Heat Torch Sixers

D Wade scored 29 points, rookie Mario Chalmers set a franchise record with 9 steals, and the Heat scored 12 straight points in the fourth to pull away and go on to beat the Sixers 106-83 on Wednesday night.

Wade added seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. Michael Beasley finished with 17 points, and Shawn Marion, who sported the mask to protect his broken nose, added 12 points and seven rebounds for Miami.

Thaddeus Young scored 12 of his 19 points in the first quarter for Philadelphia, which got 16 points from Lou Will and a double double from Elton Brand (12 and 12).  Andre Miller finished with 11 points and six assists for the 76ers (2-3), while Iggy who has been struggling to find his rhythm of late was held to only two points.

Next up for the Sixers is Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic tonight from Amway Arena.

Sixers Re-Sign Williams for Five

A source confirmed Thursday that the Sixers have locked up one of their two restricted free agents and signed guard Lou Williams to a five-year contract.

Additional terms of the deal were not known.

Williams averaged 11.5 points as the first guard off the bench for the Sixers. Although he wasn’t a starter, the slender 6-foot-2, 175-pounder often finished games during his third NBA season which garnered him some national attention this offseason.

Ed Stefanski must now focus on re-signing the key to the starting five, the spark on the court, Andre Iguodala.  Stay posted for updates.

UPDATE: Derrick Gunn on Comcast SportsNite is reporting that the deal is worth $25 million over the 5 years.

Sixers get ‘Poison’ Ivey

The Sixers reached an agreement with journeyman Royal Ivey for the minimum contract. The 6′4″ guard will join Willie Green and Louis Williams as combo guards coming off the bench for the new-look Sixers next season.

Ivey, 26, spent last year with the Milwaukee Bucks averaging 5.6 points and 2.1 assists in 75 games.

Royal Ivey

Offense isn’t his forte but he prides himself on defense.

I know the Sixers had to sign somebody since they only have 9 players under contract, but I hope management has their priorities straight. Signing Iguodala and Lou Will have to get done or this offseason tastes a little less sweet. We had a little scare with Lou Will, but the Warriors opted to go with Marcus Williams. Hopefully, Louis doesn’t take note of other signings and get any ideas of raising his asking price. My question is, were there no guards that could shoot that were cheap?

Some Sixer Facts – PHI 95, BOS 90

• Down 10 points in the 4th
• 19 – 0 run highlighted by 10 straight from Iggy to take an 89 – 80 lead with 5:00 to go.
• 1 of 6 teams to win IN Boston this year
  • Detroit, Charlotte, Washington, Toronto, and Utah being the other five (all playoff teams except Charlotte – Ray Allen did not play in this game)
• 18 – 5 since the All-Star Break.  2nd best record in that span only to the Houston Rockets (who also won 22 in a row)
• Currently hold the 6th seed as Toronto has dropped 2 straight, meaning we would not face Detroit or Boston in Round 1.
• 1 game behind the 5th playoff spot currently held by Washington
• ABOVE .500 FOR THE 1ST TIME THIS SEASON (36 – 35)

Oh, you wanted highlights…

Sellout C’s Shellacking

The first sellout crowd of the year, over 20,000 fans, came out to see YOUR PHILADELPHIA 76ERS take on the Boston Celtics last night. With the Sixers surging of late, Monday night’s game against the Eastern conference leading Celtics had that playoff musk in the air. The ticket booths were jam packed as tons of fans were scrambling to find last minute tickets to what Mo Cheeks described as “one of the biggest games of the season.”

However it didn’t play out so well during the first few minutes for the Sixers as they spotted the Celtics a 15 point cushion. Jesus Shuttlesworth and Da Truth came out on FIRE, torching the Sixers D from all over the hardwood. The Sixers got back on their horse and mounted a nice comeback eventually tying the game at 44 with five minutes to go in the second quarter. The crowd went nuts and everyone was prepping themselves for an exciting second half.

The second half was a totally different story however. The Sixers could not buy a bucket coming out of the gates and slowly feel into a 10 point hole. Iggy, who was hot all first half was struggling in the second as he air-balled a free throw and starting building a house with all his bricks he was chuckin’ up. It wasn’t pretty to watch and proved the 76ers are a ways away from where they need to be.

Down 16 at one point during the fourth, it was definitely time to leave when Jason Smith started launching three balls. The Celtics went on to win their 50th game of the season, the first time since their 1992 campaign, 100-86.
Notes:

• Slammin’ Sammy – 2 points, 5 fouls – SHUT YOUR MOUTH and PLAY you LOSER!
• Young Bucks: Lou Will didn’t look so good, Thad DID
• Nice to see Sam Cassell return to NBA action in a Celtics jersey last night. He played AWFUL and received a standing ovation as he exited the game with three fouls after approximately 5 minutes of action, good stuff.
• PJ Brown is still in the league, in case any of you were wondering, HA who knew. #93 by the way (Dennis Rodman ‘esque).
• KG is a beast.

Oh You Know What Really Grinds my Gears:

Parking at the Sports Complex. WTF is with these morons that run that shit. For the love of God, why can’t they open more entrances right off Broad and around back between the Linc. They make everyone late because they have 2 or 3 entrances open for 20,000 fans to get their cars into. It’s ridiculous. And $11, are you serious?

