Sixers vs Cavs: Another one...

The good

Holiday's progression

I've been vocally against small ball, but I'm at the point of the season with this team that there's one number I'm primarily concerned about, and that's Jrue Holiday's minutes. He played 37 effective minutes tonight, and because of that this game's a success.

Check out this stat. In Jrue Holiday's last 3 starts (Cleveland, Golden State, Oklahoma City), the man he's been guarding has shot 18% (6-33). That includes Mo Williams (2-8), Monta Ellis (3-14), and Russell Westbrook (1-11), all of whom average 16 or more points per game. This is not coincidence, and what we are seeing is the development of a game changer on the defensive end of the court. The way he moves his feet, the way he denies his mand when playing off the ball, his ability to fight through picks and his physical traits have combined to make him an incredible defender, and perhaps more importantly he's a cerebral defender as well. He very well could already be one of the 5 best defensive point guards in the league, which is an amazing feat considering he's also the youngest player in the league. It would take a considerable amount of effort to go back and remember a teenage rookie being this good of a defender on the perimeter.

But his game wasn't only about defense, as he showed the court vision that made him the second best point guard recruit in the country his senior year in high school. I've talked about his vision off the pick and roll in the past, and it's nothing short of exceptional, but his ability to run the break is remarkable as well. Quite often you'll see young point guards push the ball too fast and get out of control on the break, but Holiday takes his time, surveys the court, and let's the game come to him, and it's a great thing to watch. His handle is outstanding, his vision is great, and as soon as his jumpshot develops to the point where it's consistent enough that defender have to defend it, he's going to be a very good half court point guard as well. Amazingly, he's already leading the team in assists per minute (as well as steals), and I expect that disparity to increase as he continues to get more playing time.

Another thing I like about the rook? He takes charge. More often than not you'll see a rookie that young passively stay away from the ball, standing in the corner, deferring to Iverson, Green and Iguodala. At this point, Holiday's established himself enough where he comes to get the ball and setup the halfcourt offense. True point guard instincts in every sense of the word. I said on draft night that those calling Holiday a combo-guard where dead wrong, and he's showing it out there now. He's a top-10-in-his-draft-class talent.

I honestly don't see the Sixers coming close if Holiday's not playing as much as he did.

Iguodala

Struggled early, but came through in the second half, and the fact that he did what he did while he was clearly in pain was quite a feat. I'm worried about Andre long term, as this injury appears to be one that's going to linger and may eventually require some time off.

James got his points, but outside of that corner three off the Iverson turnover, they were more or less contested. I did think Iguodala could have closed out on the two pick and rolls Mo Williams hit late in the game, but the first one was contested and the second one he was picked by Shaq. Iguodala hasn't been generating the assists he had been, a large portion of the half court ballhandling has fallen on Iverson and Holiday of late.

Speights returned

The fact that Speights returned and was able to play 22 minutes is a good thing, although I probably would have opted to monitor his minutes a little closer and ease him in more. He essentially looked like Speights offensively, scoring 14 points in 22 minutes and providing the Sixers with a spark when their offense stagnated. After the putrid performances by the bench the last few games, that was a welcome sight.

Various others

Brand played another Elton Brand-like game, with 11 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, and was the only Sixer to have a positive +/-.

Thaddeus Young showed some of the reasons why he may be our best half-court offense, but was ineffective for parts as well. That being said, the fact that he notched his 3rd triple double in a row, including a spark on the glass in the 4th
when the Sixers were trying to make their push. His work on the glass the last 6 games (9.2 rebounds per game in his last 6) is a huge sign, regardless of whether Young is going to be playing the SF or PF in the future.

The Bad

The Coach

I hate to pin something on the coach because, well, we've been piling on Eddie Jordan a ton lately and it's frankly beginning to get a little tiresome. That being said, it's warranted.

Coming out of a timeout down 5 with 2:30 left in the game and the Sixers are unable to inbound the ball, resulting in a turnover. Needing a stop, Eddie Jordan leaves Willie Green in the game over Jrue Holiday, who was putting on a certifiable defensive clinic up until that point. According to Eddie Jordan, coaches win practices, players win games. Coaches can definitely make it harder for those players to win games, though.

Iverson

As stated previously, Iverson had a definite down game, the most crucial mistake being the bad pass that led to the huge LeBron James three. That being said, he was ineffective for most of the game.

Word came out after the game from Kate Fagan that Iverson had 50 cc's of fluid draned from his right knee and that he's going to have an MRI tomorrow. I expect him to try to play on Friday, but this situation isn't likely to get any better any time soon without rest.

Others

Speights, while looking good offensively, made some bad passes, was a step late on the defensive end, and often times out of place on the glass. Not entirely surprising considering how much time he missed, but that's part of the reason why you let him ease his way back into the rotation, rather than throwing him to the wolves right away.

Samuel Dalembert played well, when he was on the court. Unfortunately he spent a lot of time on the bench due to foul difficulties, some of which were entirely avoidable and bad fouls.

Andre Iguodala's injury is beginning to become a real concern for me, and I almost wish he would take a week or two off rather than try to play through it. He ended up having a very effective game, but at times you could see him visibly wincing and hobbled.

Finally, Willie Green made shots. Why is this bad? Because they were generally bad shots, and whenever Willie has these games he gets the idea that he can make them consistently. I smell a few bad shots on Friday.