The Philadelphia 76ers began their season on Wednesday night with a solid 84-75 win over Andre Iguodala and the Denver Nuggets. The Sixers, without prized off-season acquisition Andrew Bynum, took on what many consider to be one of the better teams in the Western Conference and turned in a strong effort.
The Sixers outscored the Nuggets 25-22 in the first quarter, 21-16 in the second, and 19-14 in the third. They fell into a bit of a lull during the second half, but strong performances from Spencer Hawes and Jrue Holiday helped the team preserve their first win of the season.
- Spencer Hawes may have turned in his best game as a Sixer. You have to give the former starter a lot of credit; Doug Collins decided to bring the big man off of the bench and Hawes embraced his new role in a big way. The center put up 16 points off of bench (including two three-pointers), dominated the glass with 12 rebounds, and was a defensive force in the paint with five blocked shots. He also added two assists and two steals. When the Nuggets made their run to make the game close, Hawes was one of the guys who rose up to help preserve the victory. His night ended with the fans at the Wells Fargo Center chanting his name.
- New additions Jason Richardson, Dorell Wright, and Nick Young had their ups and downs. The three shooters combined for 33 points, but also helped Denver get back into the game by falling in love with the three. These guys have the potential to really make a difference on this team, but they’ve got to be more selective with their shots in the future.
- Jrue Holiday turned in a solid performance with 14 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, and two steals. Holiday’s biggest play in the game came in the fourth quarter. With the Nuggets cutting the lead to one, Holiday regained momentum for the Sixers with a three-point play.
- Andre Iguodala has made it pretty well known that he considers himself a three-point shooter. Tonight he went 0-4. Altogether, Iggy shot just 5-13, and turned the ball over four times. Denver was a -19 with him on the floor. He didn’t do much to impress Nugget fans in his debut, and his performance had to make Sixer fans feel good.
- The other former Sixer visting Philadelphia tonight, Andre Miller, can still play. Miller scored 10 points, dished out five assists, and pulled in seven boards. He’s a guy that just flat out knows how to play, and he always seems to save his best efforts for his games against the 76ers.
- This was such a strong defensive effort by the Sixers. There were several stretches tonight that the team went a few minutes without hitting a field goal, but they were able to get away with it because of how strong they were on the defensive end.
Like what I see in the new recruits, but ET still sucks, & plays timid, & Spencer Hawes is still as soft as ice cream in the heat. Bynum better get his @$$ on the court, or it could be another long season. Like what I see thus far, though. SOLID TEAM DF!!!! BTW, FU STINKADALA!!!!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Good way to start the season. Team defense appears to still be a strength, even without Iggy. I’m not sure how DCar can criticize Hawes after last night’s performance. Hawes may not be a beast in the middle, but he doesn’t need to be on this team. He blocks his share of shots, he shoots the ball well, he passes, he sets picks, and he can run the floor. Evan Turner seems out of place on this team. He’s still an awful shooter with an awful shooting motion. He doesn’t appear to be a smart player. I think its only a matter of time until he becomes a 12 minute a night player off the bench.
He did have a nice game. 1 game. Congrats. Wait until he doesn’t get his way & has a bad game. He’ll mope, & sulk like the big Mr. Softee baby, that he is. He had 1 good game, big woop! Let’s see how consistent he stays. Without Bynum, we are still extremely soft, & lack talent inside, at the 4 & 5 positions. Hawes is a giant soft serve ice cream cone! Brown is a BUM! Allen is OK, but still an unknown! Thadd IS NOT A 4! And the kid Moultrie is a rookie, that won’t find much playing time this year! So as I stated, if Bynum doesn’t come back healthy, we will struggle AGAIN, at the 4 & 5 positions. Period! If you know BBall, in which I believe you do, E-money, you probably already know that. Good start though. Nice win, with good team DF.
Optimistic about this team’s ability to make a better run this year. Glad they’re giving all the time Bynum needs to FULLY recover; whatever’s necessary. Finally some guys who can throw down the 3’s!