Sixers are hosting the Celtics tomorrow night followed by a game at the Garden on Saturday. We are almost a quarter of the way through the season and the Sixers and Celts are both sitting at 10-8. These two games probably don’t mean as much to the Celtics as they do to the Sixers. Who knows when Bynum is going to be back. I have said it all along that if the Sixers can go .500 until Bynum is back they will be able to contend for a championship. However, if he gets pushed back any later than mid January I will have to retract that statement. Most years .500 would get you a spot in the playoffs easily in the East. This year I’m not so sure. I thought the Sixers would have the Atlantic locked and have Boston as their biggest threat but Brooklyn and New York decided to show up this season. The reason I say these two mean more to the Sixers than the Celtics is because this could possibly be the team going forward for the duration of the season. It’s possible there is no Bynum at all which should result in a blanket party for Sixers upper management for leading us all on, so this is really a test to see if they have what it takes. The Sixers beat them in the first match-up this year, and that is the game where I think something clicked with Evan Turner because he has been on a tear ever since. I think he is the X-factor in these two games along with Thad Young. Celtics don’t really have anyone who can match up with Thad because he’s big and athletic.
Unfortunately, it looks like the Sixers might not have Nick Young for these two games because he’s still battling vaginitis turf- toe. While Nick Young really helps the Sixers bench scoring which is the reason they have been struggling the past few games without him, I don’t think his absence will hurt them too much. Celtics can score at times but at other times they can be shut down with good, solid D which is what the Sixers play. Plus when the Sixers played the Celts earlier, the Sixers were without J-Rich who is a more consistent 3-point shooter so I’ll call it a wash. I honestly wish this wasn’t a home and home because I think most likely we are going to see a split. It is just human nature for Team A who won last night against Team B to relax while Team B needs to play harder to make up for the night before. But, since the Sixers have been owning the Celtics the past few years in regular season games I like a nice clean sweep. Jrue has been playing like an all-star point guard, and quite frankly if he doesn’t make it I will never watch an all-star game again. He’s averaging 18 points a game and 9 assists and has just simply taken over close games in crunch time and hitting clutch shots.
Keys in the Sixers 2 wins- Lavoie Allen plays shut down defense on KG, Dorell Wright and Jason Richardson are dripping like a Hanukkah candle from the 3 point line, and Thad Young and Turner rack up double digit points. Game. Set. Match
Game 1- Sixers 100-83
Game 2- Sixers 97-92
Maybe Rondo can try not to get thrown out of another big division game over a regular foul.
The Celtics and Heat are set to square off in about an hour on TNT, thank god. The longer I can go without having to hear Tommy Heinson’s voice the better. The Celtics are coming off a disappointing loss against the New York Knicks on Christmas day, and the Heat are coming off an impressive redemption win against the Mavericks as their 2011 Championship banner was raised to the rafters. It appears Paul Pierce won’t play again tonight, which is a huge loss for the Celtics. I did not get to watch any of the Christmas day game, but Rondo lead the Celtics with 31 points and 13 assists, having a very good game. I was not surprised that he played well. Rondo obviously can’t feel very secure being in Boston as they nearly traded him away in the offseason for Chris Paul, so it is in Rondo’s best interest that he plays at a very high level every game or he could be out the door. In my opinion, the Celtics know that Rondo is a pretty good player, but only if he has a supporting cast. With the big 3 nearing the end of their days in the NBA, the Celtics organization knows that in a few years, Rondo could be the only big name left in Boston (that is assuming you consider Rondo a big name). Chris Paul, as we all know, can at least keep a team afloat without a supporting cast, but I do not have much faith that Rondo could do the same. Look for Rondo to have another big game tonight with Pierce out, but for his efforts to come up small again. The Heat big 3 have a year under their belt now, and this year they could be a very scary team.
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