First off, a great game. One more team comes into the Rose Garden extremely well prepared to play the Trail Blazers. Some reaction:

– Man, Philadelphia played an incredible first half. At the half, it was 19-0 in fast-break points. And the 76ers had 36 points in the paint. They flat took it to Portland right at the basket. The Sixers were physical and active, not what you’d expect often from a team that played the night before and was on the end of a five-games-in-seven-nights run.

– I don’t want to hear anything about the officials. Honestly. Yeah, Leon Wood had a bad night. Steve Javie did a real bad thing, too. When the crowd was in the middle of its “Javie sucks” chants, the referee in question went to the Philly bench and flashed a snarky smile as he exchanged a few remarks. That’s not good, Steve — you make it look as if you’re conspiring against the other team. Try real hard, by the way, not to look so much like you enjoy it when everyone’s on your ass — it makes you look psychotic.

– That said, the officials had NOTHING to do with the outcome.

– All night long, Philadelphia did as efficient a job on Brandon Roy as anyone has done all season. In the first half, the Sixers jumped every single pick and roll Roy was involved in, doubling him and forcing him to give the ball up. In the second half, Portland mercifully got him out of those pick and rolls, but Philadelphia still doubled him at every opportunity. And when the Blazers spread the floor for Roy’s hope for a one-on-one chance, Philly mobbed him, making him beat two or three more defenders.

– That said, what on earth was Portland thinking going to that set with the game on the line and 20 seconds left? Four guys standing there watching Roy play one-on-five is not productive. This is a playoff preview and I’d like to emphasize, as I have at previous times, the Blazers have to come up with something better than that in late-game situations. In meaningful games, the good teams are not going to allow you to get Roy into open-court, one-on-one situations — GIVE HIM SOME HELP! Give the whole team some options — move the ball and move bodies. Don’t give the defense such an easy option to lock him down.

– The spread offense continued in the overtime period and again, to no avail.

– Portland had virtually no fast-break chances when Sergio Rodriguez wasn’t on the floor. He’s not only got to be the backup point guard, he should be getting more minutes. His court vision helps get other players involved.

– I’m saving Greg Oden for another post. Suffice it to say he was a huge factor.

– I don’t know much of anything about Tony DiLeo but man, all I have to say is that if Maurice Cheeks was still coaching that team, you wouldn’t have seen that kind of defensive effort and cohesion.

– Yup, a lot of fouls went uncalled. It was a physical game. People got knocked down. That’s the way it gets at this time of the season and the Blazers, and their fans, better get used to it.

Tweet This Post

There are people actually feeling sorry for them. Heck, a couple of them — Reggie Theus and Maurice Cheeks — shouldn’t have been anywhere near an NBA head coaching job in the first place. Every single one of the six who has been fired has left his job with millions in his pocket.

In this economy, there are a whole lot of other people being let go who deserve your sympathy more than these guys.

Besides, getting fired is just part of the job description of a pro coach. It always has been. The good ones will pop up in another job. The bad ones will go coach in college somewhere or become someone’s assistant coach.

Tweet This Post

Fans seated courtside for Philadelphia 76ers games will have one fewer person to chat with now. Maurice Cheeks has been fired, even though his contract has been extended twice in the last 11 months. I think if I owned the franchise, I’d be looking to sack the guy who felt the need to extend that contract two different times.

Tweet This Post