Fo’ with the Foes: Minnesota Timberwolves

Posted by: C. Smith
12/11/13 3:57 pm EST
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Kait-Cassie-AlisaThis edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” – Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series, which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews key upcoming 76ers games – features tonight’s opponent, the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are 10-11 (against a brutal schedule), but feature Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and one of the highest scoring offenses in the NBA.

After the jump, I’ll look at Fo’ key items for tonight’s game.  Additionally, we’ll get a little more insight into this Minnesota team the Sixers face tonight from our colleague Tom Westerholm at howlintwolf.com, as Tom will answer Fo’ questions on his T-wolves squad from us here at Philadunkia.

Wiggins Watch: Episode IV

Posted by: Alex Gorge
12/11/13 10:43 am EST
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wigginsblackbckdropDecember college basketball games between Top 20 teams are made for television events.  Fans love them and the pollsters use them to juggle questionable early season ratings.  College coaches take a different perspective.   They use the games to determine how they can improve their teams before the start of conference play.

For Kansas, Tuesday night’s 67-61 road loss to a veteran Florida team revealed that they simply aren’t an elite team – yet.  The Jayhawks have now lost two in a row and three out of their last four games.  That’s the bad news.

The good news is freshmen sensation Andrew Wiggins showed why he was the nation’s #1 recruit.  Wiggins stamped out a career high 26 points and added 11 rebounds for his first double-double and produced all of those stats in front of twenty NBA scouts.  His breakout performance may also have provided some insights for Bill Self as t0 how the coach can improve this Kansas squad.

 


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Young Stays Warm During Snow Bowl, Holds 5th Thad-A-Claus Event

Posted by: Jeff McMenamin
12/10/13 1:47 pm EST
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Ba_N5gNIAAAlozhOn Sunday, just a few blocks from the Eagles’ Snow Bowl down at Lincoln Financial Field, Sixers star Thaddeus Young held his 5th Annual Thad-A-Claus charity event at Chickie’s and Pete’s down in South Philadelphia.

The event was a sell-out this year (in the Play 2 portion of the restaurant) as kids of all ages filed in for autographs and pictures with their favorite Sixers players.

Other notable Sixers in attendance were Jason Richardson, Hollis Thompson, Lavoy Allen and Daniel Orton among others. As the event was wrapping up, even Sixers coach Brett Brown made an appearance to support the good cause.


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GM22: Rapid Reacts

Posted by: C. Smith
12/10/13 10:37 am EST
3 Comments
Los Angeles Clippers 94 FinalRecap | Box Score 83 Philadelphia 76ers
Thaddeus Young, PF 34 MIN | 8-16 FG | 0-0 FT | 11 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 16 PTS | -7A 2-for-7 start prevented Thad from having a really big night as he got a lot of great looks against the defensively challenged Blake Griffin.  Despite foul trouble (lousy calls), Thad racked up a double-double.  I especially like the way he went right at Griffin and pushed the NBA’s poster boy around the paint.  However, 16 points on 16 FGAs is not an efficient scoring night (yeah I know he shot 50% from the field).  Also zero FTAs is not a stat I like to see from my starting PF.
Evan Turner, SF 40 MIN | 11-23 FG | 2-3 FT | 8 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 25 PTS | -11Typical 2013-14 night for Turner…He stuffs the stat sheet and looked awesome at times.  But there were moments last night where he made me throw the remote.  He scored 13 points on 12 FGAs in the 1st half (Bad!); but ET also scored 7 straight points in the 4th Q (Good!).
Hollis Thompson, SF 39 MIN | 1-7 FG | 5-7 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | -12I love that HT got to the FT line and converted.  He also put together a nice stretch in the 3rd Q where he scored 5 points.  But 1-7 shooting is about as cold as a baller can get.
Spencer Hawes, C 23 MIN | 1-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PTS | -14A season-low 2 points on 1-of-6 shooting and missed both of the 3-pointers he attempted, snapping at 20 his streak of games with at least one trey
Tony Wroten, SG 36 MIN | 2-12 FG | 4-6 FT | 10 REB | 7 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 9 PTS | -8Unfortunatley TWroe has no off switch when it comes to shooting and last night that killed the Sixers.