Philly Sports Recap

Phils Rock Reds, 8-1

In the second inning Ryan Howard smacked a double to center and scored when newcomer Geoff Jenkins grounded into a double play. Another new guy, third baseman Pedro Feliz stroked a line single in his first Phillies at-bat, then doubled in the second run in the fifth. During the Phillies 7-run, fifth inning barrage of the Reds, Greg Dobbs belted out a 3-run shot for the Phillies inaugural home-run of the season.

Veteran Jamie Moyer, in his 22nd Major League season, allowed only one hit over three scoreless innings. He walked none and struck out three. Rule 5 Draftee Travis Blackley also worked three scoreless innings. He allowed one hit, but picked the runner off and also struck out two.

Last years rookie sensation Kyle Kendrick will take the hill today at 1:05 against the Shitsburgh Pirates.  Word is first round draft pick Joe Savery will also see some work.

Sixers Win Big, 101 – 89

The Sixers seem to be hitting their stride at exactly the right moment with the playoffs looming in their near future.  Notice I said “their near future”, thats right, I believe the Sixers can and WILL make the playoffs this year. 

Andre Miller and Bill Green both had huge games with 26 points each, Bill’s being a season-high.  Iggy also added 24, however had a rough night shooting the rock, only going 7-20 from the field. 

The Sixers have won seven straight at home with their last loss at the Wach coming to the Magic on Feb. 1 — and 8 of their last 10.  

FLYERS GAME TONIGHT!

I’ll be in attendance with some of the guys and the lady to see our Flyers take on the Sens from the best view in the house,  Luxury Suite 1** right behind the goal, its a beautiful thing.  The Senators seem to be in turmoil at the moment after two scoreless loses, prompting the firing of head coach John Paddock.  Flyers have also been reeling as we all now.  Should make for some angry hockey players, lots of fights, and some good fun.  I’m pumped.

Should Michael Beasley Change his Name to Michael Beast-ley?

In my opinion Kevin Durant has nothing on Michael Beasley.  This kid is flat out phenomenal.  With his 44 points and 13 rebounds last week against Baylor he eclipsed Carmelo Anthony’s NCAA freshmen record number of double-doubles (was 22 – Beasley has 24 with 3 games left).  He followed that up with a 30 point and 15 rebound performance in a 74-65 loss against one of his toughest Big 12 opponents, Texas on Monday night. 

How great would it have been if Durant had stayed and we could have seen that matchup? One for the ages, thats for sure.  Durant would have to matchup against Beast-ley or K State’s other stud, Bill Walker.  I can picture Beast-ley dominating Durant all evening on the glass and in the paint.  The only hope Durant would have would be his little turn around fade from about 15 and knocking down some 3 balls.  Beast-ley and Walker would be way to much to handle inside, as they both hold probably 50 pounds over Durant’s skinny ass. 

If the Sixers could somehow, someway get this kid, OH how the landscape in the Eastern Conference would change.  Imagine a starting five of : Sam-U-el, Beast-ley, Thad, Iggy, and Andre.  That would be one exciting, high-flying squad to watch night in and night out.  They would instantly become contenders in the weak East and have to be the outright favorites to win the woeful Atlantic division.

Kansas State will face sixth ranked Kansas in Lawrence on Saturday (3/1/08).  This will most likely be his toughest opponent with the likes of Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson, and Sasha Kaun all getting a chance to guard him.  If Beast-ley can pull out a double-double against this team and finish with 25 double-doubles for the season (30 games), he should seriously consider an official name change.  Because un-officially I am calling him Michael Beast-ley from now on.

Sixers Humiliate Knicks

  84       

  124

40! Enough said.

No, seriously though, did anyone actually keep Comcast on and watch this game?  I watched the first and second quarters and some parts of the second half.  The first quarter was absolutely ridiculous, the Sixers scored a season high 37 points in the first, and Iggy didn’t even have a bucket.  It was up and down, run and gun, exciting basketball, that was actually fun to watch.  Iggy steal here, Dalembert block there, Willie Green “in rhythm for two”.  Calvin Booth even had a monster jam off an Iggy steal and assist.   They finished the half on a tear ending with a season high 72 points, doubling up their counterpart who went into the locker room down 36.

Oh and Thaddeus Young, Rookie of the Year candidate as of last night.  He is playing incredible basketball, and had a sick dunk last night, in the second quarter I believe, off of a Lou Will steal that he muscled away from Fred Jones (? – I think).  Thad finished the game with 20 points on 8-11 shooting from the field and added 8 boards.

First things first, I must apologize to Mo Cheeks about my prior post.  He did a great job last night; keeping the tempo up, managing to get 9 players at least 20 minutes each, and really confusing Isiah Thomas with his defensive game-plan. Congrats on the big win, on the eve of your new contract.   

Tough few games coming up on the schedule.  The 76ers get to face Orlando two of the next three games with a “should” win game at Miami in between.  After that they hit the road for three tough games; at Golden State, at Phoenix, and at the Clippers (easy). 

Keep it up boys.  I wouldn’t mind attending a playoff game from the box. 

Youngsters Steal the Show

At one point during the game last night the Sixers lineup featured rookies Thaddeus Young (F) and Jason Smith (C), second-year man Rodney Carney (G), third-year pro Lou Williams (PG) and fourth-year swingman Andre Iguodala (SF) .  It was this lineup that took over the game and went on a 17-0 run that turned a 12-point deficit into a five-point lead and the 76ers never looked back. 

After being down 20 early in the game the Sixers rallied and came out with the 101 – 96 victory over the Gilbert-less Wizards at the Wach last night.

Interesting fact: Rod and Lou Will were the only Sixers to play the entire 4th quarter.