Heard in the Cheap Seats

UPDATE: It’’s official: http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/evanspr_060909.html 

The Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly landed three-point sharpshooter Jason Kapono from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Reggie Evans.  Andre Iguodala hinted at the deal on Twitter less than an hour ago and the Globe and Mail out of Toronto is now reporting it as well. 

As Brian over at Depressed Fan notes, the deal works from a financial standpoint and certainly fills the gaping hole the Sixers have for a long-range sniper.  Jason Kapono is a Kyle Korver type player but with a more consistent shot.  He has made a living knocking down shots from the perimeter and would be a very solid addition to the Sixers roster.

If this rumor turns out to hold water, Ed Stefanski is done an excellent job at addressing the biggest weakness on this roster.  Having Kapono on the floor will do more than add a three-point threat to the team.  It will open up the floor and provide room for Elton Brand on the block and for slashers like Thaddeus Young and Iguodala to get to the rim.

Good move for the Sixers.  I will let you know as soon as I see an official announcement.

The fine folks in the PR department over at the Philadelphia 76ers were kind enough to arrange a call for some of the Philadelphia sports bloggers to speak with new Sixers head coach Eddie Jordan.  So first off, thanks to both the Sixers and Coach Jordan for taking the time to chat with us today—much appreciated. 

Able to jump on the line for the call was Brian from Depressed Fan, Derek from RealGM and Philly Arena, Dannie from ReclinerGM, Ricky from Sixers 4 Guidos, Jeff from Philadunkia and my brother and I. 

As you can imagine, the line of questioning ran the gamut from the Princeton offense, to defensive philosophy, to what to do with Samuel Dalembert.  I will do my best to summarize here Coach Jordan’s answers in all departments and my take on those answers. 

On what to do with Samuel Dalembert:

It is clear to most observers that Samuel Dalembert is a colossal mismatch for the Princeton offense due to his limited offensive skill set in a scheme that demands versatility.  Though, it could be easily argued that Dalembert is ill suited for most any NBA offense other than one intent on throwing lob passes his way all game long.

Of course, Coach Jordan took a diplomatic approach when asked how Dalembert fits into the Princeton offense.  Jordan highlighted that Dalembert is an elite shotblocker that rebounds the ball well and can run the floor.  No arguments from me on that point.  But what was probably most telling was Coach Jordan’s take on Dalembert’s commitment to his teammates and his work ethic.  Jordan said: “He has to buy into being an unselfish player who cares about his teammates. That’’s always been the knock on him. If he can play unselfish basketball, and stop all the up and down stuff, the offense can either run through him, or around him, but he has to buy in.”

In my opinion, that is about as close to a public tongue lashing as you will see a coach give one of his players.  And personally, I like the approach.  Jordan is sending a clear message to Dalembert and any other player paying attention—the Sixers will play a team brand of basketball and if you can’t buy into the philosophy you will find yourself sitting at the end of the bench.

On the defensive philosophy:

Eddie Jordan is widely considered to be an offensive-minded coach.  Because of that, I was keen to hear what his philosophy was on the defensive end of the floor.  Essentially, Coach Jordan emphasized that a championship-quality team starts at the defensive end of the floor and must have a frontcourt capable of defending the basket.  When pressed on the weak perimeter defense of last year, Jordan stressed that the Sixers need to do a better job of containing the dribble penetration and rotate to the basketball better.

There is no doubt that the Sixers have the athletes needed to be a quality defensive team.  The question is: can coach Jordan motivate them to up their level of play?

On offensive philosophy:

There were no huge surprises on the offensive philosophy.  Coach Jordan said he firmly believes that any good coach adapts his system to the skill set of his players.  For this team, he acknowledged that meant a handful of players that essentially have the same skill set and lack a true outside threat.  Because of that, Coach Jordan said that each one of the players will be asked to be a chameleon and occupy different spots on the floor.  Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams will both be used as combo guards and Elton Brand will be moved around the floor in a variety of ways.

