Unfortunately I have no time to do a preview, so anything relating with tonight’s preseason game, well just post it here. Some quick facts though about the game: <ul>Unlike last time when it was all speculation on whether Webber will play or not, this time it has been confirmed by the man himself. Webber WILL PLAY tonight against NY. So look out for that[/list] <ul>Allen Iverson is out tonight against the Knicks. Not particularly due to injury related problems but more because of personal reasons.[/list] <ul>Samuel Dalembert is a GTD.[/list] <ul>Kevin Ollie is expected to sit this game out.[/list] --------------- Arena: Wachovia Center Tip-Off: 7:00 PM (EST) National TV: NBA League Pass Channel 1(Free) Local TV: PHI- CSN, NY- MSG <font color=""DarkOrange"">Knicks Starting Five:</font> PG- Stephon Marbury SG- Steven Barber SF- Matt Barnes PF- Malik Rose C- Jerome James <font color=""Red"">Sixers Starting Five:</font> PG- John Salmons SG- Adnre Iguodala SF- Kyle Korver PF- Chris Webber C- Sam Dalembert, Steven Hunter
Anyone watching this game can see Webber is clearly healthier than he was last season he just drove it down the lane body to body contact hit the shot, and ran back down the court. If it was last season he would have been limping out of the game after that. He looks to me like he lost weight though I am not sure if he did maybe it’s just the hair he looks different. Salmons is dominating again. Korver is trigger happy he has hit his last two shots but is shooting really bad. However, he just keeps popping them from long range so much for becoming something more than a three point shooter on offense.
I missed the begining but most of the game I saw was pretty bad. I noticed that Chris and Sam were out of sink, probably due to their long abesence from the preseason. I did see a few good things, but overall the 7e6rs looked a bit slugish out there. Again that has to do with Chris and Sam's timing being off. For instance a lot of times Chris was getting to the basket, but missed the easy shot that he will proabbly make more times than miss. Korvers mechanics are likely off because he supposedly gained so much muscle, so he might have to do a little adjusting because he was definietly off tonight.
the final score is the knicks 80, sixers 71. it said in the boxscore that chris webber missed 12 of 16 attempts? that's pretty bad. i hope this team gets it back soon for the regular season.
Chris Webber is looking pretty darn good if you ask me. Other than missing shots that he usually makes even last season with the bumped out knee, Webber was looking superb. Much more agile, leaping over guys to steal even attempted a few put back dunks. From what I seen I'd say there is probably a 35% increase in the way he moves. He also looks a lot thinner which is a major plus he could now be able to keep up with some of the fastbreaking that the A.I’s will be sparking. Not to mention he grabbed eight rebounds which is groundbreaking for us considering we have been in that department as of late. Kyle Korver on the other hand needs to get back on track. I'm sure that he will, because reading this postgame quote gives us tons of optimism. “I’ve had bad shooting nights before. They don’t come too often like that, but they do happen sometimes. I’ll be in the gym tomorrow and shoot twice as much as I usually do, and just ready for the next time.” I really think that the 14 lbs of muscle he added on has affected his shot. With the extra muscle his shots are too long thus he doesn't really have that soft touch to it. And his shooting woes just aren’t from this game alone, for most of the preseason he's been struggling with that shot. Although, it's good to see that he is now creating his own shot. That post up fade-away move looks very effective, when his shots start falling I think that will be his go-to move. John Salmons is getting a tad too over confident. He forced one too many shots, no biggy though. Iggy again look good, he could have with 7 assists instead of 3 if the guys around him finished off his accurate passing. If Iverson and Webbers struggles to create offense for the guys around him, Iggy will be the perfect guy to come in next and get things running. His playmaking ability has gone up a notch. The way they team looked, which was very sluggish and lackadaisical he should have got a little more involved in the offense. Dalembert on the other hand is really worrying me however. For the most part he looked decent for a guy that’s' playing his first preseason game. But his comments bring up some questions. The way he has sounded for the last four, five days or so he seems very out of shape and rusty. That cheap foul he gave up last night when he slapped Barnes hand I believe was an indication. It’s like he really isn’t putting forth the work he should be to get into shape and he's sitting back and waiting till things he gets better. To be concise he doesn't sound very focused, he sounds more like he's being lazy. I just got a bad vibe from him when he was speaking on his condition. I think that hefty contract has gotten to his head. He thinks he's a superstar or something. I don't know, but hopefully he will be in better shape by next Tuesday. As of right now, I don't think he will be much of a factor at all for the beginning of the season and truthfully I could see Steven Hunter potentially taking his starting spot until he gets things together. Louis Williams is still very raw. I hope Kevin Ollie get his minutes and serves as A.I's backup. Deng Gai played like no more than 2 minutes, so not much to say about him. Steven Hunter looked excellent. He was doing what he had to do. --- The overall team effort was very dead and plain. Not a lot of energy and the Knicks took advantage of that and started running the Sixers off the court. If A.I was there things would have taken a 3600000 turn. But I can't really say that because A.I will not play all 82 games and basically they need to learn how to play without him. Better yet if Korver knocked down a couple shots that would lift the team energy and spirit because that's what they were lacking most. The 27% FG shooting tells that story. If our guys were into the game we could have potentially won because we've came within reach on numerous occasions after trailing by huge deficit. But at the same time you have to give credit to those darn Knicks. They play spectacular defense, and I think it's more of a case that they beat us and us no the ones beating ourselves. Again, we got out-rebounded which is nothing new, sadly. Btw, why did we let go of Matt Barnes? <div align="center"> Boxscore | Recap | Postgame Quotes | Video Highlights</div>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting iversonfan3:</div><div class="quote_post">^ Why did we not play Matt Barnes? that's a better question</div> because JOB was too stuborn and would only play guys who can shoot well.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Best Kept Secret:</div><div class="quote_post">Anyone watching this game can see Webber is clearly healthier than he was last season he just drove it down the lane body to body contact hit the shot, and ran back down the court. If it was last season he would have been limping out of the game after that. He looks to me like he lost weight though I am not sure if he did maybe it’s just the hair he looks different. Salmons is dominating again. Korver is trigger happy he has hit his last two shots but is shooting really bad. However, he just keeps popping them from long range so much for becoming something more than a three point shooter on offense.</div> He definitely looks quicker, by looking at the Box Score he had five steals, something that he hasn't done since he was in his good old days.
Dalembert was indeed rusty, keep in mind the injury limited him to small practices and he just continued practicing again on Saturday. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"It bothered me a bit in that jumping, I wasn't myself, and running, I wasn't myself," he said. "I was jogging a little bit out there, and that's not me. Two or three times, I couldn't catch my man down the court. I was afraid of pushing it. I'm taking little, baby steps</div> That explains a little how he was feeling in his first acition of the year. His game wasn't that bad either 9 points and 6 rebounds and a couple of blocks in twenty minutes is not bad. But right now I'm not worried, I think Dalembert will come around.
At a glance from the box score, Dalembert doesn't look too bad considering he only played twenty one minutes but of course I wasn't able to catch the game. Everyone just seem to be shaking off a bit off rust- Korver needs to get his shot back, Webber just got back from healing up, and Dalembert just starting practicing Saturday like B-22 said. Once they get a bit more practice and games going, the team should be fine. Salmons seems to have gotten a tad too confident true Avery, but I'd rather have an overconfident Salmons compared to a low self esteem one. At least now he isn't afraid to take shots. Like you said, he'll be fine. Anyone miss Willie Green?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting phiLA:</div><div class="quote_post">because JOB was too stuborn and would only play guys who can shoot well.</div> I knew that just being sarcastic
