Perfect Storm

Wow. That’s all I could say after witnessing the 2nd half of that game last night. Many people are very against booing your own team at home and will say it’s very disrespectful but I feel the complete opposite way. As fans, we are the people paying these players salaries essentially. We have the right to let them know when they are not playing well and we have the right to praise them when they are playing great. The Sixers were booed off the court at halftime, and I guarentee everyone on that team including coach Doug Collins will agree that they deserved it. For me, getting booed off the court at home would be motivation enough to dig deep and play that 2nd half to my potential, and that’s exactly what the Sixers did. Momentum is a huge deal in basketball, and right now the Sixers have it. Think of how big of a swing emotionally and physically that was for both teams. The Celtics were up 19 in the 3rd quarter, cruising to a 3-1 series lead and potentially resting some starters to close out the series on Monday. Instead, the Celtics open the door for the Sixers who were shooting 21% in the first half to gain confidence in their shot, their game, and the idea that they have a legitimate shot at winning this series. I’ve heard a lot of complaining about the foul discrpency, as the Sixers got to the line about 18 or so more times than the Celtics, but any basketball fan who watched could have seen that the Sixers took it to the rim much more often than the Celtics.

As I said in my last post, Thad Young playing well is a huge boost to this team. It showed in both halves last night. Thad looked terrible in the 1st half, making poor passes, dribbling the ball into traps and not being able to throw the ball in the ocean. I’m honestly surprised Doug stuck with him in the 2nd half but it paid off. Thad out worked the Celtics defense, battling for offensive boards and making good cuts to the hoop and finishing. This Sixers bench has virtually been nonexistent this whole playoffs, and last night was a resurgence of the Sixers backbone. Sweet Lou played like the 6th man he has been all year, making scoring look easy at times. Now I would be crazy to say I wanted the Sixers to go down 14-0 in the first quarter and be down by 19 in the 2nd half, but honestly it couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. This truly is the perfect storm for the Sixers. This confidence boost couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. With the confidence through the roof and the Celtics seriously looking at whether or not they are contenders could be that little bit of doubt needed for the Sixers to get a crucial win Monday night. If the Sixers can come out in the 1st half like they played the end of the last game, I really like the Sixers chances of winning this series. It all comes down to toughness and whether the Sixers really want to win or not. The one edge I think the Celtics have on the Sixers right now is they have been here before and know what it takes to win a tight series. However, whether the Celtics have the pieces to finish off a series is something we will find out. Their bench is just not good, and I have said all year you can’t be a contender without a bench. Your star guys are going to have tough games, and if your relying on Greg Steimsma or Ryan Hollins to be a solid option off the bench you are crazy. Not to mention they should call Brandon Bass Brandon “first half” Bass because that guy was nowhere to be found in the 2nd half of last nights game.