Most interestingly, Coach Jordan indicated that the Princeton offense thrives off of combo guards.  Does that mean a pure point guard like Andre Miller has no use for this team?  I think so.  Even more telling on this front is Jordan’s candid acknowledgement that players that can knock down the three are a huge priority.  It seems likely that Sixers will be shopping for a long-range threat at the expense of bringing back Andre Miller.   

My overall first impression of Coach Jordan was positive.  He did not shy away from questions and answered them candidly and in a matter of fact manner.  It is clear that he has a system in place and a plan in mind for this roster.  He is painfully aware of this roster has holes and admits it is a work in progress.

Will his plan work?  That remains to be seen.

With 12 games to play in the regular season the Philadelphia 76ers dropped two winnable games against the Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Bobcats.  At the time, the losses were detrimental because they dropped the Sixers out of the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference. 

But after those two setbacks, Philadelphia rattled off three consecutive victories and appeared destined to fight its way back into the fifth spot.  The two poor losses were a distant memory—nothing more than a small misstep on the path to the playoffs.  As it turns out, those three wins were the aberration and not the two losses.  The Sixers were on the verge of a free fall that very few people saw coming (well except for me). 

It would be easy to point to the injury of Thaddeus Young as the catalyst for this free fall.  His injury did coincide with the sudden slide to playoff doom.  But the injury to Young is more of a convenient scapegoat for Philadelphia fans than a viable explanation.

The lack of effort on the defensive end cannot be explained by Young’s injury.  The complete and utter lack of rhythm on offense surely cannot be pinned all on the absence of Young.  The spike in dumb turnovers would not suddenly vanish had Young been in the lineup. 

The Sixers were playing bad basketball before Young was injured and his departure made it worse. 

But should we really be surprised by this rapid descent?  Why is it that a team can look so good against the Lakers and so bad against the Nets?  There are two reasons: the first has to do with effort and the second with the personnel of this team. 

Because this is a young team, they have peaks and valleys in their effort level.  This is not to say they are mailing it in when they lose—but like all young players, have difficulty sustaining max effort for an entire season.  The best teams are able to maintain an energy level throughout the grueling NBA season.  The Sixers found that energy level against the Lakers but left in the locker room against the Nets.

Consistent effort is paramount in the NBA, but it is not the biggest problem plaguing the Sixers right now.  Want to know what is?  They simply are not that good.  The reason this team is so streaky is because its best players are not consistently good at the fundamentals of basketball.  On any given night, Andre Iguodala can put up 35 points, 10 boards, and 6 assists.  But he can also easily throw in an 8 point effort that is highlighted by 10 turnovers.  When athletic ability is your only gift—you will hit cold streaks.  And therein lays the problem. 

The Philadelphia Sixers are comprised of a bunch of players that are excellent athletes and only average basketball players.  On some nights, their athletic ability allows them to masquerade as great basketball players.  But in a long NBA season, the truth almost always reveals itself and it has been rearing its ugly head as the Sixers stumble into the playoffs.

I’m extremely glad that I took the time last week on this site to break down the remaining schedules of both the Heat and the Sixers in the battle for the 5^th seed in the Eastern Conference (note: the previous sentence is complete sarcasm).  I was way off base on my predictions, although I did award the 5^th seed to the Heat due to tiebreakers.  What a battle it turned out to be! (There’s that sarcasm again)  The Sixers have now lost five straight and have fallen into the 7^th seed in the conference.  The only bright spot in an otherwise dreadful stretch of basketball has been the play of Lou Williams.  Other than Williams, the Sixers have been pretty hard to watch.  It really is a disappointing way to finish the season.  The Sixers clearly are not a talented enough or deep enough team to make up for the loss of Thaddeus Young.  Young is supposed to possibly return tonight against the Boston Celtics, and the Sixers desperately need a jolt of energy.

