By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
Facing an undefeated Rockets team with their starting point guard still sidelined, there was little reason to be optimistic about the Sixers chances Monday night. The stylistic similarities between the two teams are readily apparent thanks to the Daryl Morey-Sam Hinkie connection, but Houston s the team the Sixers are aspiring to be 2-3 years down the road (hopefully with some more playoff success initially). Still, the young squad for Philly gave a tremendous effort, hanging right there with Houston until about midway through the fourth quarter. All the length and athleticism the Sixers are grooming on their roster was on full display, as they forced 22 Houston turnovers to help stem the tide of a white-hot-shooting Rockets team.
Ultimately though, James Harden’s ability to get to the free throw line proved to be the difference, as the star guard hit 17-18 at the charity stripe on his way to a game-high 35 points. With the spacing Houston’s spacing provides, Harden has free reign of the lane to try to beat his man off the dribble, and he’s getting the foul call more often than not.
When Harden wasn’t leading the parade to the foul line, the Rockets were finding wide-open shooters outside the arc due to the attention the Sixers were paying both him and Dwight Howard. Houston hit a sparkling 16-34 from downtown, led by Trevor Ariza who sank 6 of his 9 attempts for 24 points. Ariza was as close to automatic as it gets sinking those open corner threes, and it seemed like he or another Rocket would hit a big shot whenever the Sixers were threatening.
Starting at center with Henry Sims coming off the bench due to a respiratory infection, Nerlens Noel put up one of the odder stat lines you’ll come across from a big man. Noel recorded 10 points, 5 assists, and 6 steals, against just 1 rebound (which he grabbed with 2 minutes left in the game), 1 block, and 3 turnovers. While the 1 rebound looks awful, it was actually due to Noel tussling down low with Dwight Howard for most of the evening and doing a pretty fair job of it.
Despite giving up 30 pounds to Howard, Noel (and the Sixers team as a whole) did well to limit him to just 11 points with 5 turnovers. Howard did still grab 14 rebounds (including 7 offensive), which does fall on Noel, but for starting his first game at center against arguably the premier big man in the league, the Sixers rookie wasn’t too shabby. He also showed off what quick hands he has on the defensive ends to garner all those steals.
Plus, the lone block by the Sixers rookie represented what was easily the play of the night from either side:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WShL4IXGLw]
Joining Noel in stat-stuffing was Tony Wroten, who dropped 20 points, 2 threes, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals, but also shot 7-16 from the floor and committed 5 turnovers. Some of the missed shots weren’t necessarily Wroten’s fault, as he was forced to try to create something out of nothing on a number of occasions late in the shot clock. Still, sometimes he just lets his unbridled energy get the best of him with some of those unforced errors. As my friend put it, he needs a shock collar to reel him back in from time to time; the man just wants to play at 100% speed at all times.
Another guy who played well and whose game really stands out in person is K.J. McDaniels. He was terrific against Houston with 14 points on 3-4 threes; a line that could have been even better as he made just 1-4 free throws and missed a couple easy shots at the rim as well. Defensively is where McDaniels really shined though, as despite only being awarded 1 block, he affected a ton of other shots near the basket. He also played some lockdown defense on the perimeter, and even tried to throw down a tomahawk slam over Donatas Motiejunas (and drew the foul for his effort). The sequence at the end of the first half, where he sandwiched two made threes around a great defensive stop against Harden, perfectly illustrated the extraordinary potential McDaniels has to offer.
Other Minutiae:
- Sitting in the 2nd row behind the Rockets bench, my friend’s uncle frequently holds up either a whiteboard with messages written on it, or pictures he comes up with at home and brings to the game, to try and get the players’ attention. Monday night, he held up a side-by-side photo of coach Kevin McHale and Frankenstein, getting a smirk from Hollis Thompson while the Sixers were defending an in-bounds play. Unfortunately, Trevor Ariza then blew by the distracted Thompson for a dunk, so you can blame my friend’s uncle for those 2 points.
- The new 3D technology the Sixers are employing in the pregame intro is very interesting, and I like how the video actually gets played out on the floor simultaneously while on screen. However, my one big criticism is that they decided to get ride of the iconic Dr. J rock the cradle dunk that used to anchor the old video. Fans want to see that play and Iverson stepping over Tyronn Lue; everything about showing the different playgrounds in Philadelphia or whatever else is just gravy.
The Sixers are now 0-4, but have been in each of their games for the majority of the contest. They’ll have a decent chance of earning their first victory Wednesday night against the Magic.
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