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GM20: (Now That’s Tanking) Rapid Reacts

Posted by: C. Smith
12/07/13 12:03 pm EST
2 Comments
Philadelphia 76ers 88 Final

Recap | Box Score

 105 Charlotte Bobcats
Thaddeus Young, PF 30 MIN | 3-9 FG | 3-4 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 9 PTS | -18Thad scored the Sixers first 6 points and than was limited by injury the rest of the way.  After a great steal off of Zeller, Thad looked like he tweaked something in his back as he went in for an awkward layin.
Evan Turner, SF 40 MIN | 7-18 FG | 0-1 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 16 PTS | -516 points on 18 FGAs is not the type of efficiency Bret Brown is looking for out of Turner.  1 FTA is not a great stat either.  He also got clowned in the 3rd Q by a Kemba Walker around the back dribble.  So not a great night for Turner.
Hollis Thompson, SF 32 MIN | 5-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | 0HT got off to a quick start last night by drilling 4 out of his first 4 shots.  He was also 2-2 from deep in the 1st half.  But he, like most of the Sixers disappeared in the 2nd half.
Spencer Hawes, C 29 MIN | 3-9 FG | 2-2 FT | 13 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 5 TO | 10 PTS | -10Obviously last night was not Spence’s best shooting performance and IMO he’s now hoisting up too many 3′s.  I know he was 2-2 in the 1st Q, but still…I don’t have any other notes on him from last night and he racked up a double-double.  Which means it couldn’t have been that impressive.

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Fo’ with the Foes: Charlotte Bobcats

Posted by: C. Smith
12/06/13 12:56 pm EST
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charlotte_bobcats_dance_team3This edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” – Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series, which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews key upcoming 76ers games – features tonight’s opponent, the Charlotte Bobcats, who despite being 3-7 in their last 10 contests, currently sit 1-game ahead of the 76ers in the race for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East.

After the jump, I’ll look at Fo’ key items for tonight’s game.  Additionally, we’ll get a little more insight into this Charlotte team the Sixers face tonight from our colleague Spencer Percy at queencityhoops.com, as Spencer will answer Fo’ questions on his Bobcats squad from us here at Philadunkia.


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DRAFT13: Where Are They Now?

Posted by: C. Smith
12/05/13 12:47 pm EST
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pierrejacksonIf you think back to June 27th, 2013 – a.k.a. Draft Night 2013 – you may remember that in addition to the shocking, Jrue Holiday to New Orleans, mega-trade that Sam Hinkie pulled off, the Sixers’ new GM also executed several minor deals involving second round draft prospects.

In all, “Hinkie-palooza” (As we dubbed that night of crazy trading action Sam produced.) saw the Sixers trade for or select  four different players that the franchise no longer holds the rights on.  They were here one moment and gone the next.

After the jump I’ll take a look at what these four players have accomplished in their basketball careers since being used like pawns during “Hinkie-palooza” by the 7-6′s forward thinking GM.


