Sixers vs Hornets Post-Game...

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Sixers vs Hornets Post-Game Thoughts

Tuesday, January 12. 2010

Before the game I said I only wanted to see one thing. I wanted to see Eddie Jordan change things up and play Jrue Holiday on Chris Paul. That was all I wanted out of this game. That wish didn't come true in the sense that Iverson/Williams still started in the backcourt, but Jrue Holiday did play the entire 4th quarter in a close game, and by and large the rookie responded.

That doesn't mean Holdiay played flawlessly. He did get beat at times by Paul off the dribble, and got caught in a few poorly conceived switches, but by and large did an admirable job against the best point guard in the game, with Jrue even out-producing Chris Paul in the 4th quarter (6 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds for Jrue against 5 points, 0 assists, 1 rebound for Paul). That kind of experience is invaluable for the rookie, and having played a defensive lineup down the stretch (that included Holiday, Iguodala, and Dalembert on the floor at all times, with Brand and Carney thrown in) might actually help us win a game or two, as we did tonight.

The Sixers have held a double digit lead in each of the past 8 games. Not trading baskets with the opposition might help us hold onto a few.

I'm not going to get too amped on the win as a whole, as I think people are slightly over-stating how hot New Orleans was heading into the game. Yes, they had won 6 in a row, which by its strictest definition made them the hottest team in the league. That being said, they are 5-14 on the road this year, and were playing on the tail end of a back to back having struggled to pull out a win at Washington the night before. Still, it would be hard not to classify this as a solid win, if for no other reason than how they won.

Quick Thoughts after the jump.


Quick Thoughts:

  • It was nice to see Thad get it going in the second half. Can only hope that carries over to the next game, as his struggles offensively have become painful.
  • When Elton Brand fouled out with 42 seconds remaining I thought for a second we might see Speights and Dalembert on the court at the same time. This has not happened since a brief 40 second run December 22nd against Washington, and has only happened for just over 13 minutes all season. But, alas, Jordan brought in Thaddeus Young.
  • Lou's defense was, for the most part, better. He's still a magnet to hit the roll man on pick and rolls, but he at least tried to move his feet defensively last night, which is better than I can usually say for him. Overall, he was effective.
  • I have to, surprisingly, give props to Eddie Jordan. He went with a big lineup the entire 4th quarter until Brand went down. With 11 minutes of Holiday and Iguodala on the perimeter and Brand and Dalembert down low, it's no surprise the Sixers held the Hornets to 17 points over that span. Maybe a trend? Or a one game aberration ? Hopefully the former.
  • More on the "giving Eddie Jordan props" train, I thought Jrue really struggled to close out the 3rd. Imagine my shock when Eddie Jordan rode with him the entire 4th quarter. Was Louis Williams a little nicked up? Perhaps. Even so (which is only a rumor), giving Jrue time over Iverson, Green and even Ivey is a step in the right direction.
  • Dalembert continues to play some of the most inspired ball of his career, although his productivity did drop drastically after the first quarter.
  • It wasn't one of Elton Brand's best games, missing 9 of his 15 shots and grabbing only 3 defensive rebounds in nearly 33 minutes. Still, he got to the line, put pressure on the Hornets defense, and played well defensively himself.
  • Getting to the line was huge last night, as the Sixers outscored the Hornets by 12 there. Great job by Iverson, Iguodala and Brand especially. The teams FTRate of late has been great, especially since Iverson's been back.
  • The Hornets were +13 in the 41 minutes Chris Paul played. In the 7+ minutes he was on the bench? -17. That's staggering.
  • I'll ignore the poor defensive rebounding for now. Had they lost this game? It would be the story of the game. They've been doing marginally better of late, so I'll ignore this one transgression, but I still think it's going to be a problem going forward, especially with this small lineup. New Orleans isn't even a great offensive rebounding team. Whenever Sammy went for a block Okafor was there to position himself for an offensive rebound. Our most effective at rotating over to box him out? 6'3" Jrue Holiday, whose great boxout on that last 3 attempt by New Orleans helped secure the win.


Player of the game: Andre Iguodala. Wanted to put Jrue here, but Iguodala's overall game (18 points on 10 shots, 8 assists, 4 steals, only 2 turnovers) was a catalyst. Iguodala's averaging only 9.8 field goal attempts per game over the last 5, but still consistently making huge contributions.

Boxscore (and rotational data)
Next Game: Wednesday vs New York
Posted by Derek Bodner in Sixers Game Thoughts at 01:40 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)
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Do you think Stephanski told EJ to play Jrue more? And if so, why primarily in the 4th qtr?
Comment (1)
#1 tk76 on 2010-01-12 08:34 (Reply)
I'd probably lean towards either:
- it coming out that Lou Williams got a little banged up in the 3rd
or
- Eddie Jordan actually had one of his hunches turn out right. As unlikely as this sounds, a broken clock is right twice per day.

It'll be very interesting to see if any kind of trend is established going forward, particularly on Willie Green vs Jrue in the depth chart (I think expecting Jrue to hold a starting spot, baring injury, is unlikely for the remainder of the year).
Comment (1)
#1.1 Derek Bodner (Homepage) on 2010-01-12 10:30 (Reply)
Good all around game last night.. except the inability to maintain consistency on the defensive glass. Lou Will I thought played some pretty hard defense on Paul and it showed with no points at the end of the first half. I still would be interested to see how opponents would react to coming down the floor and seeing a switch up to zone and having to shoot over it. Just a thought. good write up.

BG
Comment (1)
#2 Brian (Homepage) on 2010-01-12 13:24 (Reply)

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Comments

Josh Stern about I'm Joining LibertyBallers
Sun, 04.04.2010 17:08
One statistical anal ysis I'd like to see , either here [...]Comments ()


mwp628 about The plight of Eddie Jordan
Wed, 10.03.2010 00:57
This is probably loo king too far in the future, but wh [...]Comments ()


Derek Bodner about Keeping perspective on Jrue Holiday
Tue, 09.03.2010 02:43
Like I said, always up for a lively deba te. 2:30 am w [...]Comment (1)


Depressed Fan about Keeping perspective on Jrue Holiday
Tue, 09.03.2010 02:07
Our very own Dean H. attended a season t icket holder e [...]Comments ()


Jordan about Keeping perspective on Jrue Holiday
Tue, 09.03.2010 01:55
Thanks for the compe lling counter and ki nd words Derek [...]Comments ()


Derek Bodner about Eskin: Sixers will fire Eddie Jordan at seasons end
Tue, 09.03.2010 00:36
As would I. In fact , I think he's proba bly the only o [...]Comment (1)


CM about Eskin: Sixers will fire Eddie Jordan at seasons end
Mon, 08.03.2010 13:05
From that list, I'll take Van GundyComments ()


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The sixers are only set at 2 positions w ith guys who c [...]Comments ()


CM about Core to build around?
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IMO, there are 3 dif ference makers in th is draft: W [...]Comments ()


Derek Bodner about The plight of Eddie Jordan
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Epic failure of misj udgment and cronyism is exactly ri [...]Comment (1)


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