Game Thread: Memphis Grizzlies @ Philadelphia 76ers

<div align="center"><font color=""DarkRed"">Memphis Grizzlies @ Philadelphia 76ers
when: 7:00 pm
where: Wachovia Center</font></div>

<font color=""Red"">Starting Lineups:</font>

Memphis Grizzlies:

C:

Lorenzo Wright

PF:

Pau Gasol

SF:

Mike Miller

SG:

Eddie Jones

PG:

Bobby Jackson


Philadelphia 76ers:

C:

Samuel Dalembert

PF:

Chris Webber

SF:

Andre Iguodala

SG:

John Salmons

PG:

Allen Iverson



<font color=""Red"">Injury Report:

Memphis: D. Stoudimire, out for season with Ruptured right patellar tendon

Philadelphia: C. Webber, lower back strain</font>

<font color=""Red"">Keys to the Game:</font>

<font color=""Gray"">Memphis

- Start out strong and never look back. The Sixers have found themselves in big holes early on and at times seem to give up. This is what Memphis needs to do in order to win.

- Protect the ball. With Andre Iguodala and Allen Iverson, the sixers have the most feared duos in the stealing division. Memphis needs to be careful with the ball or else the sixers will get lots of points off turnovers.

- Rebound the ball. Plain and simple, the sixers look like a soft team and are outrebounded in most games. If the grizzleys can somehow out rebound the sixers, which isnt very hard, then they will have a good chance to win the game.</font>

<font color=""DarkRed"">Philadelphia</font>

<font color=""DarkRed"">- Play with heart. At times this season, the sixers look like a team that doesnt give a crap what the score is, and dont care who wins and who loses. This has got to stop because with no heart, they will get beaten very easily.

- Rebound. Like i said, the sixers are one of the worst rebounders in the NBA. If they get outrebounded, the chances are that they will, then they will have a hard time scoring, and getting second hand opportunities to score, which will mean that they wont put much points up, which means they lose.

- Players step up. In many games this season, its just been the AI and C-Webb showdown. The sixers need to do a better job of getting every player involved, because basketball is a team sport, not a sport in which you can go one on one. If the sixers dont play as a team, chances are, against one of the top teams in the league, they will lose.</font>

<font color=""Red"">Key Players:</font>



<font color=""DarkRed"">Allen Iverson</font>

Need i say more about AI? This sixers team lives and dies with AI. If AI has a good game, chances are, the sixers win. If AI has a bad game, chances are, the sixers lose. Bottom line. Its up to AI to detirmine how far the sixers go.



<font color=""Gray"">Pau Gasol</font>

Pau is the best player on the grizzlies. He has moves down low and can score the ball at will and is a force on the defensive side as well, blocking shots and rebounding balls. In order for the grizzlies to win, they need pau to contribute on offense, and defense.

phiLA's prediction: 101-97, grizzlies take the win.

 

Nice preview bro, but don’t you mean Memphis Grizzlies haha. As far as this game goes normally I would say we are in for a long night, but the 76ers are pretty good against the western conference at home. I believe they are 7-1 this season at home against the west. so we will see how it goes.

 

^oh yeah. thanks for the heads up BKS. just fixed it. lol.

 

The Sixers have been struggling, a win against this good Grizzlies team would really help them out. But it is going to be tough against this very well rounded team. I have a feeling Pau Gasol is going to have a big night on Friday against the 76ers.

 

Sixers lose.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BigMo763:</div><div class="quote_post">Sixers lose.</div>
yep. nice observations bigmo. quote me on this too. from the looks of it, we'll lose the next 50 games as well.

 

Sooner or later we'll end up drafting LaMarcus Aldridge at this rate we are goin.

 

The Sixers have a long way to go, but they can still do it maybe we as fans need to be more patient.

I thought maybe the game against Boston, would turn this team around a little bit since it was such a great win. But these last two games the 76ers have gone in the opposite direction.

But you guys seem to have major doubts.

Thats why I'm going out on a limb and saying the Sixers will win this game!

Phila also keep in mind that John Salmons has replaced Korver in the starting lineup.

 

I have been as patient as I can be. There were big expecations on this team coming into this season by the coach, players, and the fans. What happens? They haven't lived up to these expectations.

I'd be happy if we made some "progress." But everytime we take one step forward, we end up taking two steps back.

Until they prove to me that they can play together as a team, and give it their all each and every game, I give up on them.

Even AI looks disinterested out there, and that has never happened. He'd get mad, frustrated, etc., but he never gave up. In today's game, he looked like he was tired of this mediocrity, and even he started relaxing.

CWebb looked disinterested too.

So, to stop my rant, I'll say it again. Sixers lose this one by double digits.

P.S.: The pathetic thing is that we are still better than what we were last year, record-wise (I believe).

