The Mavericks are more talented than the Sixers, they have a better coach, they have a better owner, they have fans who show up for games. They have porn-star hair, future hall-of-famers, cool nicknames like "Matrix, "Jet" and "Dumpier." They haven't played a game since Saturday and they're playing in the comfort of their own arena. The Sixers, on the other hand, are playing the ass-end of a back-to-back and none of their players was recently engaged to a deranged grifter, so they've got that going for them.
|
News is breaking all over the place about a 2-hour meeting between Ed Stefanski, Eddie Jordan and Iverson and his crew earlier today. You all know how I feel, I know how most of you feel. I'm going to wait until it's official to lose my head over this. Right now, the Vegas moneyline is at -$800 in favor of Iverson suiting up for the Sixers sooner rather than later. I will say I'm extremely proud that readers here were pretty much the only polled group not in favor of bringing Iverson back. Check out the landslide at The 700 Level. Preview for tonight's game will land in an hour or so.
|
As I said last night, I'm cutting the Eddie Jordan grace period off early. His rotations infuriate me, his comments have my systolic skyrocketing, his logic is anything but logical. I was unhappy when he took the job, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. From this point forward I won't be hedging my criticisms with "give it time" or "yet" disclaimers. I've seen enough to form an informed opinion of his coaching style, skills and approach, now he's going to have to actually do something to change my mind. Tonight will be his first opportunity to surprise me.
|
Mark this date, November 29th, on your calendars. It was the first time Willie Green was inserted into the starting lineup. It was the first time Eddie Jordan started a small lineup. It was the first time the Sixers played a small lineup for the entire game and it was officially the day that Eddie Jordan's grace period ended for me. In no world, no matter how many injuries you have on your roster, should Willie Green ever be on the floor for 38 minutes.
|
Allen Iverson has dominated by Sixers bandwidth for the past 36 hours or so, tonight's game against the Spurs will absolutely be a welcome distraction. Preview after the jump.
|
When I penned my initial reaction to the Allen Iverson rumor late last night, there were two things I took somewhat for granted. Number one was that Stephen A. Smith is completely unreliable. Number two was that educated fans would see pretty quickly that Iverson was not a good fit for this franchise. Well, a day later it looks Smith was probably on to something and the vast majority of fans see things differently than I do, so after the jump I'll go into some more detail.
|
Mike was at the Wach last night to witness first-hand the mugging of Andre Iguodala, the A.I. chants that may lead to a huge setback for the franchise and oh yeah, the Sixers 11th loss of the season. His first-person report is after the jump.
|
Please, please, please let this rumor straight from the Blackberry of Stephen A. Smith be false. Smith says: Numerous team sources confirmed on Friday that the 76ers' brass has already talked -- and talks will only escalate this weekend -- about bringing Iverson back to Philadelphia. Possibly as early as next week.
|
Well, they weren't blown out, they showed several sparks in different areas of the game (mostly in the first half), but they just didn't have enough firepower to overcome the Hawks tonight at the Wach. That makes five losses in a row, and the schedule doesn't exactly get easier from here.
|
For what I believe is the first time this season, the schedule will actually make a tough game a little bit easier for the Sixers later tonight. The Hawks played last night against the Magic, the Sixers had Thanksgiving off. The Sixers are also at home. It's a small advantage, maybe worth a point or two on the spread, but still, it's something and they're going to need any edge they can get their hands on against the Hawks.
|
|
Latest comment: from Brian
Ok, I thought he was saying riding them as in sticking with the through cold stretches. ...
|
Bad news for Lou Williams broke earlier today. He had surgery on his fractured jaw and will miss eight weeks, his jaw is currently wired shut. Horrible news for Lou in his first season as a start, but a silver lining for the team, in my eyes.
|
My only option for catching the game was the 2 a.m. replay on NESN, so I'm not getting to this recap until 4:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. Needless to say, it's not going to be long. Don't let the lack of girth to this post lead you to believe I didn't thoroughly enjoy this game, though. The Sixers showed amazing heart in a game they really had no business keeping closer than 20 points.
|
|
|
