<font color="White">...........</font><font color="White">..........................</font> <font color="blue">Detroit Pistons (2-0)</font> @ <font color="red">Philadelphia 76ers (0-2)</font> Time: 8:00 PM, EST Arena: Wachovia Center TV: ESPN ____________________ <font color="Blue">DET Leads Series 2-0</font> ____________________ <font color="blue">Detroit Pistons Starting Five</font> <font size="1"><font color="blue">PG</font> Chauncey Billups <font color="blue">SG</font> Richard 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">Complete Playoff Roster</font> <font size="1">Head Coach- Larry Brown</font> ____________________ <font color="red">Philadelphia 76ers Starting Five</font> <font size="1"><font color="Red">PG</font> Allen Iverson <font color="Red">SG</font> Andre Iguodala <font color="Red">SF</font> Kyle Korver <font color="Red">PF</font> Chris Webber <font color="Red">C</font> Samuel Dalmbert</font> <font size="1">Complete Playoff Roster</font> <font size="1">Head Coach- Jim O'Brien</font> ____________________ Playoffs Stat Comparisons <font color="White">...............................</font><font color="red">Philadelphia 76ers</font><font color="White">...................</font><font color="blue">Detroit Pistons</font> Scoring:<font color="White">.....................</font><font size="1">A. Iverson (24.5 PPG)</font><font color="White">...................</font><font size="1">R. Wallace (22.0 PPG)</font> Rebounds:<font color="White">.................</font><font size="1">S. Dalembert (14.5 RPG)</font><font color="White">................</font><font size="1">B. Wallace (10.0 RPG)</font> Assists:<font color="White">......................</font><font size="1">A. Iverson (10.0 APG)</font><font color="White">.................</font><font size="1">C. Billups (6.0 APG)</font> Steals:<font color="White">.......................</font><font size="1">A. Iverson (3.5 SPG)</font><font color="White">...................</font><font size="1">B. Wallace (2.5 SPG)</font> Blocks:<font color="white">......................</font><font size="1">A. Iguodala (1.5 BPG)</font><font color="White">..................</font><font size="1">B. Wallace (4.5 BPG)</font> ____________________ The Deciding Factor <font color="blue">Detroit Pistons Frontcourt</font> <font color="White">----</font> <font size="1"><font color="blue">SF</font> Tayshaun Prince <font color="blue">PF</font> Rasheed Wallace <font color="blue">C</font> Ben Wallace</font> <font color="Blue"><font size="1">6th Man</font></font> <font size="1">Antonio McDyess</font> VS. <font color="Red">Philadelphia 76ers Frontcourt</font> <font color="White">----</font> <font size="1"><font color="Red">SF</font> Kyle Korver <font color="Red">PF</font> Chris Webber <font color="Red">C</font> Samuel Dalmbert</font> <font color="red"><font size="1">6th Man</font></font> <font size="1">Marc Jackson</font> ____________________ Player(s) To Watch <font color="red">Samuel Dalembert - Philadelphia 76ers</font> He?s been really the only bright spot for the 76ers in this series thus far. Forget about Iverson and Webber, Dalembert seems to be the only that?s giving them a consistent performance. Coming off two consecutive exceptional games, look for Dalembert to get his way once again playing at home. Ironically with his size and stature you would think he would have a hard time again the Wallace boys, coming into this series, one would think that the Wallace?s would bully him around but that doesn?t seem to be the story, Dalembert is having an exceptional series thus far and from the looks of Game 2 it doesn?t seem as if he is going to slow down. His shot blocking, rebounding and even scoring is the reason why the 76ers aren?t losing by 35-40 points. Dalembert doesn?t usually perform like this and luckily for the 76ers he is, so just think where the 76ers would be without him because the way Sammy is playing is a MAJOR bonus. Projected Stats: 13 Points , 1 Assists, 15 Rebounds, 1 Steals, 4 Blocks ____________________ Keys To The Game <font color="Red">Philadelphia 76ers</font> <ul><font color="Red">Home Crowd</font> Whatever the 76ers do they cannot spot the Pistons. They get a few stops within the game, hold a sizeable lead and then they lose it. Maintaining the energy and intensity has been a big problem for the 76ers in this series. Every positive they have done in this series thus far has been off of energy but yet they just cannot hold on to it. However, that problem may very well be fixed this time around. Playing at home in front of they?re fans, they?re surrounds and the whole nine can boost they?re confidence up which ultimately leads to energy. So if the 76ers can feed off of the home crowd and get running up and down the court, they?re chances at winning this game is fairly well.