A lot can happen in the space of a week. For the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers, this past week saw a Michael Carter-Williams-less team beat yet another supposed title contender in the form of the Houston Rockets. The week also saw Philadelphia suffer two defeats — one of which was a 37-point one — to two teams markedly better than them, in games that if you didn’t see, you should feel relieved. Whatever you spent your time doing was better than those basketball games.
We’ll tackle the win over Houston first, as it was not only the funnest of the trio of games Philly played, but the only one the Sixers managed to win. And what a win it was. The caveat here is that the Rockets were without James Harden, but it must also be noted that the home team was without Rookie of The Year candidate Michael Carter-Williams.
No MCW? No problem. Tony Wroten stepped up to the plate and some. The former Memphis Grizzly recorded a remarkable triple-double in his first-ever NBA start. That’s some going for a player Philadelphia acquired for basically nothing. Wroten finished with 18 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds.
James Anderson also shined in the game against Houston. He hit a career-high 36 points and sunk the buzzer-beater 3 that sent the game to overtime. Quite a game for the former Rocket.
Aside from the individual performances, this was a really great game for the whole team. With 10 minutes to go, the Sixers were 10 points down. Many teams that are bereft of talent and have no real expectation would have given up. Not these plucky 76ers. They fought back and rallied and gave the home crowd something to be happy about.
And then we got the Sixers that we predicted we would get.
Despite 27 points for Evan Turner, Philadelphia were powerless to the Jeff Teague–Al Horford pick-and-roll and fell 113-110 to the Atlanta Hawks. Teague and Horford combined for 55 points in the game and despite the deficit only being 10, the Hawks were never really in danger here.
The New Orleans Pelicans — behind former Sixer Jrue Holiday — killed the 76ers on Saturday night. And when I say killed, I’m not exaggerating. Thirty-seven points was the margin and it could have been more. The Pellies were the better team from start to finish and in all honesty, this won’t be the last time a team beats these Sixers by more than 30 points. Time to get used to it, I suppose.
Other notes
- Spencer Hawes is continuing to be a real threat from downtown; shooting 48.6 percent from four attempts per game. He is opening driving lanes for Evan Turner and Tony Wroten. If he can keep above 40 percent, I can see many teams making a move for him. His combination of shooting, size and his underrated passing ability (I can’t believe I’m praising Spencer Hawes) could mean he’s a valuable asset to a contending team. Oh, and he dunked over Dwight Howard this week. So yeah, go Spence!
- I know, I know, it’s November, but looking at the freshmen at college this year is making me excited for the NBA Draft. If the Sixers are bad enough — or luck out on the lottery — one of Jabari Parker, Julius Randle or Andrew Wiggins could be plying their trade in the City of Brotherly Love next season. If that’s not motivation to keep watching these Sixers struggle, I don’t know what is.
- Evan Turner said lame bloggers should get a life. Let’s hope I’m not one of them, Evan.
Weekly awards:
Player of the week: Tony Wroten. This guy can play. Memphis will regret that trade in a few months — mark my words.
Made-up quote of the week: “ Thaaaaat’s more like it, good job” — Sam Hinkie
Worst Player of the Week: No one. These Sixers are awesome.