It is easy to make the case that the Sixers stumble down the stretch is solely due to Young going down with an injury, but I think that’s being too kind. 

While the injury definitely played a role, I see a bit more than that.  Young’s injury coincided with the Sixers clinching a playoff berth, and while the players talked a good game about wanting to play well and win the 5^th seed, they feel pitifully short of backing it up.  They took their foot off the gas.  Losing Thaddeus Young is not the reason that the Sixers have given up over 101 points per game since his injury.  Yes, it’s true that there are more mismatches on the defensive end of the floor with Evans, Speights, and Ratliff getting extended minutes, but in reality the Sixers have simply been lazy on defense.  They have lost a scorer on the offensive end in Young’s absence, but when I watch them on the defensive end it is comical.  They haven’t looked like they had an ounce of energy since the Hawks game that Young was injured in.  It’s frustrating because I have felt all along that if they could have won the 5^th seed and faced the Hawks, they could have made it to the 2^nd round of the playoffs which would have done wonders for the future of this team.  That was a lot of “woulda, shoulda, coulda” in one sentence, and none of it matters now. They are a barely average team that relies on winning one way, and if that isn’t working, they completely cave in.  I will still watch to see how the Sixers perform under pressure in the playoffs and I still hope for some sort of fire from the team in their last 2 games.  Maybe the return of Thaddeus Young will spark the Sixers energy and confidence, or maybe the Celtics and Cavs will aide them since they have nothing to play for at this point.  Either way, putting injuries and excuses aside, this has been a regular season of disappointment and missed opportunities.

nba.com

For the sake of full disclosure, I must admit that I am a very emotional person.  For better or worse, that emotion always transfers into my love for sports.  Well, I am going to try and stay level headed and let things play out for once instead of making an emotional declaration.  What I am referring to is, the other day after Thaddeus Young went down with an injury, I proclaimed that the Sixers would have no shot at earning the 5^th seed or of winning a first round playoff series against the Hawks.  Now, I consider myself very knowledgeable when it comes to sports, and I will say that the statement wasn’t made based on just pure emotion, but it was definitely fueled by it.  From a purely basketball standpoint, losing Thaddeus Young hurts the Sixers in a big way.  Young had become the Sixers most reliable scorer, even more so than Andre Iguodala.  His ability to run the floor is unparalleled at his position.  If Young was out for the entire year, the Sixers would be in big trouble, but the hope is that he can return for the playoffs.  So, what I failed to take into account, is that other Sixers now have a chance to step up.  In a short term situation it is actually possible to have a little success.  I guess what I am saying is that I am retracted my statement that the Sixers have no shot at the 5^th seed.  I’m doing it, because I can.

We had our first chance to see the Sixers in action without Thaddeus Young last night against the Milwaukee Bucks.  The Sixers trailed by 13 in the first half, and 8 at halftime, but outscored the Bucks 55-36 in the second half to win 105-95.  While one game, especially against a crappy and depleted Bucks team, certainly isn’t anything to hang your hat on, there were some positive developments. 

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN POSITIVE COMMENTS ON REGGIE EVANS, WHICH MAY LEAD TO YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN EXPLODING.

