Sixers?

– Help Defense Went to Sleep: Another one of those concepts you learn early on in basketball is always see your man and the ball at all times.   Tonight, the Sixers were caught too many times with their heads turned—allowing Connely and the rest of his cohorts attack the rim.  The Sixers must do a better job of protecting the hoop.

– Thad Still Mired in a Slump: Thaddeus Young is in a deep rut and he can””t seem to shoot his way out of the hole.  He has no lift on his jumpshots.  Fortunately, Thad runs the floor well and can get points from using his sheer athleticism.

– Too much going underneath the picks: I understand why the Sixers go underneath picks, especially against a player like Connelly that is not known for his outside shooting.  That is all well and good, but when Connelly has 18 points in the first half it is time to adjust.   In addition, the Sixers need to show some semblance of floor presence.  If the Grizzlies start their offense at 19 feet, you can no longer go underneath the screen.

– Three Point Shooting and Free Throws: This has been chronicled at length, so I won””t belabor the issue.  The Sixers need to knock down free throws and shoot better than 3-13 from three-point land.

For a win, there were very few positives to point out.   But a W is a W so surely the Sixers did a few things well.  Right?:

– Andre Miller”’’s Basketball IQ: Andre Miller just seems to find ways to score the basketball.  Tonight, he realized the Mike Connelly could not cover him on the block and he consistently backed him down where he knew he had the advantage.

– Bench Provided a Spark: Both Louis Williams and Mareese Speights were able to come into the game and contribute a spark off the bench tonight.  Even Theo Ratliff got into the action and

– Starting the Offense Deeper: It”’’s not exactly a secret that the Sixers lack an outside threat.   Instead of starting the offense deep in the backcourt, the Sixers did a solid job tonight of starting the offense deeper.  The result was solid looks in the midrange jumpshot territory.  The credit here goes to Tony DiLeo for ensuring the Sixers are get looks like can capitalize on.

– Second Chance Points: The Sixers were all over the offensive glass tonight-leading to countless second chance opportunities.  At least of the Sixers aren””t going to knock down any shots we know they are going to get on the boards.