Apr 15 2009
Depleted Celtics drop Sixers
If the Sixers can’t beat the Boston Celtics when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen aren’t in the line-up, how is Philly supposed to keep up with them when the Big 3 is reunited? Once again, the Sixers collapsed in the fourth quarter against the Celtics and came up short as Boston escaped with a 100-98 win. While the C’s didn’t win in as dramatic fashion as when Ray Allen buried the game-winning three-pointer with 0.5 seconds left back in February, this win may do more psychological damage to the Sixers because they got beat by a bunch of reserves.
I never thought that Philly had any chance of beating Boston in the first round of the playoffs anyway, but now it’s pretty clear that the Sixers have absolutely no chance since they couldn’t even beat an undermanned team at home. It’s pretty pathetic. If the Sixers take Boston to six games, it would be a moral victory, but would also prove that they have made absolutely zero progress since they lost in six games to the Detroit Pistons in the first round last year. Someone needs to be accountable for that, especially when they get swept or, at best, lose to the Celtics in five games.
Andre Iguodala led the way for the Sixers with 25 points, seven assists, five rebounds, two steals, and a block, but came up very small when his floater late in the game went nowhere. That’s the kind of stuff that happens when your team’s #1 option would be a #2 on a good team and a #3 on a championship team. In his first game back from an ankle injury, Thaddeus Young poured in 18 points, while Andre Miller stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. Willie Green also chipped in a surprising 11 points. Louis Williams was the only real contributor off the bench and he added 14 points.
With Garnett and Allen on the sideline, Paul Pierce shouldered the load with 31 points, three assists, two steals, and a block. Tony Allen, who only averages 7.6 points in 19 minutes per game, “went off” for 18 points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals, and a block. Rajon Rondo added 11 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, while Leon Powe tacked on 10 points, four rebounds, and an assist. Kendrick Perkins cleaned the glass with 12 rebounds. Off the bench, Glen “Big Baby” Davis contributed 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The Sixers close out the regular season tonight with a trip to the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers, who 39-1 at home. These two teams only met five days ago at the Wachovia Center and the Cavs left with a 102-92 win. Philly has now lost six straight games since clinching a playoff spot on April 4th with their win over the Detroit Pistons. Now, the Sixers need to beat Cleveland on the road and have the Toronto Raptors beat the Bulls in Chicago in order to be the sixth seed and avoid a first round match-up with the Boston Celtics. Basically, things are not looking good for Philly.
Go Sixers.
