Tag Archive: andre iguodala

The Saddest Sixers Post of the Year

April 13, 2011 Randy Neil

Man, things are looking ugly. Lou Williams is still uncertain about his playoff chances. The Sixers clinched the 7th seed spot. The Heat clinched the 2nd seed. We are doomed.

If the Celtics ended up holding the 2nd seed, or New York didn’t climb back into the 6th seed, I would have said we had a chance at a playoff series victory, but now, we don’t have a chance in hell.

Let’s take a look at the regular season games between the Sixers/Heat shall we?

October 27th, 2010 – The Heat visit Philadelphia for the 2nd game of the year, and end up cruising over the Sixers, 97-87. Wade grabs 30 pts, and the top scorer on our team for that game… Evan Turner. That’s right. He went 7-10 in that game, grabbing 16 points.

November 16th, 2010 – The Sixers now visit Miami for the first time, and meet almost the exact same fate. Miami takes the game 99-90. Wade, Bosh, and James combine for 61 points.

March 25th, 2011 – This was the most recent loss, and probably the most heartbreaking. The Sixers led this game with about 8 minutes to go by 10 points, and they gave that all away, eventually losing 99-111. Certainly, many could speculate that this was the game that started the Sixers slump.

The Sixers have their last game of the season tonight, facing the Detroit Pistons. Andre Iguodala will be sitting out to rest his tendinitis and Andres Nocioni will be starting in his place to help Evan Turner ‘adjust to coming off the bench for the playoffs.’ No matter what, the 76ers will end the season with a .500 record or better.

Looking back on last year, I’ll take it.

I still see this year as a huge improvement, and listening to Doug Collins always seems to help comfort my soul a little bit in dire times.

Mmmm… I’m still frightened. Thanks anyway coach.

Most are predicting this series to be an easy sweep for the Heat. I’m hoping otherwise.

The games begin on Saturday at 3:30 ET on ABC. At least our boys will have huge national coverage! So with one last battle cry, I will exclaim (in a very cowardly voice) :

BRING THE KING.

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Bring the King. Off With His Head!!

March 25, 2011 Randy Neil

Well, it’s Friday. 6 days to go until opening day, and things have gotten worse. Chase Utley has officially been moved to the DL, Brad Lidge has been moved to the DL, Cole Hamels got lit up yesterday, Roy Oswalt got beaned in the head with a ball and is recovering…. It wouldn’t be a typical Phillies season without some drama. The Braves look amazing, and although people have been doing nothing but talking shit on the Mets (like me), they look pretty good so far too.

Every analyst keeps showing concern for the offensive voids in the lineup, and now, I am too. Maybe we are really gonna feel the burn from Jayson Werth signing elsewhere. Rauuuuuuuul ain’t getting any younger and Rollins has looked like shit all spring. I expect a slow start from him, followed by a slow finish. Dominic Brown hasn’t done a thing to make me feel he’s truly ready for a starting role, and if the Mets don’t want Castillo, I can’t fathom why we would. Somebody better get Howard a whoooooole mess of Subway Feasts.

It’s really heating up in theheadrush.com March Madness competition. I have the lead right now, but it’s thin. Adam’s bracket has basically busted because of Syracuse, although with some pretty extreme circumstances, I believe he can still win. Duke lost last night, in very poor fashion, not only making Brendan elated, but also giving him a pretty good opportunity to win this little competition of ours.

He has Ohio State winning the whole thing, and 32 points would be a huge boost in the standings for him. I can’t have that. Here’s to praying that they choke. That’s basically the only way he’s gonna win, and I simply can’t have that. YOU can’t have that. The universe will collapse.

I know I don’t talk about the Sixers much, but I think I should note the importance of tonight’s game. The 76ers travel down to Miami to face the Heat, a team we are most likely to face in the play offs. The Sixers actually have a good chance to win this game. Jrue Holiday will probably be guarding Dwayne Wade, a daunting task for anyone. That’s my main concern. Iggy will be on James most likely, and I’m never disappointed in Andre’s defense. We have the big men so Bosh will have some trouble. Our bench is 10x deeper than theirs. It gives us hope and a great way to gauge ourselves going into the playoffs.

Bring the king.

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After The Thunder, Comes the Tears

March 10, 2011 Randy Neil

Alright, so we didn’t win. We didn’t win. Ahhhhhhhhhhh that’s still taking some time to sink in. Up 5 points with 40 seconds to go, we were hanging with the OKC for the entire game, making shots, playing OK defense, but in the end it wasn’t enough. Kevin Durantula made an amazing 3 (which he got fouled on) to tie the game into overtime, and it was pretty much all downhill from there.

