More Mo ball

(BRING THE OLD SIXERS UNIFORMS BACK ! S4G CAMPAIGN – SIGN HERE)

If Sixers players wanted to show they were happy that Mo Cheeks got a one year extention, they did it pretty well. And if this is how they will play until the end of this season and for the whole next one, Stefanski’s move was good.

Ok, we all know it’s not gonna be always like yesterday, but still the 124-84 thrashing of the Knicks (24-31, .436) was nice to watch for many reasons.

The NBA is fun, and its schedule puts teams in weird situations. This game was the second of the back-to-back for both Philadelphia and New York: Sixers were coming from the AWFUL loss vs the Timberwolves, one of the worst teams in the League, Knicks from an amazing win at Washington, where they set a franchise record for points scored in overtime (23).

Guess what, Sixers TOYED (I’m stealing this from Walt Frazier) with the Knicks for 48 minutes and the game was over after one quarter (37-17). I have really troubles trying to describe what happened last night. Basically Sixers outplayed the Knicks in every possible way, scoring a ton of points in transition and even knocking down threes. On the other side New York was throwing a sort of “turnover party”, getting killed under the glasses and on every hustle play.

When Calvin Booth checks in and finds a way to score 4 points in the second quarter (ended at 72-36 !!!) , you already know all that you need. Flashes:

* with the score at 33-15 in the first, Sixers had many FASTBREAK points (20) than Knicks’ entire offensive production

* New York had 10 turnovers in the first quarter (!) and 17 by halftime

* at the break, Sixers’ 14 steals were a new franchise record

* Sixers reached a 30 point lead with 5.40 to play in the second (58-28, Carney’s layup)

* the lead was stretched to 40 with 5.50 left in the third, when Iguodala knocked down a three with the shot clock expiring

* Thaddeus Young made Sixers reach the 100 point plateu before the end of the third (!)

Add embarassing missed dunks (Curry, Balkman), airballs (Crawford), bricks (every Knick), a comical turnover immediately after a time out, layups getting blocked and you got the complete picture of NY last night. I won’t go on, you got the point.

Iguodala, Green (especially in the first) and Miller (a double double) had a fantastic game and our back court was followed by the rest of the squad. For the Knicks, Curry had a good start but then the night came, for him and his team mates.

Thaddeus Young set a new career high with 20 points coming off the bench: Evans was put in the starting line up again for defensive purposes, to guard Randolph. Thad’s ability to control his body in the air is something I rarely saw. He’s… fluid.

For more coverage and some funny gems check Aarick’s recap on “Passion & Pride” or Brian at “Depressed fan”, explaining how New York even double teamed Reggie Evans (LOL).

SIXERS4GUIDOS BONUS STATS AND RANDOM THOUGHTS

Jason Smith rimmed an open dunk as well and on the following possession he went up for another try but was fouled: he missed both free throws – Gordan Giricek made a couple of threes in garbage time – Mo Cheeks called a timeout in the fourth after a 0-4 Knicks run: the score was 105-57 !! – Frazier is an excellent analyst – To me Sixers’ play of the night came in the first quarter, when Sam blocked Zach Randolph, starting a fastbreak led by Miller and ended with a three point shot by Green – Iguodala had a terrific fastbreak finish as well, showed in the picture – I really feel sorry for Knicks fans, such as Stop Mike Lupica, that was ugly to watch.

Trade deadline is few hours close and I hope I WILL NOT have to make a new post to comment a deal involving Andre Miller.

Sixer meet the red hot Magic on Friday, check Third quarter collapse for the latest news about Orlando and to read their perspectives.