All these guys are fringe NBA talents and guess what? Even as fringe talents, they might be in for a nice payday with the new CBA next year. And finally with all the injuries to the starters, they are getting a chance to prove it.
The Pels are coming into this game with something the Sixers have nothing of: Confidence.
Quietly they've won 3 of 4 with their only loss coming at the Spurs (a perfect home team). They've covered 4 of 4. They've also done it with permutations of this current lineup.
Do these guys care? Yes. That matters.
Tim Frazier (an ex Sixer. Good!) scored 17 and had 13 assists against the Nets last game.
Luke Babbit since being inserted into the starting lineup after Holiday went down:
21, 4a, 1r
22, 3a, 10r
He cares folks.
Alexis Ajinca
16p, 6r; 8p, 8r; 18p, 9r (against the Spurs!). He cares.
You may not know these guys but they are playing for something: their future...something The Sixers have in very bleak terms.
4 Alvin Gentry has the Pels running and gunning.
Did anyone see the Pels beat the Nets? I did. They were flying up and down the court. Why? Gentry is using what he has for what he knows best. The run and gun. The shoot first ask questions later. And like Steve Nash did with D'Antoni, the players embrace it because it inflates their stats. The Nets stink. We know that. But they beat the Nets by 19 on the road. That's a dismantling of a bad team. That's what good teams and teams that care do.
This New Orleans team is young, motivated, has won a couple of games, has had their offense opened up and are embracing the time they have as starters for their future.
Does that sound like a team that has given up? Does that sound like a team that a 9-68 team should be giving points to? They clearly are not tanking folks and another win will not hurt their draft position.
But Vegas thinks you will think otherwise because you can't immediately identify these players. Well can anyone here identify the current Sixers team in a police lineup? Not exactly.
The Pels are going to score folks. They shot a scorching 55% against the Nets. They shoot 44% the previous game (43% from 3) vs the nuggets. Against The Spurs they shot 45% and 47% rom 3! Put that up against the Sixers shooting stats above.
5. Pels are distributing the ball
A team that moves the ball wins. Bad teams do not move the ball. In the past three games the Pels have 27,29, and 31 assists. Compare this to the 24,23,20 assists. Not to mention they rank 21st in the league in assists. And that was when they were mostly healthy.
6. More Sixer futility
And listen, since January 20th the Sixers have won 3 games (all with Noel and two with Okafer): two over the Nets who the Pels just beat by 19 (both were close games) and one over the Suns mired in the worst losing slump in team history. Again, teams that have given up. That's 33 games folks. 3-30...and you are LAYING points tonight.
And now they are going to win against a team that cares and comes in win confidence and pep in its step?
Lastly. They have nine wins. This isn't the last game of the season! Team will be resting players if they are out of it or have secured a playoff spot so this isn't the must win the books are making the line out to be. All this and the Sixers must win by 3 to beat us? I'll take the Pels in that spot.
I see a close game with the better shooting team, the run and gun team, the better rebounding team, and better passing team, and the team of young upstarts taking out the team that only has motivation to avoid a record..and they have several chances to avoid the record after this anyway. Remember this Sixer team was getting 11 from the Pacers last game and with a mere 2:00 left lost by 13 screwing over every Sixer backer squandering a cover in the bat of an eyelash. Very hard for them to close the deal. And if they beat us by a basket on a last second 2 pointer, we win.
Nerlans Noel is listed as doubtful tonight.
Let's get 10 in a row.
The pick:
New Orleans +2.5 over Sixers