The Sixers take on New Orleans tonight at 7pm at the Wachovia Center.
Hello and happy Monday to all you Sixers fans out there. Tonight the New Orleans Hornets make the trip to the City of Brotherly Love for a bout with the beloved Sixers. The Sixers are coming off a solid road victory at the hands of the Detroit Pistons on Saturday in which six players scored in double figures. Continuing that production would be ideal for the Sixers this evening. New Orleans on the other hand comes to the Wachovia Center winners of their last two games. The Hornets defeated the Nets and then the Wizards.
The main focus here will be to try and contain the amount of production that Chris Paul or CP3 as many know him puts out. This is not an easy task nor should it be looked upon as totally possible. Paul is one of the best and has been mentioned as the best point guards in the league today. His ability to score, dish, play defense and make his teammates better is second to none. So how do the Sixers slow down the arsenal? How about Eddie Jordan try to show a bit of zone defense tonight to switch things up and make the Hornets shoot over the zone? Instead of always sticking to the man-to-man situation and allowing dribble drives, slow the Hornets down with a few zone looks.
Secondly, the Sixers were very productive in their win against Detroit. Well, that production needs to continue and the inconsistency stops here. In order to make a second half run and possibly challenge for a playoff spot, each player on the Sixers needs to be held accountable for their roles and produce each and every night. Williams and Iverson needs to look to score the ball and create plays on defense. Andre the Iggy-Dala needs to simply be Andre and contribute in all categories from points to rebounding. Sammy Dalembert, Elton Brand Thad Young, you know what to do as far as your roles. Be the “Big Men” this team needs and thrives to have.
Here are the match ups for tonight’s game:
Thaddeus Young vs. Peja Stojakovic- Peja can straight shoot it and young can handle Peja with the blow by on offense. Defensively, get a hand Peja’s face at all times.
Andre Iguodala vs. David West- West is a strong bull who has sweet touch on the mid range jumper. Iguodala should be able to take him off the dribble however, hopefully forcing West into some ticky tack foul situations.
Samuel Dalembert vs. Emeka Okafur- Okafur has the build and fundamentals to win this match up. Dalembert simply has the size and length. Sticking to fundamentals such as boxing out and limiting the space Okafur has to work with are key for Sammy D.
Willie Green, Allen Iverson vs. Devin Brown- Brown has shown the ability to be able to score and create, but he does not worry me too much. Whoever draws his card tonight.. be prepared to stop him from beating you.
Louis Williams, Allen Iverson vs. Chris Paul (CP3)- With CP3, all you can do is contain. Make him give the ball up to the other men on his squad and make them beat you. Do not let Paul go off on a tangent of highlight reels and a huge statistical night because if you do, the result will not be positive.
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