By Sean Kennedy
Even a franchise purportedly hoping for losses can only stand being pushed around for so long. After being dominated on the glass in recent games playing with a roster consisting of just three big men in Spencer Hawes, Thaddeus Young, and Brandon Davies, the Sixers finally did something about it, signing 7-footer DeWayne Dedmon from the D-league. Not that the former USC Trojan is going to be any sort of savior, as he’s only been playing organized basketball for 5 years and is about as raw a talent as they come. Still, his main strengths are shot-blocking and rebounding, areas the team has needed help in all season, so why the Sixers haven’t been taking chances on young guys like Dedmon all year is beyond me. With Dedmon playing, and Arnett Moultrie and Lavoy Allen both questionable to return from injury tonight, the Sixers might actually have a workable big man rotation.
They’ll need plenty of big men to throw at the Bobcats’ Al Jefferson, coming off a season-high 35 points last night in a win against the Knicks. Jefferson is the second-leading scorer on the team behind Kemba Walker at 17 per game, and is also averaging over 2 offensive rebounds per contest on the season. The Bobcats also received a boost last night as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned from a broken hand injury that kept him out the past 6 weeks. Charlotte had badly missed their best perimeter defender, having lost 8 of 9 games before last night’s victory. Their starting lineup featuring MKG in there has allowed just 86.2 points per 100 possessions, a mark which exceeds even the NBA-best Pacers for stinginess on the defensive end.
One area MKG won’t help the Bobcats is their offensive spacing, as the team is still shooting a very poor 34% from three on the year. In the teams’ first meeting (a 105-88 Charlotte victory), the Bobcats shot just 4-21 behind the arc but were able to get out in transition off Sixers turnovers for easy buckets. Although you never know, because nearly everyone abuses the Sixers from downtown, Charlotte is probably not winning the game from the perimeter.
The key tonight for Philadelphia will be to win the fast break battle. If they can speed up their pace offensively before the stout defense of the Bobcats has a chance to set up, they should have success at the rim. Neither member of the Charlotte frontline, Jefferson or Josh McRoberts, has the vertical athleticism to be a shot-blocking deterrent if the Sixers attack the basket like they’re capable of. The crucial aspect is to speed up the game without turning the ball over and allowing the Bobcats to score on the other end without having to work for a good shot. Obviously this is easier said than done for a Sixers team with the 4th-worst turnover ratio in the league. Charlotte is a squad the Sixers are obviously capable of taking down, especially if they have a few more healthy big men to throw out there, but it remains to be seen whether their focus in doing the little things correctly will be there given their recent poor stretch of play.
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