[/list] <ul><font color="Red">Force turnovers</font> The 76ers has done a good job at forcing turnovers, so they must make sure they do the same. Again playing at home will give them energy and than forcing turnovers will get them up and down the court in which they are most effective. So before anything can be done, they must get some stops and force some turnovers.[/list] <ul><font color="Red">Playoffs Are For Superstars </font>?And Iverson knows this very well. He is aware about his disappointing performance in Game 2, so expects him to have a big game or more like the 76ers are going to need him to play big. A 40 point performance could be what the 76ers need. Webber on the other hand just needs to make sure his shots fall down. And getting into the low post wouldn?t help either. Yes, his lift isn?t there but you don?t need lift to draw fouls.[/list] ____________________ Personal Prediction The 76ers will control this game from the get go and never look back. 96-111 76ers
Philly needs to come out firing and never let down. They have been opening up games pretty well against Detroit, but throughout of the rest of the game they seem out of firepower. Also, the basics are killing the 76ers; shot selection, rebounding, and ball movement are all flaws with the Sixers right now. Other then that, they are also just missing the open looks they normally should make. If Philadelphia plays consistent and uses the home court to their advantage like Avery stated then they should be ready to play this game. If they can?t get a win tonight the 76ers will most likely end up done for the season, so are leaders need to step it up.
Yeah, for this game, I expect Philadelphia to come out shooting any never look back. They should be playing with a lot of intensity and focus since they know that if they lose this, everything will be on the line. For this game, I see Iverson playing tough and aggressive while the bench players are going to step up. I just can't see our guys not playing strong after losing two and all the critics against them. The only thing I wonder about now is how O'Brien will take the two losses and whether he will change some rotations up. You never know. If the guys do everything stated up and maybe more, we should be able to come out with the win. Hopefully the home crowd does its job as well. No prediction from me this time, I don't want to jinx anything.
I wanted to post it yesterday but I didn't have time, Sixers need to stop McDyess to win but they did it so everything is ok. First 2 games McDyess dominated off the bench.This time he didn't and we won,we need to keep him in check. Prince is wearing down,he won't play well if the series go to alteast 6 games as minutes will take a toll on him. (40+ minuts every game will do the trick,he ain't no AI)
<div align="center"></div> <div align="center">Recap - Box Score</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Prince is wearing down,he won't play well if the series go to alteast 6 games as minutes will take a toll on him. (40+ minuts every game will do the trick,he ain't no AI)</div> Very good point. I don't think Tayshaun Prince hasn't necessarily been worn out but like you said if he's playing all these minutes and if this series goes to a Game 6, he won't have as much of an impact. Also, I like what O'Brien did during the switch off. Thats when Iguodala was placed on Prince because it is in which switch offs is where Korver has the most problems defending him. Well actually Korver can't defend him period, but it's nice to see Iguodala do a good job on Prince. And on a side note, I loved what Green was doing to Hamilton during his share of minutes. As for the game in entirety, it was amazing win for the Sixers. They started off sluggish I was in a way glad to see that they were down. I?m not going to lie because I was getting worried and I was seeing shades of Games one and two, but at the same time I realized that they have a knack of turning things around, and in which when they are trailing is when they play they?re best. That's the difference between good teams and great teams; great teams play with a sense of urgency no matter if they're ahead or trailing. Good teams mainly play with a sense of urgency only when they're trailing. When you're down you're playing with a purpose, your backs are against the walls and you put the effort to try to get back and win. And in Philly?s case when they?re ahead they play to maintain the lead rather than add to the lead, that's the thing with them. So when they were down, I wasn?t all