But, I will reflect on some of the good things. I had the most amazing seats I’ve ever had in the history of sports ever. Front row, right behind the Sixers bench, where I was literally feet away from every player I’ve been watching on TV for the past 2 years. We had our own waitress, who brought us things (and women) if we desired them, and access to the Lexus Club. It felt nice to smooze with the elite of Philadelphia. I saw some 80 year old man with two 30 year old ladies on his arm. BALLIN. Rich people don’t get hype like us common folk though, so to say that the crowd around us was bland would be an understatement. It seemed more about the outing than the game, and that ain’t right. Where’s my Miller High Life guy?

There are some things you get with a higher price ticket aren’t necessary supposed to be included. Hearing Doug Collins call out his players, directing them on how to play, was amazing. It was like watching a gladiator in Roman times screaming for the kill. You could watch the players jabber to each other back and forth, truly enjoying the game. One play Collins was so mad about a foul that he grabbed the ball and refused to give it back to the ref. That was directly in front of me, about 5 feet away. Awesome.

Eric Snow, one of Comcast’s TV play by play announcers almost got into a fist fight prior to the game. Here we all were, soaking in the seats we had got, and I look over and some guy calls out Snow for falling asleep on TV a few games ago during a Rockets’ game. Jokingly of course, and the man did fall asleep during a game on live TV, it’s all over Youtube, but Eric Snow did not like this one bit. He stands up, turns around, and starts talking shit to the guy in the crowd, about 2 rows behind us. It went on for like 5 minutes! Security ended up coming over, but apparently the gentlemen were able to squash it. Like really Snow?? You DID fall asleep on TV. It IS funny. Why you getting salty dawg??

Ah well. I wasn’t expecting a win last night, coming off an away game the night before, but I certainly hoped for one. I was impressed with how well the Sixers still managed to hang with the #3 team in the West, almost winning the game if it wasn’t for Durantula’s amazing 3 pointer. The Wells Fargo Center was packed, more than I’ve ever seen it. I got on TV a bunch, and now I have a new Facebook picture. That was well worth the price of admission.

I’ll leave you with two videos. This NBA 2K11 commercial I never saw on TV once, but it’s got Iggy and Russell Westbrook in it, pretty funny.

And, since baseball season is right around the corner, the classic Carlos Ruiz post game interview

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Before the Storm Comes the Thunder

March 9, 2011 Randy Neil

Man, all these NCAA violations are getting me fired up. First, BYU suspends their second best player before the biggest national tournament because he got freaky in pre-marital sex, then today Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel gets suspended 2 games and a quarter million dollar fine for knowing about players selling their used uniforms for cash.

It’s a god damn joke that players are intended to make absolutely no money the entire duration of their career at a college they help make millions of dollars. It’s a quarter million dollar joke that Jim Tressel is losing for knowing about the events and not disclosing it. What’s really stupid is the NCAA has a system where college recruits are allowed to visit schools and players, but they can’t bribe them in any way, shape, or form before they enter one of the largest grossing industries in the entire world. That’s insane.

You know what calmed me down though? THE SIXERS BABY!! Tough week ahead for the Sixers, going for a 4 game stretch in 5 days, but guess what? After tonight’s win against the Pacers, the 76ers are 16 of their last 21 games. I saw a lot of good signs from the Sixers today, most notably Evan Turner’s continual emergence from his cocoon into a NBA player. He looks mean now. He knows how to draw fouls. He’s asking for the ball all the time now (maybe too damn much.) But I certainly don’t see the same timid, uncomfortable player I saw when the season began.

Iggy getting two triple-doubles in a row. Brand looking like a damn monster this season. Yesterday on PTI Tony Kornheiser said he still thinks the Knicks are better than the 76ers. Call me crazy, but I don’t. The Knicks gave up a lot of good positional players to grab Melo, and no sweet cut-off jean jacket is going to save you with how many crappy bench players you have. The Sixers are a half-game behind the Knicks.

Last year I went to 7 Sixers games, and they lost every single one. I watched the old Heat blow us out by 40 (Adam wrote a post about it.) I watched the Magic destroy us. I watched Bosh on the Raptors get like 19 rebounds. We were awful. I probably spent about $400 on tickets last year, and the only memories I can walk away with are the friends I went with, and Matisyahu beat-boxing the National Anthem on Jewish Heritage Night. Damn that was fun.

