MVN - Most Valuable Network

Heavy Underdogs Takes a 2-1 Lead in Front of Home Crowd

The 7th seed Philadelphia 76ers responded from a 17-point loss to blowout the 2nd seeded Pistons by 20. The Sixers dominated the veterans in every aspect of the game. The young squad returned to their running ways and regained their defensive intensity that had escaped them in Game 2. Here’s my review of the game:

• Reggie Evans for President! “Mr. Hustle” sparked a run to close out the first half giving the home team a 4-point lead. He got involved on the offensive end, deflected passes, and contributed to Rasheed Wallace’s 2-point performance. He even gave the crowd a “hand-to-ear”trot, slapping hands with front-row fans like someone used to do so long ago.

• Andre Iguodala continued to struggle shooting the basketball (10 points 2-9 shooting). Early on, he was forcing shots trying desperately to shake Tayshaun Prince but just couldn’t with a help defender on their way. After he settled down, like in Game 1, he helped his team in other ways.

In game , I would like to see Dre drive the basketball to the hole with the intent to make a play, not to score at all costs. Take what the defense gives you and don’t force a shot if it’s not there. Detroit is “over-collapsing” when he penetrates especially, and if he can find the open man or Sam for the lob, that plan will backfire.

• Samuel Dalembert played like a man possessed on both ends of the court. He finished with a line of 22 points (led team), 16 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He had the full arsenal on display from the jumpshot to the baby hook. Sammy grabbed 5 offensive rebounds, made all of his free-throws, and only committed 2 fouls. It’s frustrating for Sixers fans knowing that he is capable of doing this every game. It’s just a matter of is he mentally prepared to do it.

• Active hands by Philly caused the usually sure-handed Pistons to cough up a 21 turnovers. Seeing a pattern in the media, this is a perfect scapegoat to get them out of giving credit where credit is due. Most were caused by Sixers disrupting their flow and some seemed to be that they were out of sync. When Rip or Chauncey drove to the basket, they were given a playoff bump and the refs let them play.

After a scoring drought (15 straight misses) for Detroit in the third quarter, the game was over and Flip pulled the starters. Andre Miller paced the Sixers with his 21 points, continuing his dominance over Chauncey Billups in this series. Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince were the only players to have a good offensive game tallying 23 and 18 respectively.

Well, it looks like we have a series folks. The prediction that “Philly has a shot to steal a game or two” is out the window as the Sixers have taken a commanding lead. A 1 game difference isn’t that commanding but they have control of home-court and they believe that if they are playing at their best, Detroit can’t beat them. I believe it too. This young squad fed off the Wachovia energy and with home-court advantage now, winning only the remaining home games will guarantee a match-up against the winner of Toronto-Orlando in the next round.

Game 4 is Sunday at the Wachovia Center. The white “Run with us” t-shirts will be in full effect again. If I make it to a game, I might get one and write “Detroit can’t” on top of it. Antonio McDyess is questionable for Sunday’s game as he broke his nose on a Andre Iguodala swipe. This is a must-win for the Pistons and they will probably be at the top of their game. That’s good, no more excuses.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 at 12:15 am and is filed under Andre Iguodala, Sam Dalembert, Andre Miller, Reggie Evans, Wachovia Center, Phialdelphia 76ers, Home-Court Advantage, Flip Saunders, Antonio McDyess, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Cleveland Cavaliers. 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.