Philadelphia at New Orleans

[Real Deal]

TIME: 8:00 PM ET

TV: NBALP

[Phightins]

Oh my goodness Jrue.

 

Love the defense this quarter.

[Built Ford Tough]

Holiday took over down the stretch and played like I have been waiting for all season. He wasn't forcing his shots but rather taking them within the flow of the offense, he played very good defense on Jack, who up until that point was lighting up the Sixers, and he made excellent decisions with the ball. Very impressive performance from him and hopefully that is the moment that turns his season around because up until then he had been playing very underwhelming basketball.

 

What will likely go unnoticed because of how well Jrue played in the 4th is just how good Evan Turner played for basically the entire game, especially in the 3rd when he sparked the Sixers. He was getting to the rim at while showcasing his excellent handles. The moves he was putting on the Hornets tonight were a thing of beauty and reminded me so much of watching him in his final season at OSU. In addition to that, he was making great passes, rebounding the ball well, doing an awesome job of running the offense and playing well defensively. This was without any doubt the best performance I have ever seen from Turner in the NBA. His game tonight was just brilliant.

 

Hawes continues to be the Sixers' most consistent player. Another rock solid game from him.

 

Iguodala really struggled in this one as his jumper seemingly came back down to earth after him setting the nets on fire from deep in the Sixers first 2 games. The thing about the Sixers is that they are so deep they can afford to have an off night from a guy like Iguodala or Holiday because they will have somebody else step up, like Turner did tonight, Thad did in the Golden State game and Williams did in the Portland game.

 

 

On the Hornets side, I thought Jack played a great game for the first 43 minutes, but got a little out of control in the final 5 as he tried to do a bit too much. It is tough to blame him because he coudl sense the game slipping away but you have to continue to play within the system and not try to take it upon yourself to do it all. Other than that I thought he played a great all around game and his numbers reflect that (19 points, 11 assists, 5 board and held Holiday to 9 points through the first 3 quarters).

 

Gordon got off to a great start but as the game went on he seemed to fatigue, which is understandable since this was his first game since the opener as he missed time due to, I believe, a knee injury. He came out of the gate doing a great job of attacking the rim and then working his outside shot after establishing the drive.

 

Landry had a typical Landry game. He doesn't make any highlight plays, scores within the offense, rebounds the ball and you don't really notice him until you look at the box score and see that he has quietly put up 18-20 points and 8-10 rebounds on 48-52% shooting (tonight he had 21/8 on 50% shooting).

[Lemon]

A good road win for the Sixers, a sign of a competitive playoff team. Especially since the Hornets didn't play particularly bad.

 

Jarrett Jack played well, but I couldn't help but wonder why Eric Gordon wasn't included in helping to close the gap in the end of the game. In his few years with Gordon, he was the closer. Last year on the Clippers where Griffin was the first two quarters, Gordon was the last two. Now I was a little disappointed when the Hornets made him into a watcher. Maybe Monty saw the fatigue that BFT talked about, but Gordon is a proven clutch player. He played clutch defensively, but on the other end, it was all Jarrett Jack.

 

Kaman though looks like a better fit on this team. He goes from the athletic play of the Clippers to a slower tempo here. I'm happy for him.