Last night I had the opportunity to check out our very own Philadelphia 76ers from a court side seat courtesy of my good friend @76ersTixRep. I say this because the closer you get to the floor the better understanding you can get of the work that the players are putting in.
In a game that, quiet often, the Sixers would find a way to loose we saw what could be the beginning of the Sixers turning the corner and becoming a sound basketball team. How often have we seen the Sixers beat a good team, just to follow it up with a loss to a team they should handle easily.
Tuesday nights pre-season finale and home opener started to resemble one of those games. After going bucket for bucket early in the first quarter the Sixers started to build a little lead only to relinquish it and trail the majority of the second quarter.
Previous Sixers teams would give up a lead and continue to shoot themselves in the foot with sloppy defense and turnovers. Fast forward to last night and as JaVale McGee of the Wizards started to showcase his plethora of post moves and dunks the Sixers found themselves in the middle of a turnover and bad shot selection spurt.
But unlike previous years the Sixers settled down and started to tighten up defensively in order to get back into the game. They would eventually take the lead from the Wizards for the final time off of a 3-pointer from Jrue Holiday with 2:13 remaining in the game and cruise to a 101-94 win over the Wizards.
Side notes:
Evan Turner looks totally different on the court this year. He is very aggressive and confident in his game. He also doesn’t mind going down low to grab boards.
Spencer Hawes needs to stop putting the ball on the floor when he is on the low block with guards coming down to double team. He had multiple turnovers because of that last night.
Andre Iguodala looks like he is trying to play in the image of a Scottie Pippen. He can play the point forward but he needs to mirror Pippen’s defensive style as well.
words by: @Philly_Ron
