Sixers’ Comeback Bid Falls Short Against Charlotte

By Sean Kennedy

Charlotte 111, Philadelphia 105

Box Score

One game behind Washington for the important 6th seed (insofar as you avoid Indiana or Miami) in the Eastern Conference, the Bobcats opened the upset door a crack with the news that Kemba Walker would miss his second straight game with a groin injury. With the team’s second-leading scorer sidelined, more of the burden fell upon the shoulders of big man Al Jefferson. Fortunately for Charlotte, Jefferson was prepared to put the Bobcats on his back, and pile on some Sixers big men to boot.

Henry Sims struggled to stop the array of post moves and mid-range jumpers Jefferson has at his disposal. Then, with Jarvis Varnado out with a sore heel, we were treated to far more Byron Mullens trying to defend Jefferson than I believe is considered humane by Amnesty International. With Mullens putting up less resistance than the chair did against Yi Jianlian, Big Al made his first 6 shots on his way to 14 first-quarter points. That performance set the tone throughout the game, as Jefferson finished with a game-high 29 points and 12 rebounds, getting big baskets to keep the Sixers at arms-length all night.

The Bobcats needed every one of those buckets from their center because the Sixers refused to go away. After a Charlotte third quarter surged had opened a double-digit lead, Philadelphia clawed their way back in the final frame, pulling within as few as 4 points in the closing minutes. After struggling with his shot the night before against Memphis, Michael Carter-Williams bounced back in a big way with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Most crucially, he shot 7-11 overall and made 4-6 shots from outside the painted area, forcing the the Bobcats defense to respect his jumper and opening the lane up for the drive-and-kick.

Unfortunately, it was an off-shooting night for many of his teammates as the Sixers shot just 5-25 from behind the arc as a team, including 0-5 from Thad Young. Philly was able to hang around all game by taking care of the basketball, turning the ball over just 9 times on the evening, including just 2 giveaways in the first half (a figure I’m pretty sure they’ve had on single possessions this season despite that defying the statistical constructs of the game). Still, eventually you have to knock down some shots and the Sixers weren’t able to do enough of that or slow down Big Al on the low block. So a spirited effort, but not enough to take down a hungry Bobcats team excited for the franchise’s second-ever playoff appearance (since the expansion team moved back to Charlotte). Two games remain for the Sixers including the final home game of the season Monday night against Boston.

Notable Observations:

• During the halftime interview, it was apparent that Brett Brown had completely lost his voice yelling out instructions all game. Honestly, with the amount of mistakes the team generally makes and the number of corrections I’m sure Brown needs to make, it’s a wonder he ever has his voice by the end of a game this season.
• Malik Rose is not a fan of John Legend, at least in terms of using his music to get focused. Molly Sullivan let us know that Carter-Williams’ music of choice to get himself ready for a game is John Legend, and Rose came down as hard as he would if a player had missed a defensive assignment in a pick-and-roll. According to Rose, MCW should be listening to gangster rap to get his mind right for the game.

Tanking Implications:

Milwaukee lost in Washington last night so the Bucks would have to win their final two games to pull even with the Sixers in the standings. I’m going to deem that…unlikely. The Pelicans pick would currently be 10th, but could move up to 9th depending upon what happens with Cleveland and New Orleans over the next week. On the hardwood, the Sixers at least fought back to make a game of it down the stretch and we got to see the complete package from Michael Carter-Williams. At one point, he made the bad decision of trying to pass after he had already jumped in the air, resulting in a turnover. He used to make those mistakes all the time, but now, he seemed to immediately recognize he shouldn’t have done it, a sign he’s learning how to be an NBA point guard. 4/5 tanks.