I only saw the second half, but there was a lot to see.
1. Given the chance to blow a big lead and snatch defeat from the jaws of
victory, this time the Sixers did not do the el foldo under pressure.
Almost (Heat got to within three), but our heroes managed to regroup in time
to seal the win. Not pretty, OK, but still a win and that is an improvment
for this young team.
2. Has an athlete ever gone downhill faster than Shaquille O'Neal? Less
than two years ago he was an all-star leading his team to a championship.
Last night, he looked listless, fatigued, slow, and almost . . . .
uninterested in playing basketball. His impotence was roughly equal whether
playing against a guy with multiple fouls (Sammy), a career journeyman
(Booth) or a green rookie (Smith).
3. Rodney Carney may have got the start, but he is about to play himself
right into Europe. I saw him try to force a dribble inside and throw the
ball out of bounds. His line after 17 minutes included the now familiar
zero rebound and zero assists combination. Lou Williams got 25 minutes.
Either Williams or even Thaddeus Young should get the start if Willie Green
can't go the next game. I'll predict that when Green does come back from
injury, Carney's minutes will descend back into the DNP range again.
4. From what I saw, Andre Ig was simply the best player on the court. Yes,
that includes Dwayne Wade, who had a nice game himself. Andre's been up and
down a lot this year, let's hope this teriffic play marked the start of a
permanent elevation of his game to a level consistent with his talent.
5. Jason Smith pulled down 7 boards in only 17 minutes, and generally
looked active and effective. It might be a good sign, but tempered with the
reality that this was against the sleeping giant Shaq.
---- Kurt Straub
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