Nice to Meet you Jrue, Welcome to Phildelphia.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

With the 17th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the new old logo Philadelphia 76ers select Jrue Holiday from UCLA.

Coming into the night, Ty Lawson was the player I was hoping the Sixers would select.  How can you not draft Lawson; he was the leader on both sides of the court for the NCAA Champion Tarheels, and he is the basketball version of Brian Westbrook.  To see him get drafted with the very next pick after the Sixers by Minnesota, only to get traded to the Nuggets (who are going to be sick next year) hurt at first.  Shit it still feels like we missed an opportunity, but the more I see about Jrue the Damaja the more I like him.

Jrue is a 6′4, 200 pound, 19 year old point guard who was the 2007-08 Gatorade National Boys (HS) Basketball Player of the Year and self proclaimed “Floor General” at UCLA last year.  He fits exactly what the 76ers needed, especially with Andre Miller leaving in Free Agency (probably/hopefully).  We need to move on to a new era.

Forget Holiday’s 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game during his one year at UCLA.  The kid plays defense, hustles, passes the ball, has handle, court vision and can clearly score beyond what his college numbers indicate.  They don’t give High School POY honors to kids who can’t score.  Check out the McDonald’s All-American game highlights, we might have a problem here.

Best Kept Secret backdrop an added bonus to Holiday’s domination.

The Sixers clearly have a long ways to go, and although Thaddius and I both thought that Ty Lawson would have made a great Quarterback for the 76ers, there is a lot to like about the kid Jrue Holiday.

Check out more Jrue with a J Holiday media, including his college coaches assessment (and comparisons to Russell Westbrook), more highlights, plus some pause-able back tattoos

Still a ways to go, but if it started today...

Yes.

But as a Sixers fan, it’s hard not to with the way the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs seem to be shaping up.  Dwyane Wade and the young Heat are only two games ahead of the Sixers for the fifth spot in the East.  The benefits of having the fifth spot over their current sixth seeding are clear, it’s a matter of playing the Atlanta Hawks (6 games ahead of the Sixers) or Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs.

Going up against Orlando (aka Dwight Howard) would mean an immediate exit from the playoffs.  The Sixers have a much better chance hanging with the Hawks in the first round.  Even though Atlanta is a more talented and complete team than the 76ers, their inconsistent play leaves them open for an opportunistic team like ours.

With a lucky 13 games left in the season, the Sixers have a legitimate shot to steal the fifth seed in the East and have a chance to make it to the second round of the playoffs.  Not bad for a team whose $82 million dollar free agent signing played only 29 games and averaged 13.8 points/game.

The Sixers are back home tonight against the Timberwolves, and need to win the easy ones as they play Cleveland twice and Boston once in these final games.

Maybe instead of getting injured, one of Wade’s infamous “marijuana sex parties” will get busted up by the police.  His immediate suspension would give the Sixers the opportunity to gain on Miami’s two game lead for the 5 seed.

Daaaamn Kobe! Who stepped on your face? Andre IIIIgg-gwwaaa-DALA-Dala-dala?

Andre Iguodala just out-Kobed Kobe Bryant, hitting the game winning 3-pointer as time ran out in the 4th quarter.

The 76ers pulled out a close win tonight, 94-93 against the Lakers to maintain the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.

After coming out old soda flat early in the game, the Sixers stuck around with the lethargic Lakers.  The line-up of Iggy, Miller, Reggie Evans, Lou Williams and Donyell Marshall closed out the game, and Marshall’s 3 for 3 3’s were key.  Scoring was pretty spread out, and DiLeo did a nice job of rotating in players in situations and got the most out of everyone.

Iguodala really showed me something in the final minute of the game.  With under a minute left, Lou Williams declined the check back to Andre Miller with a fresh shot clock on offense and he and took it to the rim only to get blocked by Gasol.  As the Sixers ran back to defend, Andre was visibility upset with Lou, clapping in his face.  Kobe then hit a long 2 in right in front of AI with six seconds remaining.  AI D’ed up tough, but Kobe will hit that clutch shot regardless, whether he had 9 points in the game prior to that or 59.