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Even AI looks disinterested out there, and that has never happened. He'd get mad, frustrated, etc., but he never gave up. In today's game, he looked like he was tired of this mediocrity, and even he started relaxing.</div>

Yes. Your completly right. I was watching the game and something just didn't feel right. And it wasn't until the 3rd quarter where Iverson was screaming trying to run on every possession is when I noticed that he wasn't interested in the last two quarters. He didn't take his first FT till the 3rd quarter so that just showed he wasn't being himself and was being aggressive like he normally is. If you watched that Nets game you could tell by his body language that he wasn't interested. This team is in a limbo right now, but I'm positive things will turn around eventually. Quote me on that.

As for this game. I don't know. It's all about effort. The Grizzlies have been on the road and coming into our house so they are probably a little wiery. It's going to come down to effort and realistically especially with the way been playing we have a small chance at winning but earlier this season when we lost to the Bucks, Bobcats and Pistons and then having to play the Pacers on the road everyone thought it was an automatic loss. So you never know what you might see in this game. This team is soo unpredictable it's not even funny.

 

I think we will see we a huge turn-around in this game and I think you will see Allen start out big early I read in an interview somewhere that Allen said....

"I feel like deep down, I know what I've got to do for us to be successful, and that's just to continue what I've been doing," said Iverson, the NBA's second-leading scorer. "It's important for me to continue to do what I've been doing since I've been here, since I've been a Sixer, and never let anything else distract me."

I really think there was something going on last game in those first 2 qtrs like Avery said something wasnt right and I believe it had something to do with them trying to change the way he plays and like I said in the other thread I think thats why you saw him take like 15 str8 shots in the 4th bc he got pissed and said look i do what you say and were down 15 so screw it ima start shootin

I think in this you will see him start shooting often early which will open others up and then I think he will take advantage of it and get some people some shots

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"I feel like deep down, I know what I've got to do for us to be successful, and that's just to continue what I've been doing," said Iverson, the NBA's second-leading scorer. "It's important for me to continue to do what I've been doing since I've been here, since I've been a Sixer, and never let anything else distract me."</div>

Uh oh. You know what that means people. AI is back.

A casual 42, 12 and a win is very likely in tomorrow's game. I don't care what anybody says, if AI is not being himself(dropping 35+) and being active and making the defense second guess this team will NOT win. Last night game was very evident, it wasn't until AI was scoring is where the Sixers started to get things going. When he was actually moving around the court isntead of passing on almost every possession and settling for jumpers the team is was on point. The fans are dead and the team is dead when he is not being himself. If AI has his mind set on having a big night, the opposition needs to be careful.

That quote brought my hopes up X 10. Hopefully he will prove me right and have a big night and most importantly win.

 

He said that stuff before the Nets game...

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BigMo763:</div><div class="quote_post">He said that stuff before the Nets game...</div>

yah he did but I think he was still trying to play the way cheeks wanted him to when the game started but fell back to the qoute in the 3rd which i think is the new mentality he has as of now

But here are some quotes from that were after the Nets game happened....

"I've always been the main focus on the team," Iverson said, "so I've always had that sense of urgency. You've heard me say it a million times just from me being here for so long. You can't teach heart. You can have all the talent in the world, [but] if you don't have any heart, you're going to struggle in this league as a player and, if the team doesn't have the heart, then the team is going to struggle."

"Out of all the tough times I've had in Philadelphia, they've been overcome," Iverson said. "That's the only way I can look at it. I look at myself and try to do more to overcome it."

"I'd be cheating them if I honestly didn't think we had a shot" at a championship, Iverson said. "If I didn't feel like these guys could do it, I'd go in and tell Billy [King] to get me out of here."

The last one I wonder if its a shot at Cheeks cuz I mean if he believes they have a shot with these guys of winning a ship and they are playing this bad he might be mad at Cheeks or maybe it goes back to him questioning their heart that could be too

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting B-22:</div><div class="quote_post">Phila also keep in mind that John Salmons has replaced Korver in the starting lineup.</div>
oh yeah, thanks for the heads up B.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting PhillysAnswer:</div><div class="quote_post">"I'd be cheating them if I honestly didn't think we had a shot" at a championship, Iverson said. "If I didn't feel like these guys could do it, I'd go in and tell Billy [King] to get me out of here."

The last one I wonder if its a shot at Cheeks cuz I mean if he believes they have a shot with these guys of winning a ship and they are playing this bad he might be mad at Cheeks or maybe it goes back to him questioning their heart that could be too</div>

Actually, Allen says that all the time (about believing the guys around him can win it all), so I don't view that as a shot at Cheeks.

The part above that is what concerns me, or atleast struck me as surprising, particularly: "If I didn't feel like these guys could do it, I'd go in and tell Billy [King] to get me out of here."

I have NEVER heard Allen ever say he'd ask Billy to trade him. He'd always just say something like "if I didn't believe these guys could win it all, I'd retire" or "there would be no reason for me to lace up my sneakers every night."

Allen has always said he wants to stay in Philadelphia no matter what, so I think it's nothing big, but it just got me thinking...

 

hey, it's game time. discuss. so far we're up by 4.

 

Pride is history, Pride is heart. For Once the team is actually listening to Allen Iverson. There is a certain swagger about this team today, on both ends of the floor. That have come from a long line of succesfull 76er teams.

 

Andre Iguodala!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!