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GM19: Rapid (2OT) Reacts

Posted by: C. Smith
12/04/13 9:46 am EST
One comment
Orlando Magic 125 FinalRecap | Box Score 126 Philadelphia 76ers
Thaddeus Young, PF 48 MIN | 10-20 FG | 2-2 FT | 12 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 25 PTS | +9Thad’s play since his return from a personal leave of absence has been outstanding. #21 put up 7 points in the 3rd Q; his intense block/pin at the 1 minute mark of the 4th Q was a game saver; he scored huge baskets in the 4th Q; splashed a 3-pointer in the first OT and had a smooth drive to the hoop in 2OT.  It’s fun to watch Thad playing so well.  The only issue I had with his play last night is that Thad had significant trouble guarding “Big Baby” Davis.
Evan Turner, SF 42 MIN | 7-16 FG | 10-13 FT | 6 REB | 5 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 8 TO | 24 PTS | +12 He still dribbles to rock too much for my tastes, but for the most part, I really liked what I saw from Turner last night until the 4th Q.  In that Q, Turner was 2-5 with 4 TOs
Hollis Thompson, SF 33 MIN | 4-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 10 PTS | +10It was only his second game in the starting lineup and Hollis produced a very efficient effort.  He was 3-3 for 8 points in the 1st Q and HT’s dive on the floor, hustle play for a loose bal in the 2OT was a key to this W.
Spencer Hawes, C 41 MIN | 7-15 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 17 PTS | +1Without Vucevic in the lineup, Spencer was able to concentrate on his offensive game and nearly put up another double-double…Hawes supllied the Sixers with needed scoring in the 3rd Q when he threw in 9 points.
Michael Carter-Williams, PG 47 MIN | 11-19 FG | 4-7 FT | 12 REB | 10 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 7 TO | 27 PTS | +12MCW was simply amazing last night.  Some highlights…He scored 4 straight in the 2nd Q and 11 overall in the 1st half to keep teh Sixers in this one early.  The rookie had a huge reb & put back with :55 remaining in the game.  The dime he dropped to Anderson in OT was fantastic.  As was his drive and finger roll in that same quarter.  He had another amazing assist in the 2nd OT and his lefty layin during that stanza was clutch. With his triple-double, MCW joined Tony Wroten an exclusive 76ers club.  Wroten’s came on Nov. 13 in an 123-117 overtime win against the Rockets.  Previous to Wroten’s and now MCW’s tripled-double, the last Sixer triple-double was by Andre Iguodala on March 23, 2005.

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Fo’ with the Foes: Orlando Magic

Posted by: C. Smith
12/03/13 1:42 pm EST
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MagicgirlThis edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” – Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series, which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews key upcoming 76ers games – features tonight’s opponent, the Orlando Magic, who handled the Sixers 6 days ago, but have lost two straight, including a 18 point drubbing in Washington last night.

After the jump, I’ll look a Fo’ key items for tonight’s game. Additionally, we’ll get a little more insight into this Orlando team the Sixers face tonight from our colleague Evan Dunlap at orlandopinstripedpost.com, as Evan will answer Fo’ questions on his Magic squad from us here at Philadunkia.


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GM18: (Drumm’d) Rapid Reacts

Posted by: C. Smith
12/02/13 10:47 am EST
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Philadelphia 76ers 100 FinalRecap | Box Score 115 Detroit Pistons
Thaddeus Young, PF 29 MIN | 9-17 FG | 4-5 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 24 PTS | -7Thad was awesome last night and appeared to be the only Sixer willing to mix it up with the Pistons bigs.  His second effort AND1 in the 3rd Q was simply awesome.  Thad posted 10 points in the 3rd Q.  In the three games since his return from a personal leave of absence, Thad is playing great ball and averaging 21.6 ppg. and 8 boards.  He is also shooting 46% on threes (6-13).
Evan Turner, SF 31 MIN | 7-12 FG | 4-4 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 20 PTS | +1I liked a lot of what I saw from Turner last night including the 13 points he scored in the 3rd Q and that he got to the FT line.  But his defense is getting worse and when he got picked by Andre Drummond in the backcourt and than fouled him, I nearly lost my mind.
Hollis Thompson, SF 28 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | -13With how well he has been playing of late, I expected a little more from Hollis in his first start.  Hopefully it was just a case of nerves and Brett Brown sticks with him in the first-five, because he certainly has earned a shot at starting.
Spencer Hawes, C 31 MIN | 5-15 FG | 0-0 FT | 9 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 3 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | -3Spence provided no resistance to any of the Detroit bigs and his shot was off last night.  To be honest it was one of the worst games I have seen him play all year and he still almost recorded a double-double.  Hawes has not made 29 threes this season after hitting 31 in all of 2012-13 under Doug Collins.
Michael Carter-Williams, PG 34 MIN | 5-15 FG | 5-5 FT | 6 REB | 6 AST | 6 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 15 PTS | -8MCW got schooled by Brandon Jennings in the 1st half and he really never recovered.  I have a feeling that smaller, quicker guards will give Carter-Williams trouble for the frest of the season.  That’s to be expected given MCW’s length.

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