I was hoping that Tony DiLeo would start Speights at power forward in place of Young, but just as I was expecting, he went with Reggie Evans.  My guess is there were a lot of reasons for this move.  He probably preferred having Evans’ defense to start the game as well as not putting too much pressure on Speights.  I will agree that having Speights come off the bench and provide scoring is a definite boost.  DiLeo’s decision didn’t look bad at all as Reggie Evans was on fire in the first quarter, including two 3 point plays.  He ended the night with 13 points and 7 boards, with 4 of those coming off the offensive glass.  Yes, my friends, I am giving kudos to Evans.  I thought DiLeo did a nice job of splitting the minutes up in the frontcourt between Dalembert (19), Evans (26), Speights (27), Ratliff (8), and Marshall (16).  Speights contributed nicely with 14 points and 6 boards, now if he can just figure out a way to stop getting dumb fouls.  Speights and Lou Williams were my two favorite developments of last night.  Speights had been in a bit of a funk and his minutes had been cut, but he seems to be rejuvenated, and Williams played great last night.  DiLeo gave Williams 31 minutes and he responded with 21 points on 7 for 10 from the field, went to the line 8 times, and chipped in 4 assists.  These are the two guys that can soften the blow of losing Young.  Lou Williams is capable of getting his own shot, and if he takes it upon himself to shoulder more of the load, we may see him grow right before our eyes.  The key will be for Williams to continue being aggressive and taking the ball to the basket rather than settling for the jumper.  Last night was a good start.  Sometimes when a teammate goes down, it motivates others to step up in his absence.  That is why I jumped the gun a bit.  In the short term, the Sixers may be able to succeed.  To do it, they will need contributions from everyone, but to me, it is Speights and Williams that hold the keys.  We already know what we are going to get from Miller and Iguodala.  I hope DiLeo is able to find 30 minutes a night for Williams, because I think if he does, we may be seeing a lot more 20 point nights.  No matter what, there is an opportunity for the Sixers to do some growing here.  Will they step up or will they falter?  The last 8 games will answer that question.

The Philadelphia 76ers continue their stretch run into the Eastern Conference playoffs tonight with a game against the Milwaukee Bucks.  More importantly, tonight marks the first game the Sixers will play without the services of Thaddeus Young.  

The loss of Young could not have come at a worse point in the season.  The Sixers are currently locked in a dogfight with the Miami Heat for the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference and every game is crucial.  Making matters worse is the fact that Young seemed to be just finding his grove on the offensive end of the floor—having scored at least 20 points in 6 straight games.  He was rounding into form as a second reliable offensive threat for the Sixers and possibly the most consistent offensive force.  Young’s services will be sorely missed.  Thad created matchup problems for opposing teams with his ability to run the floor, operate in space and knock down the open look from outside.  From an offensive standpoint, the Sixers will be hard pressed to replace his production.

But at this juncture of the season, there is no sympathy for depleted teams.  Every team has dealt with their fair share of bumps and bruises.  The Sixers need to move past their fallen teammate and ensure that winnable games like tonight’s contest are not squandered.  For this to happen, someone is going to have to step up and replace Young’s production.  Who will it be?

Of course, no one player is going to fully replace Thad on the offensive end of the floor.  Rather, the production will have to be spread amongst the entire team.  However, it will be interesting to see what starting lineup DiLeo puts on the floor.  If the second half of the Hawks games is any indication, we may see Reggie Evans start out the game at the power forward spot.  I think that is a mistake.  As has been written on this blog many times before, Evans brings a spastic level of energy to the game.  He commits poor fouls, is often out of position on the glass and is basically a waste of a player on the offensive end.  He is a player that needs to be used based on the situation—not as a starter.

The obvious answer here is Maresse Speights.  Speights is able to provide some semblance of consistency on the offensive end of the floor and has the ability to alter shots when he is in the right spot.  Granted, he has his deficiencies on the defensive end of the floor and as a rebounder.  But remember, Young was not exactly a lock down low post defender and he too was suspect on the glass.  In short: the offensive production of Young needs to be replicated more than what he brings on defense.  Speights is the only viable option in that regard.  Any other option makes the Sixers too vulnerable and one-dimensional on offense.  

The problem with this scenario is it eliminates one of the Sixers offensive sparkplugs off the bench and diminishes their defensive prowess.  To combat this, we will see a healthy dose of Donyell Marshall and Theo Ratliff respectively.  Marshall can provide the needed spark offensively off the bench and Ratliff brings a measure of defensive stability. 