concerned because that was the only way they would actually be able to hang with the Pistons in the game, by playing with a purpose (deficit). Unfortunately that?s how things are for the Sixers? And than you have Iverson, I'm not surprised one bit at his performance; we've seen this throughout the season. And playing in important game it was only natural that the #2 All-Time PPG Playoff Leader would have a big game. Webber was AMAZING however. He hit 4 of his last 6 shots in a very critical period. So I like what I seen from him. And what I also liked seeing was the fact that he was into the game. The last time I seen Webber pump his fist and jump and bump chest with his teammates was in Sacramento. So if he can stay happy, relaxed and comfortable that will open up his game up. And lastly, we have the real star of the game, Samuel Dalembert. He has been consistent throughout the series, and similar to the Kings and Sonics and the whole Jerome James situation, the Pistons are making Dalembert look like an All-Star. Even though Dalembert has put up these performances during the course of the season who knew he would do it like this? Against the Pistons, against the Wallace boys, I actually thought Dalembert along with Korver would have the hardest times in this series. Not only did he have an amazing Game 3, he did it both games one and two as well. So if Dalembert can continue this, we are in good shape. Our bench also played well to, so that's good to see. Next up, is Game 4 in PHILLY, so I expect the 76ers to come out with tons of energy and the fans realize that they were part of the win, so I expect them to make tons of noise. But this is the defending champs and they realize that if they lose this game they're in trouble, so I expect them to come out strong as well, so DO NOT expect another 115 point output by the 76res again, well at least not in Game 4.
That was a great game. Everyone did their job and stepped up big on defense. I mean, I actually saw Korver play some decent defense in the fourth quarter when he hounded Prince. Add in to the fact that Green played nice defense, and they definitely deserve some props for that. Iverson played with intensity and had another great performance- but this time better shooting and dishing out wise. Not to mention Webber seems to be getting back into the flow of things and getting his shot back because we are really going to need that for game 4. Dalembert did an incredible job on the low post, scoring points and grabbing a bunch of rebounds. And although he wasnt able to exactly shutdown the Wallace boys, Dalembert did a nice job getting boards for us and making sure it made it hard for them to score. Good game. I just hope they keep this up for game 4 which will really be important.
Look what happens when you utilize your bench coach O'Brien! Rodney Rogers, Willie Green both gave us a nice boast, and that?s a big reason why the 76ers were able to beat the Pistons. They scored points and provided energy while the Pistons bench was held to maybe two or four points. All of Philly's starters had respectful performances last night and guys like Korver and Iguodala finally got into the mix of things. You guys really didn't expect Allen to have two bad games in a row did you? He was amazing and carried us down the stretch and basically dominated the game at will. Webber made big shots down the stretch as well, Korver made the threes he should always make, and Iguodala made some important shots and played good defense. Also another big factor was the play of Sam Dalembert, he was full of energy and was hitting jumpers and everything, Sam continues to break out this series. There were some negatives in the game though that the Sixers need to adjust to in Game Four. Ben Wallace had 29 points on garbage-play, such as tip ins and wide-open dunks, he also did a good job at getting to the line. Imagine if the 76ers had held him to his average, this game would have been a blowout. Philadelphia can't let him score big like this, especially since he is just an average scorer. Also the Pistons seem to get to many open perimeter looks at times, guys like Rasheed Wallace, and Prince were open a lot last night, hopefully the Sixers can adjust because they showed they can last night in the fourth quarter. The Sixers should have lots of confidence going into game four, and they can't afford to loose this one either. Hopefully they cannot only carry out their momentum from game three to game four, but to the rest of the series.
one reason the Pistons loss : lack of defense, they had a wonderful offensive game but if they can't keep up that defense they are in for a long series.