But for the last shot of the game, Iggy was able to get open to get the inbound pass, dribble twice, and knock down the game winning three pointer right in Trevor Ariza’s eye.

After the game, Iguodala said “coach told me to get to the lane, and I said NO.  I want to win this game right now” in his immediate post-game interview.  And he was right, who wants to go into overtime in LA?  The man stepped up, and proved once again why he is the core of the franchise.

I’m enjoying this late-night basketball and there is more in store, as this was the first game in a five game west coast road trip.

First Dwight, now CP3? That schedule isn't conducive to winning

The Sixers were back to their choke artist ways on Saturday night, losing to the Orlando Magic 106-100.  There were some positives to take away from the game, but the 76ers inability to score late in the game resulted in their 5th loss of the seven games since the All-Star break.

Sixers vs. Magic Game Notes:

• The Sixers came out with strong team rebounding and Dwight Howard didn’t get a rebound until midway through the 2nd quarter.  Superman ended the game with only 12 points and 8 rebounds.
• Dalembert didn’t contribute much, and again struggled with foul trouble.  Sammy played only 16 minutes, and managed only 8 points and 6 rebounds.
• The Magic adjusted by passing the ball out to waiting shooters around the 3-point line when Howard was double teamed in the paint.  Courtney Lee threw up 12 threes himself, as Orlando ended up hitting 15 of their 37 3-point attempts.  Although many of the threes didn’t fall early in the game, the Magic’s shooting was key in their late game comeback.
• Andre Miller did everything he could offensively to keep the team in the ballgame late, but couldn’t finish off the Magic by himself.  Miller ended with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.

Tonight, CP3 is going to strip the 76ers faster than a dance girl on a Friday night

Now the NBA’s other 23 year old superstar is coming to town, and the outlook doesn’t look much brighter for tonight’s game.  CP3 and the Hornets have won their past four straight games, and Paul has a way of owning the Sixers.

The SOB nation will be fully represnted at the game, as Espozita and CheezWhizard (formally DawkPlex) will be a few rows being the visitors bench throwing dimes at Chris Paul.  Yea CP3, we’re good at that too.

Do they cancel NBA games due to snow?

Last night’s 98-96 last-second loss to the average-to-poor New Jersey Nets exemplifies the way the 2008 - 2009 season has gone thus far for the Sixers.  Ups and Downs, we’re a team that isn’t quite there.

The Nets did thieve Dallas in the Jason Kidd for Devon Harris trade last year though.

No 76er players were selected to this year’s All-Star game, and that time off allowed the Sixers sit back and view their situation from afar.  That’s the last thing the team needed, and they have come out 0-4 after the break.

The reality that the Sixers saw is that they are a very mediocre team that wins off effort.  It’s hustle plays on defense and on the boards that spring those enjoyable Andre Miller outlet pass to out-of-control Iduodala fast breaks.  The 76ers are nothing short of bad in the half court offense, and if they didn’t have their explosive transitional offense the team wouldn’t be as close to .500 as they currently are (27-28).

The Sixers will turn it around down the stretch, and the next two games against the Wizards and Knicks will help it start (the following two against ORL and NO will bring us back to .500).  The recent late-game meltdowns/missed free throws/inconsistent play won’t stop the Sixers from reaching expectations this year; a playoff entrance and first round exit.

Not only did Andre Miller’s fight through the calf strain he suffered on Wednesday night, but he did it with style, posting 30 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists in 40 minutes.  Unfortunately, Miller’s heroics wasn’t enough to lift the Sixers over Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat.

Andre Miller was just about the only Sixer to show up on Saturday afternoon in Miami

Miller did everything he could, although the same can’t be said for many other Sixers.  AI was only able to put up 14 points, hitting only 4 of his 16 shot attempts.  Willie Green, who I’ve been disappointed with all year, started the game but was a cold as ice 0-9 from the field.  Addressing the glaring need at scoring guard is looking like a top priority for next season. Speaking of glaring needs, Samuel Dalembert put up another gem of a game, playing only 22 minutes due to foul trouble en route to a 2 point, 7 rebound outburst.  Ugh.

