<div align="center">@</div> <div align="center"> <font color="Orange">Phoenix Suns</font> 1-0 <font color="Sienna">Philadelphia 76ers</font>1-0</div> <div align="center">Time7:00 PM,EST Location:Wachovia Center TV:UPN45</div> <div align="center">Projected Starters</div> <div align="center"><font color="Orange">Phoenix Suns</font></div> <div align="center"></div> <div align="center"><font color="Sienna">Philadelphia 76ers</font></div> <div align="center"></div> <div align="center"><font color="blue">Head Coaches</font></div> <div align="center"></div> <font color="blue"><div align="center">Jim O'Brien - Mike D'Antoni</div></font> <div align="center">Key Matchups</div> <div align="center"> vs <font color="Red">and</font> vs </div> Nash and Iverson will be in charge of running their teams offense, and controlling pace and making the right decisions will be very important in this game. Iverson has to make smart decisions, push the ball, try and get his team easy baskets, and get the ball inside to Marc Jackson. Nash has to push the ball, hit his shots, and work his drive and dish game. He usually takes care of the ball well, and this should be a good matchup to watch. Amare vs Marc Jackson will be a key matchup for the Suns. Mark Jackson is not a small guy, but Amare has the speed and quickness over him. If Amare can got at him and try and get him in foul trouble, and get him out of the game it will help the Suns on the other end of the floor in having to stop Jackson inside. <div align="center">Keys To The Game</div> <div align="center"><font color="Sienna">Philadelphia 76ers</font></div> The Sixers need to play well on the defensive end, get to ball inside to Marc Jakcson so he can tire out Amare, and use their bench advantage. The Suns have 2 good on ball defenders in Joe Johnson and Shawn Marion, but Amare's defense is a work in progress, Quentin Richardson is not a good defender, and Nash is just an average defender. The Sixers will have to attack the guards, work the dirve and dish, and get to the free throw line. They should also look to draw contact from the inside players, and maybe get Amare in foul trouble which will be a big dropoff for the Suns. <div align="center"><font color="Orange">Phoenix Suns</font></div> The Suns won't have to worry too much about being undersized at the 4 spot as the Sixers also have a tweener playing the 4 in Kenny Thomas. KT is 6'7 just like Marion, and Marion should be able to hold up against him. The Suns will have to get to ball to Amare and work on Marc Jackson, trying to get him in foul trouble and also get to the line. Both teams can run the ball, so their won't really be an advantage for either team if the other runs, but with Q-Rich in the starting lineup, the Suns will have a big droppoff when the bench comes in and will have to find a way to overcome that. <div align="center">The Bench</div> <div align="center"> vs </div> The Suns last year had the least productive bench offensively in the league, and this year it's a little better as Barbosa moves to the bench, Lampe will be getting more minutes, and Casey Jacobsen is also their to spread out the defense. The Sixers have the advantage on the bench with Sameul Dalmbert, Willie Green, the sharp shooter Kyle Korver, and Coriliss Williamson coming in as the relief players. The Sixers should try to take advantage of their bench and use the second unit to give them a run while they're in. <div align="center">My Predictions</div> The Sixers take this on 95-94 in a very close game. The Sixers come out strong at home looking to start their season on a positive note, and they come with intensity and play well on both ends of the floor. The Suns also come out strong but aren't able to pull off the win in a close game.
Nice preview og, I am looking forward to this game, it has the makes to become a great game. I also think the Sixers will keep a rotation of centers on the court so that Jackson doesn't get into foul trouble. The rotation will be Jackson, Dalembert, and Skinner, they will have to keep everyone fresh against the big-fella.
Suns - 108 Sixers - 98 Suns move to 2-0 on a game that wasn't really close. The Suns just keep hitting the 3-ball over and over again (11-28). Quentin comes off the bench but plays 39 minutes The Suns ran the game they wanted to run, through the big man which opened up options from downtown. Suns came out playing amazing in the first half. The Sixers were just unable to defend the perimeter.
Great game, I didn't expect it to be like this, Philly made a push i nthe 3rd, but Phoenix held it together and took the game nicely. Everyone seemed to play pretty good, and a big thing in the game was forcing turnovers. JJ had 2 steals, Marion 4, and Q-Rich 3. JJ is shooting some mad percentages from the field right now, and he should be able to shoot 45-47% with all the other guys on the floor to spread it out for him this year.
