• March 29, 2024

Sixers Let A Great Opportunity Slip Through Their Fingers

The Sixers were right there with a chance to shock the the world and beat the Miami Heat in South Beach in the first game of their seven-game series, but they couldn’t knock a few “makeable” shots with the game on the line.

The missed shots in the clutch wasn’t the only reason the Sixers lost the game. Their inability to match the Heat on the backboards hurt them severely. They were out-rebounded 52 to 39. Miami had a huge advantage on the free throw line, they shot 39 free throws, while the Sixers shot only 15 shots from the free throw line.

“We had some great opportunities, but we’ve got to be a little more patient,” Doug Collins said. “I thought that if we could keep their three stars under 75 points that’s we’d have a chance to win. Last time we were in here they had 91.”

This was an exciting situation for Sixers fans because the team rode the backs of two young players, Thaddeus Young and Jrue Holiday, in this battled with the much talked Miami team.

Young, who has been coming into his own, had a great game. He led the team in scoring with 20 points and also contributed 11 rebounds. He scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the 76ers made a inspiring run.

“That has been my job all season long,” Young said after the game. “To come off the bench, be the energy guy, and intensify the game and make it easier on the other guys when they come back in. I try to start with that spark and carry it over to the other guys.”

Holiday had a great game in his own right with 19 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and zero turnovers. It’s amazing that this youngster played so well in his first NBA playoff game at only 20 years of age.

The guy who struggled offensively in the game for the Sixers was Andre Iguodala, who scored only four points but did a good job defensively while taking on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Still the Sixers are going to need more out of him in this series if they’re going to have any chance to beating the Heat.

Do you think the Sixers really have a chance going forward?

GCOBB

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paulman
paulman
April 17, 2011 12:24 pm

Not without a intimidating force in the middle of the Sixer’s Defense..
They need that big man to alter shots, stop penetration, block out on the weak side.. The Sixers can win a game or 2 in this Sereis, but yesterday’s game was the one to steal.. Now the Heat Big 3 have awoken and in the end, the Sixers just don’t have enough horses yet to play with them over a 7-game Series.. They need to add a Defensive Prescence in the middle, and a pure spot-up 3 Pt Shooter to add to the Roster as they continue to improve..
They did play hard and left it all out on the court which is all you can ask for at this time of the teams development..

vricchini
vricchini
April 17, 2011 1:05 pm

Two words. Demarcus Cousins. Total Fail drafting Turner

wmonell
wmonell
April 17, 2011 3:13 pm

lets keep it real here tho.
you cant go back in time and re-draft.
you cant change the fact that lbj and bosh joined wade in miami
good comeback effort, scrappy game

game 1 was bigger for the heat than sixers
they have the new team and the stars and the chip on the shoulder
they have the pressure and are out to prove something

collins drew up a beautiful gameplan, getting easy shot opportunities
sixers defensive plan was good, miamis extras just happened to hit shots
lbj and wade did not have a successful 1st half
and as always, they go through their droughts and scoring streaks
very inconsistent

sixers, all they have to do is box out (miami is no rebounding phenomenon)
and simply finish their shots at the rim, and they win game 1
with the better coach and jrue hollidays speed, expect a lot of easy shots

schiller
schiller
April 17, 2011 3:57 pm

hey first poster, that sounds uncannily like what Paulman keeps on posting over and over and over and over and…. oh wait…

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
April 17, 2011 7:55 pm

Evan Turner still sucks — just wanted to put that out there.

Elton Brand needs to go.

Andre Iguodala needs to get traded this offseason. No joke. Get him the F outta here already. Thad Young is ready to step up and be the face of this franchise. Let him.

jakedog
jakedog
April 18, 2011 8:43 am

Birdo, Iguodala is a very solid player, especially on defense, he’s not a superstar, not the clutch shooter, but important to this team, plus can’t trade him, he makes too much money, why all the negativity now?, let them finish the series

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
April 18, 2011 9:02 am

@jakedog, I BEEN gave up on Iguodala a LONG time ago. I just want the world to see it too. The guy takes a wide open jumper and bricks it badly in the last minute of the game when he shoulda just gave the ball to the man that was carrying the team in Thad Young.

Jrue, Thad are going to be the faces of this franchise. We should accept that now. Try to get rid of Iggy and/or Brand for a legit 2 guard or just get rid of them to clear up cap space for Dwight Howard.

paulman
paulman
April 18, 2011 10:13 am

“Iggy” is the Sixers version of McNabb, besides looking like him and having similar body language and expressions, He’s a good player, but not a leader and definitely not worth the $$$ they are paying him but again, that’s not Iggy’s fault…

Casper
Casper
April 18, 2011 11:39 am

Iggy’s like a poor-man’s Scottie Pippen with no MJ…..remember how those Bulls teams were decent, but just not good enough. I despised Iggy for the past couple of years, but I like how Collins has used him this year and how Iggy has accepted his role on the team. The problem is that the Sixers have too many of the same type of player on this team.

Just a question, but I was really wanting the sixers to get Josh Smith instead of Elton Brand a couple of years back (and also trade Iggy for a PG or PF/C)…would Smith have been a better fit for the sixers?

RonGlover
April 18, 2011 12:01 pm

I wanted Smith as well, he gonna give you more because he can score from he inside and out he’s a shot blocker and most importantly he’s younger and hasn’t suffered any major injuries.

RonGlover
April 18, 2011 12:02 pm

Man, I really butchered that last post.

Casper
Casper
April 18, 2011 12:14 pm

just because you don’t believe in sentence structure, doesn’t make you a bad person…

paulman
paulman
April 18, 2011 12:15 pm

You have to be joking Casper referring Iggy to a poor-mans Scottie Pippen,
not even close man.. Pippen could shoot,pass and defend consistently better
than Iggy every has…

Casper
Casper
April 18, 2011 12:20 pm

I was aware that I was attempting to make a comparison between Iggy and a Hall of Fame Player…I was just trying to put into perspective the type of player Iggy is on this team. And even though Pippen is all of those things above, he still wasn’t good enough to carry a team (see his years in Houston, too). But I’ll grant you maybe I should’ve said a homeless-man’s Scottie Pippen instead…lol