Jan 10, 2001
NBA Game
Preview - - - - -
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Game
of the Night
By INSIDEHOOPS.COM
Portland
(25-10) at Philadelphia (25-8)
8:00 pm EST
The
76ers have had a great season thus far, but lately they've proven without
a doubt that they're the best in the East. Tonight they host the
Portland Trail Blazers, who lately have emerged as the best in the West.
The Sixers are 3 1/2 games ahead of New York in the conference, 18-2
against East teams, and 7-6 against the superior Western conference. The
Blazers are 15-3 against the leastern, err, Eastern conference, and they're
10-7 against the West.
These
two teams met on December 8th, with Philly winning, 107-94. Iverson was
unguardable, scoring 25 and dishing 7 assists in the first half alone.
Philly's defense stepped up in the second half, forcing the Blazers into
shooting enough bricks to build an out-house.
The
Sixers, who began the season at 10-0 before finally losing, are currently
riding a 7-game winning streak. Center Theo Ratliff is probably going to
start for the East in this year's All-Star game. Iverson has been on an
offensive tear lately, breaking anyone's ankles who tries to guard him.
Aaron McKie is having his best stretch ever, being named NBA Player of
the Week last week and racking up back-to-back triple-doubles. What keeps
the Sixers alive in almost every game is their fantastic individual and
team defense.
The
Blazers have won 8 straight games and 12 of their last 14. Rasheed Wallace
has been fantastic all season. Damon Stoudamire is having his best year
as a Blazer, improving almost every aspect of his game. And while Scottie
Pippen has been sleep-walking this year, lately he's decided to at least
pretend to be the Pippen of old and rack up some numbers. What keeps the
Blazers alive in almost every almost every game is their depth. Six guys
are averaging 10 or more points per game, almost unheard of these days.
PLAYER/
TEAM BREAKDOWNS:
SIXERS:
TEAM
LEADERS: Scoring:
A. Iverson 27.2 ppg
Reb.:
T. Hill 8.4 rpg
Assists:
E. Snow 6.6 apg (injuried)
FG%:
T. MacCulloch 59.0
FT%:
P. Sanchez 100.0 (barely plays)
3-pt%:
J. Jones 38.5
Blocks:
T. Ratliff 132
Steals:
A. Iverson 72
Point
Guard: Aaron Mckie is playing incredibly lately. No one expected this.
McKie has been a career role player, hustling defensively and taking what's
given to him on offense. It was a major blow when Eric Snow got injured
but with Aaron rocking like this, Snow can take his time recovering.
Shooting
Guard: Iverson is shocking people lately. Players barely 6 feet tall aren't
supposed to be able to score 54 points on 20 of 30 shooting, but that's
what The Answer did against the Cavs. Iverson is now 4th in the NBA in
scoring at 27.4 points per game.
Small
Forward: George Lynch is here to defend, make open shots, and not get in
Iverson's way.
Power
Forward: Tyone Hill is here to defend, rebound, throw some elbows, look
extremely agitated, and not get in Iverson's way.
Center:
Theo Ratliff treats opposing team's shots like a red-headed stepchild with
bad acne and foul body odor. Shots put up against him get smacked like
a 5 dolla crack-ho. Ratliff leads the NBA with 3.8 blocks per game.
Key
Bench Guy: Toni Kukoc isn't doing much this year but his presence on offense
is enough to draw attention. When his shots aren't falling he can blind
opponents by flashing his championship rings from Chicago and then drive
past them for layups.
BOTTOM
LINE FOR THE SIXERS TONIGHT: Iverson must pour in points or create if shut
down. Theo Ratliff and Tyrone Hill must contain Rasheed Wallace. Aaron
McKie must contain Damon Stoudamire.
TRAIL
BLAZERS:
TEAM
LEADERS Scoring:
R. Wallace 20.3 ppg
Reb.:
R. Wallace 8.6 rpg
Assists:
D. Stoudamire 5.7 apg
FG%:
G. Grant 71.4
FT%:
S. Smith 90.6
3-pt%:
G. Anthony 38.9
Blocks:
R. Wallace 70
Steals:
S. Pippen 56
Point
Guard: Damon Stoudamire is having an excellent year. His scoring is not
consistent but his general usefulness certainly is. Damon's quickness and
penetration cause problems for the defense.
Shooting
Guard: Steve Smith, who is struggling, has been replaced by Bonzi Wells.
Bonzi can excel when defenses focus on other guys, and teams are often
distracted by the fact that they're guarding someone named Bonzi, creating
confusion and defensive breakdowns.
Small
Forward: Pippen has played more like the Pippen of old lately. A good sign.
Power
Forward: Rasheed Wallace is the star here. He's option number one when
the team needs a key basket or rebound, and when Coach Dunleavy wants to
give away a point he can always count on Wallace to agitate a ref and draw
a technical foul.
Center:
Arvydas Sabonis is bigger but less mobile than a large refrigerator. His
slow-motion "running" hook shot still goes in, however. And his ability
to take up the entire paint area leads to many rebounds per minute. Sabonis
is effective on defense by standing, raising his arms, and keeping opponents
at bay with powerful odors emerging from his underarms. In all seriousness,
Sabonis is an incredible passer and has a fantastic outside shot. You have
to guard him even from 3-point distance, and that opens things up in the
paint for other Blazers.
Key
Bench: Steve Smith, Shawn Kemp, and Dale Davis come off the bench and are
fully capable of under-performing and complaining at any time. All three
would start, and therefore complain less, on most other teams. As a whole
they contribute far more than most if not all trios off the bench in this
league.
BOTTOM
LINE FOR THE BLAZERS TONIGHT: Contain Iverson. Dont' let Aaron McKie go
nuts. Ignore George Lynch and Tyrone Hill (except when rebounding). Try
to set picks and cause switches so Rasheed Wallace gets away from Theo
Ratliff and has a chance to abuse Tyrone Hill.
