On Wednesday night, the Sixers had a chance to net an impressive victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. After a 3-point shot by Lou Williams put his team up 5 with 2 minutes to go, the game was their’s for the taking.
But no one on the Sixers stepped up and took it.
The Sixers 110-105 loss to the Thunder showed exactly what this team is lacking, and why it finds its self in no man’s land.
After Williams shot, the Sixers offense looked lost. They had a 24 second violation. They missed jumpers and got shots blocked. They got called for offensive fouls. They looked like a team that had no one to step up and win the game for them.
The Thunder, on the other hand, have two “go-to”, clutch, All-Star players on their team in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Those two players allow their team to steal games they shouldn’t have, and close games they deserve to win.
With 12 seconds on the clock and the Thunder down 3, everyone in the Wells Fargo Center knew who the ball was going to. There was no secret about it. Kevin Durant was taking that shot. A mistake on a defensive rotation by Evan Turner allowed Durant to get open, and he made them pay. His 3 pointer tied the game, and sucked the life out of the Sixers.
A layup by the Thunder’s other All-Star, Westbrook in overtime put his team up 106-102, and they would not look back. Durant and Westbrook combined to score over half of the team’s points on the night.
The Thunder had players who stepped up and stole the game back from the Sixers. The Sixers, on the other hand, don’t have a “go-to” option. I would bet that very few people in the building thought Andre Iguodala would match Durant’s 3 pointer when he got the ball with 6 seconds remaining.
The Sixers have a roster full of talented players, and it shows by there recent stretch of victories. They are similar to a poor man’s 
Detroit Pistons (ok, a very poor version.)
But the fact is, that in the NBA, you need a star to win championships. Since Michael Jordan has retired, 5 teams have won an NBA Championship- the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. Other than the Pistons, all of those teams had Hall of Fame, superstar players on their roster.
The Sixers will make the playoffs this year, and they could even pull a first round upset if everything falls their way, but until this team either drafts or signs a legitimate NBA star, Sixers fans can expect a lot more results like Wednesday night.
The problem? 76ers last 2 possessions in the 4th:
0:14 98-101 Kevin Durant blocks Andre Iguodala’s 17-foot jumper
0:01 101-101 Andre Iguodala offensive charge (Russell Westbrook draws the foul)
Not to menton OT
3:30 104-103 Andre Iguodala out of bounds lost ball turnover
2:44 106-103 Andre Iguodala misses three point jumper
1:12 108-105 Andre Iguodala misses 25-foot three point jumper
0:14 110-105 Andre Iguodala misses 24-foot three point jumper
He thinks he’s a star, and he wanted to win the game single handedly against Durant. He’s not a star.
And Mr. Best Defender in the league, here’s Durant’s line:
13-26, 34 pts, 16 boards.
Only player on this team I have confidence in is Thad Young even tho he had a bad game yesterday you dont see those too often. What more can we say Iggy needs to be traded bottom line and Turner looks more and more like a bad pick. That jump shot looks horrible and he looks confused out there.
I want Iguodala on the team, I do NOT want him handling the ball and making decisions with the ball at the end of games. I love Collins but he has got to move past that and go in a different direction. He should leave stubborn repeat failure modes to Any Reid!
Iggy killed them last night.
Williams and Holiday each were having big games. Lou had drawn 2 fouls on previous possessions, but he Iguodola still gets the ball.
Iggy is not clutch! Period. He makes stupid mistakes at critical times.
There’s something that needs to be said that no one is going to say, because the Sixers are doing better than they have been recent years. Doug Collins is still a mediocre to poor coach. The team doesn’t know what to do with a fourth quarter lead that’s close, because the coach is not a winner and doesn’t know how to handle those situations in terms of coaching players. Can he get better now that he has a new lease on hid coaching life…maybe, but with his age and the number of failed opportunities he’s had it seems unlikely to me. The fact that the Sixers don’t know what to do with a fourth quarter lead has everything to do with the coaching.
Having said all of that Iguodala must go. If not gone he’s a guy that shouldn’t even know what a basketball court looks like in the final quarter of a game. It wouldn’t be the first time the Sixers were saddled with an overpaid player that was mediocre or worse at their position. (Can anyone say Scott Williams or Derrick Coleman?) I actually think Iguodala took his que on his entitlement mindset from guys like that.