The loss of Young at an integral point in the season was devastating to the Sixers’ playoff positioning and chances of advancing past the first round.  That is the level-headed, pragmatic view.  But they still have to show up and compete.  We need to continue to gauge the mental makeup of this team and this test will be a solid way to judge them in that capacity.  Will they all step up on the defensive end of the floor and hold each other accountable?  Will the make solid decisions with the ball and not settle for jumpers?  Will they refuse to be outrebounded and outhustled? 

The answers to these questions will tell us a lot about this team.  Those answers will begin to be formulated tonight against the Bucks.    

The Sixers needed a win in the worst way tonight, and they came through with a 98-85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.  They pretty much had a comfortable lead throughout the game, but the Hawks were able to fight all the way back and cut the lead to one with about 9 minutes left in the game.  But the old veteran Theo Ratliff would have no part of a Hawks comeback win.  His hustle and defense helped the Sixers to a 14-2 run to close the game. 

It was a nice substitution by Tony DiLeo to insert Ratliff for Samuel Dalembert.  The Hawks were able to consistently get easy buckets in the second half until Ratliff was inserted into the game.  As anyone who reads anything I have written knows, I am constantly harping on defense being the key for the Sixers to have any success.  The Hawks were on the verge of taking the game over and were scoring every time down the floor, especially Josh Smith, who had 33 points and barely missed a shot.  I wonder if Sixers fans were picturing what Smith would have looked like with his skills on the Sixers this year. 

But, here’s what the Hawks’ possessions looked like after Ratliff was inserted: missed jumper and shot clock violation, made basket, layup, missed 3, 2 made free throws, Ratliff block followed by a missed three, missed jumper, missed jumper, turnover, turnover on a Ratliff steal, offensive foul turnover drawn by Ratliff, 2 free throws, missed jumper, 2 free throws, turnover, missed 3, and missed jumper.

As you can see, Ratliff had a direct impact on the Sixers defense.  The Hawks missed their last 8 shots to go along with 4 turnovers, 2 of those directly caused by Ratliff.  The other thing Theo did so well defensively was how aggressively he hedged on screens and still got back to his man in the lane.  Marreese Speights also gave the Sixers good minutes off the bench.  I would love to say that he got those minutes because DiLeo finally realized that even though Speights makes mistakes, he brings more positives to the court than negatives.  Unfortunately, Speights got his minutes due to the fact that Thaddeus Young went down with an ugly looking ankle injury in the first quarter.  Young needed help getting to the locker room.  Just when the kid was coming into his own, he has to land on someone’s foot.  More on that later, but back to the game for a minute.

It was a big win for the Sixers.  There really is no margin for error at this point.  As I have said, it would be great for this team moving forward to make the playoffs and win a series, but if they don’t find a way into the 5 seed, that won’t be happening.  If they can get into the 5 spot, their opponent would be the same Hawks team that the Sixers have now beaten 2 out of 3 times.  There is no room to throw up a clunker like they did against Charlotte.  All of the remaining 9 games need to be treated like playoff games. 

There’s only one problem, and I hate to be so pessimistic…or do I?  The Sixers won’t be earning the 5^th seed in the conference or winning any playoff games without Thaddeus Young in the lineup.  Defense wins in the playoffs, and with no Young, the Sixers become an extremely easy team to defend.  According to the postgame reports, Young’s X-Rays were negative and he will be having an MRI Wednesday morning.  Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

41-23.  That’s the stat that tells you all you need to know about last night’s Sixers versus Bobcats game.  41-23.  That is the startling rebound edge held by the Charlotte Bobcats over the Philadelphia 76ers last night at the Wachovia Center in a 100-95 victory over the Sixers. 

As a team, there will always be nights when your shot is not falling but there should never be nights when you stop working.  The Sixers stopped working last night.  In most circumstances, rebounding gives you a pretty clear indication of effort.  The 18-rebound margin held by the Bobcats tells you that they were simply playing with a greater sense of desperation than the Sixers.