Tonight, I’m going to spend about two-thirds of that to watch just one game. A game that I don’t expect the Sixers to win. Coming off a game the night before, 644 miles away, doesn’t give me much hope for a win, never mind that it’s against one of the top 3 teams in the Western Conference. But with all that in mind, I still got the best tickets I could possibly find, first row behind the 76ers bench. And I’m still going to cheer. I’m going to cheer so loud that Coach Collins is going to turn around and give me Matt Cord’s job for play-by-play announcements over the intercom (just listen to me, I’m good.) I hope the Sixers embrace the challenge as much as I do.

I want this win. I need this win. You think the Sixers could finally get some love after upsetting the best team in the NBA already, but I suppose upsetting the top scorer in the league Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder will do just fine as well.

Bring the Thunder boys.

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Last Word on Iguodala

January 21, 2011 Adam Thomas


This is it, after this, I will no longer be posting about Andre Iguodala.  But I had to post about last night.

Here’s what happened. Sixers down by 3.  Time expiring.  Iggy shoots a three.  Misses BUT gets fouled.  Awesome.  He hits the first one.  Hits the second one.  And then…

CLANK!

Misses the third one.  Misses a chance to tie the game.  Then, with the Sixers still down THREE mind you and with even less time left in the game (about 11 seconds) he gets the ball and shoots a TWO point jump shot that again clanks off the rim.  Is he the dumbest player ever? Why are you shooting a two when you’re down three with 11 seconds left?  Good God man, you might be the dumbest 80 million dollar player ever.

Here’s what one of the writers over at Liberty Ballers, the best place to go for all things Sixers, wrote about the miss: “Despite a very good overall game, one that saw him score 19 points on 11 shots, dish out 5 assists, commit no turnovers, and hold Stephen Jackson to 14 points on 16 shots, I’m sure all the talking heads will mention tomorrow is Iguodala’s missed free throw.  Whatever.”

Well, yeah.  Of course that’s what all the talking heads will talk about.  Because it’s called a “FREE throw” it’s supposed to be a gimmie. But with the game on the line, he choked.  Cause he is a choke artist.  He is a great third man on a team, a decent second option and a horrible “super star.”

He needs to make that shot.  But he didn’t and he never will.

You know why all the “talking heads” will be talking about that missed free throw?  Because he is the Sixers “Best Player” and he is making 80 million dollars and he is supposed to win games for us.  But he doesn’t.  He never did.  Actually, check that, I remember that one playoff game against Orlando when he hit a three pointer to win the game.  But you know what’s funny about that?  He missed a free throw that would’ve put the game away just a possession earlier.  Then made a miracle three and acted like he was the shit.

He’s not the shit.  He is shit.

Get rid of him and let Turner take his minutes.

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The Sixers Blow…another game

January 20, 2011 Adam Thomas

That seemed impossible.  Up 4 with 20 seconds to play, I thought for sure the Sixers had the game in the bag.  But then, of course, they blew it.

Mark Zumoff said something like this right before the final Magic play of regulation, “Well, the Sixers are up 4 with 20 seconds left to play…you would think they’re gonna win unless the unthinkable happens and they foul someone taking a three pointer.”

Aaaaaaaand….guess what happened?  THAT!  EXACTLY THAT!

Andre “I am the biggest idiot and the worst 80 million dollar player ever” Iguodala tries to follow his man, puts a hand in his face and gets called for a foul as the player drills the three pointer.  Was it a foul?  Of course not.  But here’s the bigger question: WHAT THE HELL IS IGGY DOING EVEN GETTING NEAR THAT MAN WHEN THEY ARE UP BY 4 WITH 20 SECONDS LEFT?  GET AWAY FROM HIM IGGY YOU FREAKING IDIOT!  GET. AWAY. FROM. HIM!

Even if he makes the three pointer, guess what happens?  The Sixers are still up by one, they in bound, get fouled, shoot free throws.

That’s how smart teams do it.  But this is the Sixers.  Morons.  Losers.  And let me repeat that one more time.  They are losers.

They pissed away a 7 pt lead in the 4th quarter.  A second before that Magic 4 pt play, Lou Williams missed a free throw that would’ve put them up 5 and made that 4 pt play inconsequential.  But he clanked it.  Cause he is a loser.

Then, after the Magic tied the game, what play do they draw up?  Have Lou dribble the final seconds off the clock at the top of the key and launch up a terrible long range fade-away three pointer that almost drops.  Genius.  Freaking idiots.

Oh and since it worked so well at the end of regulation, they choose to do the same play at the end of overtime, only this time, they let Iggy dribble down the final seconds only to clank a lay up because he is a loser and a waste of space.

Trade him.  Trade him.  TRADE.  HIM.

And forget this team.  At best, they’re a 7 seed getting eliminated in the first round.  At worst, they’re what I watched last night.

Forget about them.  The rest of Philadelphia already has.

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