Skip to main content

Sixers woes continue as the well-oiled Celtics machine rolls on

Image
By
The strangely-constructed Philadelphia 76'ers have now lost four in a row after their 118-108 loss to the Houston Rockets last night. Their 23-14 record ranks sixth in the Eastern Conference, behind the Bucks, Celtics, Heat, Raptors and Pacers. This is not where they were projected to be almost halfway through the season.

Philly has size, rebounding (11th in NBA) and passing (3rd in assists in NBA). What they don't have are long-distance shooters. They rank 26th in 3-point attempts and 23rd in made-treys. And they are 24th in percent of points from beyond the arc. With point guard, Ben Simmons, running the show, their offense is very effective. But when things slow down, the 76'ers falter. Their most-effective 3-point shooters may be the big-man duo of Joel Embiid and Al Horford, but they rank 10th and 12th, respectively, for 3-point percentage ON THE TEAM. That just doesn't make sense.


The current Philly roster seems to be the antithesis of what we see with the Boston Celtics. The Boston Core-5 of Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker is small by Philly standards, but they are all willing, and effective, 3-point shooters. And while most of the 76'ers' offense is generated by Simmons, Kemba, Marcus and Gordon have always been facilitators, and the Jay Team has followed suit very nicely this season.

Just how bad were the Sixers against the Rockets last night? Take a look at this morning's headline from the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey:

Poor body language, horrible defensive effort, continued three-pointing woes


The headline defines the 76'ers woes very well. While the Boston Celtics have been operating like a well-oiled machine, Philly's play seems to be awkward and disjointed. And they lack a consistent 3-point attack. We can add the fact that there are at least traces of discord among the Sixers' troops, evidenced by Horford's latest proclamations.

Boston was victorious over the Hawks last night (109-106), and the Celts hold on to second place in the Eastern Conference. And there is no indication of the grumbling we heard from the Guys in Green last season. Things are clicking for the Celtics while the Sixers are mired in confusion and discord. This seems to be a good season to be a Celtics fan - and to write about them.

Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel, @CausewayStreet and Facebook

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

By
 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the t...
23 comments
Read more

A sorrowful farewell to Kitty's Restaurant (North Reading, MA) as a family tradition

By
  Time to say "Goodbye" to Kitty's Restaurant - my   family's destination and tradition for six generations and more than 80 years. My memories of Kitty's go back to the early-1950's . I would accompany my dad and grandfather on fishing trips to the Ipswich River in North Reading, Massachusetts - followed by a visit to the restaurant on Main Street. In later years, my wife, Linda, and I would eat there with our two kids, Marc and Lisa - and years later - with our two grand daughters - and still later - with our great grandson, Carson. Author and family at Kitty's approx. 10 years ago Kitty's never disappointed. The drinks were big and well-made . The food was terrific - as were the portions. The service was exceptional and we became well-acquainted with the waiters and waitresses. It all worked so very well for many decades. My grand daughter, Courtney , was particularly fond of the restaurant. She was born with cystic fibrosis , and during her fr...
15 comments
Read more

Wemby versus Kareem as rookies

By
 We already know that the Spurs Victor Wembanyama is going to be an NBA phenomenon, but will he surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by the end of his career. It is highly likely.  I did a "per-36-minutes" comparison between the two stars, mainly because Kareem logged 43.1 MPG in his rookie campaign - while Wemby has been held to only 29.4 MPG. Kareem: 24.1 PPG - 12.1 RPG - 3.4 APG - .518 FG - .653 FT Wemby:  25.9 PPG - 12.9 RPG - 4.5 APG - .463 FG - .796 FT No blocks, steals or 3-pointers were looked at since they were not tracked in Jabbar's first year in the NBA. It should also be noted that Kareem was 22 years old at the time, while Victor started at age 20. Two factors favoring Wembanyama ultimately surpassing Jabbar on any "Best-of-All-Time" charts are his point guard skills , shared by so many European players.  and the fact he is being mentored by Gregg Popovich. His potential seems astounding. But the question remains. Can he garner six Titles and six MVP ...
1 comment
Read more