I said before the game I felt this was a dangerous matchup.  Now you can see why.  Larry Brown surely had his team focused on sneaking into the final playoff spot and coming off of two tough losses, they possessed an extra source of motivation.  But it’s not like the Sixers should have had to search for their motivation.  They are locked in a dogfight with the Miami Heat for the fifth spot in the Eastern conference and the right to avoid a first round mathcup with the Celtics, Cavs or Magic.  Last night, they couldn’t seem to muster the desire to bury the Bobcats.  And once they did find it, it was too little, too late.

As in many nights prior to this one, the team lost its ability to knock down shots in the first half.  But that is no excuse for the stinker they continued to put out on the floor.  They did not defend, they did not rebound—they simply did not hustle.  It’s a shame too, because lost in all of this is Thaddeus Young’s continued solid play.  Young was again quietly efficient going 10/14 from the floor for 21 points and filling up the rest of the stat sheet.  It seemed like Young was the only player on the floor most of the time that realized what was at stake.

It’s a sad commentary on your basketball team when a second-year player that is 20-years old seems to be the only one not dogging it. 

Now that was a weird road trip.  The season is winding down for the Sixers and they couldn’t afford to go out to the west coast and lose 4 of 5 games or even worse all 5.  When the trip started, I was hoping for a 3 – 2 record, and that’s exactly what they are coming back with, after last night’s big overtime victory over the Portland Trailblazers.  The weird part was how they got to that record.  The trip started off with an unlikely buzzer beater by Andre Iguodala to beat the best team in the West, followed by an ugly loss to the Suns the next night, then a bad loss to a Warriors team that looked like they were doing lay up drills, a blow out of the Sacramento Kings (worst team in the NBA), and then last night’s win against the team with the 5^th best home record in the NBA.  So, they lose to a bad Warriors team and a struggling Suns team, but beat the teams with the 2^nd and 5^th best home records in the NBA?  That’s not how I envisioned the trip playing itself out, but I will certainly take it.

The Sixers were led last night by the trio of Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, and Thaddeus Young.  The Sixers played front runners for most of the game, but in the second half Portland was able to knock down their perimeter shots and fight back to take the lead late in the 4^th quarter.  The Sixers fought hard in a game that for awhile seemed to be going against them late.  I rarely criticize officiating, but there was a 5 minute stretch in the 4^th quarter where literally every call went against the Sixers, and they were not all good calls at all.  But, to their credit, the Sixers were able to stay focused on the task at hand.  That is when it is great to have a guy like Andre Miller leading your team.  Miller seemed to take control of the game in the waning minutes and ensure that the Sixers would be flying home with a winning road trip. 

Yeah, it went to overtime, but the Sixers were able to make plays down the stretch to win a big game.  They did the same thing against the Lakers.  Could we be seeing this team starting to understand how to win close games?  It’s possible.  I definitely see a difference in one player in particular: Thaddeus Young.  Thaddeus Young has now scored over 20 points in four straight games for the first time in his career.  It is blatantly obvious that he is more aggressive and confident.  Instead of deferring to his teammates all the time, Young is looking to score.  This can only help the Sixers.  It gives them another reliable option in their offense that they can utilize in their half court sets.  In the previous 4 months of this season, Young took 15 or more shots a total of 13 times.  Already, in the month of March, he has done so 8 times.  He knows he can score, and he is being aggressive with his touches. 

On the negative side, the Sixers gave up 100 or more points in 4 of the 5 games on this road trip.  I know that the Suns and Warriors are high scoring teams, but the Sixers didn’t put up a fight.  They need to tighten up their defense.  You can’t head into the playoffs with bad habits on defense.

