MVN - Most Valuable Network

Sixers split with Hawks, sit in sixth place

The Sixers lost to the Hawks on Saturday, 92-85 (highlights here). At the same time, the Washington Wizards held off the Chicago Bulls, 99-87. The result is that both teams flopped spots in the standings. The Wizards are back in fifth with a 40-37 record. The Sixers are now in sixth at 39-38.

The Raptors continue to fold down the stretch. They loss to the Nets on Saturday, 90-99. The lost kept them in seventh place with a 38-39 record. They are losers of three straight.

Joe Johnson continues to play well for the Hawks. He led the way with 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Meanwhile, Mike Bibby continued to play poorly with 2-for-8 shooting from deep and six turnovers. Josh Smith and Marvin Williams scored 18 a piece for the Hawks, while Smith added 10 boards. Al Horford also had a double-double.

For the Sixers, Andre Iguodala had 25 points and 9 rebounds. Andre Miller chipped in 18. The three remaining starters combined for only six points. Lou Williams and Rodney Carney had 13 points a piece off the bench. Williams had seven assists and zero turnovers.

We need to get Sam Dalembert some touches. He did grab 10 rebounds, but you need to reward your big man with more than three shot attempts. Dalembert expressed his frustration with his role in the offense around a month ago, so it seems like those concerns fell on deaf ears.

Thaddeus Young didn’t do much in his 19:27 of action in this game. He only took four shots, grabbed one rebounds, committed two fouls and turned the ball over twice. Young also needs to have a play or two called for him on occasion because he’s got a really good left-handed baby hook around the rim. It’s hard to get it off though when you are matched with Josh Smith.

Young would be playing more small forward in my book in order to play Iguodala some minutes at guard. Willie Green shot 1-for-11 in this game, so all that talk about him coming out of his slump is moot. We aren’t out of the woods yet with Willie and there’s no reason we have to be held hostage by his shot selection.

The Sixers are off until they host the Pistons on Wednesday. They should rest up and come out fresh against that team. The Pistons will be looking to avenge their loss in Detroit on March 12th. The playoff atmosphere continues in South Philly…

Check out Sixers.com for the revamped website as the Sixers are heading to the playoffs. The slogan is “RUN WITH US.” When we run, we have fun. Sad to say, this post is done.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 6th, 2008 at 2:27 am and is filed under Andre Iguodala, Rodney Carney, Sam Dalembert, Andre Miller, Josh Smith, Willie Green, 2008 NBA Playoffs, Sixers.com, Sixers, Lou Williams, Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Passion and Pride, Thaddeus Young, Mike Bibby, Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.