This is their third consecutive loss coming out of the All Star break, and the Sixers clearly struggling to find consistency both offensively and defensively.  As we continue to dig ourselves deeper into our hole, the Heat currently stand at fifth overall in the East.  Miami’s trade of Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to Toronto for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon is looking like a pretty great move for the Heat at the moment, as the two players put up a combined 29 points and 12 rebounds in their second game with their new team.  An SOB salute goes out to Heat General Manage Pat Riley for swinging the deal.

Andre Miller has been the glue that holds the Sixers together.  Night in and night out, he has been relied upon to fuel the 76er’s quick strike offense, be it by creating for other players or taking matters into his own hands and scoring.  Thus far in the 2008 - 2009 season, Andre has averaged 15.8 points, 6.4 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

Maybe Andre cutting his hair has something to do with the potential end of his 501 straight games played streak

Not only has Miller’s game been consistent, but coming into Wednesday night’s contest with the Nuggets, Miller had played in 501 consecutive games.  That streak, the longest of any active NBA player, may be in jeopardy on Saturday when the Sixers take on the Miami Heat.  Andre was forced to the game in the 3rd quarter with a strain to his right calf, and underwent an MRI Thursday morning.  His injury put the kibosh on any potential trade (thankfully), as the NBA’s trade deadline quietly came and went at 3PM today.  The injury sure won’t help the Sixers get back on the right track following pathetic losses to Indiana and Denver following the NBA All-Star break.

Miller is currently listed as day-to-day, and even though I don’t expect a long absence, the Sixers will be missing his court general mentality greatly until he’s back at full strength.  If there is any silver lining here, Miller’s injury gives DiLeo and Stefanski a chance to see Lou Williams and Royal Ivey platoon the minutes that Andre’s injury will create.  When it comes to Lou, the extra playing time will provide an opportunity to prove he can start in the NBA and continue to refine his skills at the point.  Royal “Wit Cheese” Ivey has much more to gain, as his contract expires at season’s end.  So far this season, Royal’s been a solid contributor off the bench and has exceeded expectations with impressive defense and 3-point shooting.

Get well soon, Andre.  We will need the game’s best head/ball fake back ASAP in order to get back on track in the second half of the season and upcoming playoff push.

Reach Out and Touch Someone

Melanie Fitzpatrick, the 24 year old fox from Folsom PA, was featured in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.  The annual skin-mag was released February 10th 2009.

“It’s an honor,” said Fitzpatrick. “I grew up reading SI… it’s very prestigious.”  Prestigious is a fairly impressive adjective for a SI model, way to represent.

Good thing a Philadelphia sports great like Melanie was featured this year.  Otherwise there would be no reason to purchase, other than Bar Refaeli, Brooklyn Decker and Danica Patrick.  Danica, if your reading, I need a ride to work tomorrow.

Last night Nate Robinson was the kryponite to Dwight Howard’s Superman in the Dunk Contest and the pnt sized Knick rightly won the contest.  The win was Robinson’s second victory in the contest - the first came in 2006 when our very own Andre Iguodola was flat out robbed of the title.  As everyone remembers, Nate took about 50 attempts (before there was a time limit) to pull off a dunk that wasn’t even all that impressive to begin with to beat Iggy.

Just to remind everyone - here’s the show Iggy put on three years ago.

And here’s the highlights of Robinson from last night.  Note Reggie Miller mentioning Iggy getting robbed during the telecast. Robinson’s highlights from last night after the jump

In ex-76er news, Allen Iverson has cut his braids.  I would say Iverson should look out for type of Samson-like loss of power, but I’m pretty sure his skills were lost somewhere during the long trip from Philadelphia to Denver.  By the time he got to Detroit, he was more of a Delilah anyways.

Regardless of what anyone says about AI, he still ranks among my top-5 Philadelphia sports figures of all time (my lifetime).  That NBA Finals trip in 2000 will go down in history, and Iverson stepping over Tyron Lue is the second most bad-ass moment in 76ers history behind Dr. J choking out Larry Bird.