So, the Sixers have 13 games remaining in the regular season.  Seven are at home, and 6 on the road.  The goal should be the 5 spot in the Conference.  They are currently 1 ½ games behind the Heat for that spot.  I know the Sixers aren’t winning a title this year, but wouldn’t it be nice to at least have a chance of winning the first round series?  If they don’t catch the Heat, then they have zero chance of advancing past the first round.  I think the Sixers can take that 5^th spot.  They need to set it as a goal and fight for it.  The Heat have 12 games remaining, with 7 of those coming on the road.  The Sixers have the easier of the two schedules.  The battle for the 5^th spot begins tomorrow night against Minnesota.  Will the Sixers be up to the challenge?

By all accounts, this is a game the Sixers should win.  The Sacramento Kings have been awful all season long—amassing only 15 wins to go along with 54 losses.  As bad as that stat sounds, the Kings have managed to win only one contest against the Eastern Conference all season long, finally getting off the snide on Friday night against the Knicks.

By any statistical measure, the Sixers have a decided advantage against the Kings.  Sacramento allows opponents to pour in 108 points per game, is routinely out rebounded and gives teams an abundance of extra possesions by turning the ball over 16 times per game.

But if history has taught us anything this year, it’’s that the Sixers rarely capitalize on games where they have a huge edge.  This is a team that has lost to the Timberwolves, Bobcats, Nets (x2), Thunder and Warriors.  It is also a team that has beat the Lakers, Spurs, Rockets and Trailblazers. 

So which team will show up tonight?  The one that scratched and clawed their way to victory against the Lakers or the one that let the Warriors walk all over them? 

Their Sixers are a young team and clearly are prone to periods of poor play followed by spurts of solid play.  Part of this is the nature of their greatest offensive deficiency—a lack of outside shooting.  A team like the Sixers that is full of streaky shooters is naturally going to see its offensive production follow suit.  Some nights they will knock down open looks from outside, some nights they won”t.  I can live with that.  What I can”t live with is their lack of commitment on the defensive end of the floor.  Regardless of whether or not your shot is falling, you can always commit to playing solid defense.  This team refuses to do that on a regular basis. 

What makes it even more puzzling and frustrating is they absolutely have the personnel to be a solid defensive team.  In Samuel Dalembert, the Sixers have an elite shot blocker and above average rebounder.  With Iguodala and Young, they have two young, athletic players that should be able to play consistently tough on-the-ball defense.  Across the board, the Sixers are an athletic team that should be able to commit to solid team defense.  Yet they continue to make mental mistakes that cost their team points.  Instead of playing disciplined defense, they gamble for steals and abandon the perimeter in favor of clogging the lane.  And while help defense is important, the Sixers sometimes over commit with a complete and utter lack of awareness for who they abandoned.  When you are guarding Ray Allen, you don”t leave him to help out on Rajon Rondo—especially when you have a guy like Dalembert to defend the rim.  The Sixers to a man fail to grasp that concept.

And on that note, the keys to the game:

# 1: Defend the Perimeter: While the Kings are not an elite team when it comes to shooting the three, they do have a few players that can knock it down from outside in Kevin Martin, John Salmons and Andres Nocioni.  The Sixers need to force the Kings into difficult shots from the perimeter. 

#2: Own the Glass: It is no secret that the Sixers struggle when it comes to shooting the ball.  As such, there is sure to be ample opportunity for them to hit the offensive glass.  Fortunately, the Kinds are a terrible rebounding team.  The Sixers must crash the offensive glass and capitalize on the additional possessions.

# 3: Iggy Need to Snap Out of It: Despite the game-winning shot against the Lakers, Andre Iguodala has been struggling mightily from the field in the last three games.  When Iggy gets a few easy buckets in transition early in the game his jump shot seems to follow.  It will be important for the Sixers to get out and run early and get the ball to Iggy in spots where he can score.  This should be an opportunity for him to have a big game.

Despite the fact Kings are an awful team and the Sixers have an edge in nearly every statistical category, I don”t think this game will be a cakewalk.  Because the Sixers come into this game losers of two straight, one would hope they don”t take this team for granted.  With every game critical in the race for the 5^th spot in the Eastern Conference, this is one the Sixers must win.