By Sean Kennedy
Wow, hold on, let me catch my breath. I went to Busch Gardens a few weeks back and while Griffin is a heck of a ride, nothing there compared to the roller coaster experience that was the Sixers opener against the world champion Miami Heat. What if I told you one team would jump out to a 19-0 lead to start the game (the largest run by a team to begin a contest since 2004)? Would you have given any shred of possibility to that team being the Sixers? On the game’s first possession, Michael Carter-Williams stole the ball and ran the court for a run-out dunk, setting the stage for arguably the greatest rookie debut in NBA history (more on that later). Philadelphia made their first 11 shots of the game and were up 23-2 before the wheels began to come off.
In the second and third quarters, the Sixers team the majority of fans expected to see reared their tanking head. The shots stopped falling, the turnovers piled up, and Miami found itself open for countless three pointers (16-40 on the game). The Heat went on a 14-0 run of their own in the second quarter to pull within two at halftime. Miami kept making it rain in the second quarter, dropping 45 points in the third quarter, including 12 points by Ray Allen in the last 1:45 of the period (although the Ray Allen half court buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter wasn’t the defense’s fault).
In a normal world, that is where things would have ended. The Heat would coast to the victory everyone expected of them, even with Dwayne Wade resting and on the second night of a back-to-back. But Wednesday night had a surreal feel to it, from the Iverson press conference earlier in the day, to the incredible run to start the game, and the Sixers fought back to take a one-point lead with two minutes left. From there, Carter-Williams and Evan Turner combined to make 5-6 free throws down the stretch, sealing the win for the Sixers and breaking a 15-game losing streak against the Heat. Philadelphia is still undefeated.
Notable Observations:
- What can really be said about Michael Carter-Williams’ performance? No NBA player in the last 25 years had 22 points, 12 assists, 9 steals, and 7 rebounds in a game until MCW did so in his first professional game. The 9 steals were also the most by a players in his NBA debut in NBA history. The former Syracuse Orange guard hit 4-6 three-pointers and 6-8 free throws, allaying any fears of his sub-par jumper at least for one night. Carter-Williams is the most important young player to watch for the Sixers this season and noone could have asked more from him in the opener.
- Two members of the old guard had exceptional performances, with Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes scoring 26 and 24 points, respectively. Turner did a good job getting to the rim and mostly took good shots throughout the game, none more so than his dunk in the face of LeBron James in the first quarter. Hawes fought hard on the glass and showed some nice hands in collecting passes and finishing near the basket.
- It won’t show up on the stat sheet but I thought Daniel Orton gave the team good minutes. Orton was a physical presence down low, got out to block a corner three, and even had a nice post-up move in the third quarter. The one negative was a dumb foul on Rashard Lewis on a three point attempt.
Tanking Implications:
The young guys stepped up, starting with Carter-Williams who exceeded even the wildest of expectations for his debut. Tony Wroten provided some scoring punch off the bench with 14 points and Orton looked the part of a solid backup big. But you know, they did win, and wins don’t pay the ping pong ball bills. 3/5 tanks.
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