<div align="center">@ <font color="DarkRed">Philadelphia 76ers</font>(0-1)<font color="blue">Detroit Pistons</font>(0-0) Place:The Palace of Auburn Hills Time: 7:30 PM est TV:ESPN Last Meeting: N/A 76ers Probable Starters <font size=""1""><font color=""DarkRed"">PG</font>- Allen Iverson <font color=""DarkRed"">SG</font>-Andre Iguodala <font color=""DarkRed"">SF</font>-Kyle Korver <font color=""DarkRed"">PF</font>- Chris Webber <font color=""DarkRed"">C</font>- Steven Hunter</font> <font size=""1""> Coach: Maurice Cheeks</font> _________________________________________ Pistons Probable Satrters <font size=""1""><font color="blue">PG</font>- Chauncey Billups <font color="blue">SG</font>-Rip Hamilton <font color="blue">SF</font>-Tayshaun Prince <font color="blue">PF</font>- Rasheed Wallace <font color="blue">C</font>- Ben Wallace</font> <font size=""1""> Coach: Flip Saunders</font> <u>Injury Report</u> Samuel Dalembert(76ers)- Out, Right Quad Strain</div> <font color="DarkRed">Philadelphia 76ers</font> <u>Keys to the Game</u> <ul><font color="Red">Come out sharp</font> The Pistons are a team that you have to start and finish sharp against. They control the glass almost all the time with the two Wallace?s, and they will play the best defense in the league. Therefore the 76ers have to get off to a crisp start, because you do not want to have to fight a lead the entire game against the Pistons. The 76ers did this against Milwaukee, but they faded in the last two minutes and that caused them the game. Tonight, they are playing a much better team inside and out. If the 76ers want to win this one they have got to play consistent, and they have got to start and stay sharp on their game. I believe in order for the Sixers to "come out sharp" they are going to have to go to Webber early again. If Webber can create against the Wallace?s' early on, hopefully they will get in early foul trouble and that would open up other options for the Sixers. [/list] <ul><font color="Red">Get everybody involved</font> You can argue that against the Bucks the 76ers controlled most of the game. Webber and AI both had great games and everything was going well between those two. The Sixers were doing their thing on both sides creating turn over as well. But don't count out the Bucks as they came back to win the game outscoring the 76ers by a large margin in the last two minutes of regulation and OT. So why did they lose the game? Take a look outside of CW and AI and you don't really have much else to talk about. In order to beat a team like the Pistons who have a very deep starting five, all of your regular contributors have to contribute to their abilities. I didn't see that last night, Korver needs to play a strong role, and not make so many mental mistakes. Iguodala was also uncharacteristically careless on some occasions last night, committing 6 fouls and fouling out. The 76ers need Dre to play his role, but at the same time they need him to be another threat on the offensive side of the ball as well. If John Salmons can come off the bench and provide another option on offense than so can Andre Iguodala. [/list] <u>Game Notables</u> The last time these two teams played, the Detroit Pistons were on their way to the second round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs, and the 76ers were on their way home to the off season. Both teams have made head coaching changes the since then so we might see a difference from the last time these two faced off. The 76ers have added a few pieces to the mix, and the fact that Chris Webber seems to have improved physique makes them a better team then last year?s squad in my opinion. It will be interesting to see how the 76ers will respond to their devastating season opener loss to the Bucks at home. It will be tough playing the defending eastern conference champs the day after that loss. We'll also see if the Pistons still have some rust from the off-season. I think we are in for a good game. My Prediction: There is a good chance the Pistons come out victorious in this game. They should open up with energy and anxiousness against this Sixers ball club. But I am not counting the 76ers out, however the odds are against them against this team. It is the NBA though and anything can happen maybe the 76ers can rebound with a win from the tough opening day loss.
dang. what a tough loss. this game we basically just got blown out. i think this team has to try to get some more chemistry in, because as of now, i dont think we have it. once we get, we will be a threat in the east.
Yeah, starting off to an 0-2 start doesn`t taste that good, but Milwaukee got away, and Detroit...is basically Detroit. An extremely well-rounded basketball team. I agree with phiLa that we need to work on chemistry, it would just make our game better against other teams for the win.
Sixers main problem was no one to create. They all stood and waited for Iverson to make something happen. It took til around 3-4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter for someone other than AI to get an assist. That is just plain bad. Obviously the Sixers were on a back to back but the Pistons had their way with the Sixers offensively and ran at every possible chance. The new Flip Saunders style offense looks really good I must say. Rip had a field day.
The way the sixers have played their first two games, they need to make some coaching strategy changes or some player changes. I know this is still early and they have some players injured, but i think the Sixers are still a couple good players short of a challenging team. Their offense and defense both definately need some major work. maybe billy king should start looking around for help.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The way the sixers have played their first two games, they need to make some coaching strategy changes or some player changes. I know this is still early and they have some players injured, but i think the Sixers are still a couple good players short of a challenging team. Their offense and defense both definately need some major work. maybe billy king should start looking around for help.</div> No, really? We're currently missing Bradley and Dalembert, two guys expected to play powerforward and center respectively for us. I think once Dalembert gets back into the lineup and work out the system we'll be considerably better. Currently, Webber is playing backup center, something that definitely should not be happening considering his age, health, and style of play. In addition, Nailon is now sliding over to play powerforward- and this scenario definitely shows in our lack of rebounds against Detroit and Milwaukee. I think after we play a couple of games, our offense and defense will be considerably better, but bottom line, they're still at least one player short of championship contenders, its just not as bad as you're making it out to be.
