To be the champ…oh, let’s not kid ourselves. Barring an act of divine interaction, Philadelphia will only be hoisting this season’s Larry O’Brien trophy in an EA sports video game. With a small window of opportunity to make the playoffs coming out of the All-Star break, the Sixers decided they did not like the breeze in coming out flat in the loss to Minnesota. Fortunately for Philadelphia, the 8th place Bucks lost close games to Brooklyn both Tuesday and Wednesday night and only hold a 3.5 game lead over the Sixers. That’s where the good news ends, however. First, Milwaukee made the biggest splash of a relatively quiet trade deadline in acquiring J.J. Redick as part of a six-player deal with Orlando. Redick, who ranks 11th in the NBA in three-pointers made (and likely leads the league in poetry slam books), will greatly shore up an area of weakness for a team currently ranked just 21st in the NBA in 3PT% at 34.8%. The move strengthens the Bucks for the stretch run, further reducing the odds of a Sixers comeback.
In addition to that encouraging news, the defending champion Miami Heat and the best player in the NBA and odds-on favorite for MVP, Lebron James, are coming to town Saturday night to pay the Sixers a visit. Lebron is in the midst of a truly historic stretch of play during the month of February in which Miami has gone 9-1. In his ten games this month, he’s averaged 30.2 ppg on 66.3% shooting, 7.6 rpg, and 6.7 apg. The only thing James has done wrong this month is get absolutely eaten alive by Kobe in the all-star game. Besides the extraordinary performance Lebron has put together this season, Dwayne Wade has also been phenomenal, averaging 20.9 ppg on 50.4% shooting, 4.9 rpg, and 4.8 apg. To put these totals in perspective, only 6 players in the NBA are currently averaging at least 20 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 4.5 apg (James, Wade, Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Bryant). So to say the Sixers will be at a talent disadvantage in this match-up would be like saying tickets for the Jay-Z / Justin Timberlake concerts will be in-demand.
Keys to the game:
- Not lately, but earlier in the season, Miami was prone to taking games off against lower-profile teams. Hope that is the case in this game and bring the energy early to build a lead before Miami really tightens the screws.
- Do everything possible to get the ball out of the hands of James and Wade, and force the Heat to win with outside shots from Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, Shane Battier, and the rest of Miami’s supporting cast. Those players may very well hurt you but it beats the alternative of having Lebron doing Lebron things all game long.
Prediction: The Sixers will be crowned by the King as the Heat win in a rout.
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