Philadelphia at Phoenix

[Real Deal]

TIME: 9:00 PM ET

TV: NBALP

[Phightins]

Not a bad debut for Nik Vucevic so far.

[Built Ford Tough]

The Sixers really took it to the Suns at the beginning of the 3rd quarter and that was really the difference in this game. I can't believe how flat the Suns came out to start the 2nd half, but give full credit to the Sixers for absolutely dominating the first 7 minutes or so and going on that 19-0 run.

 

I really like how Iguodala's jumper is looking to start off the season. I know he missed that game tying three against the Blazers the other night, but even in that game he was 4-8 from three and tonight he went 3-3 and 6-9 from the field in total. If he can continue this hot shooting of his and become a consistent threat from deep, he is going to be a very dangerous offensive player when you consider his ability to break down the defense off of the bounce and his very good playmaking ability. It will really open up his offensive game.

 

I also liked what I saw from Turner. He did a great job on the glass and with his excellent ball handling abilities, it is a very valuable thing to have him be able to crash the defensive glass and start the break immediately. Him and Iggy being such good rebounders from the wing spots really allows this team to get out and run and when they can get out in the open floor, they are a tough team to beat.

 

Hawes continues his strong rebounding which is nice to see considering the Sixers lack of size.

 

Holiday needs to reel himself in a bit, though. He has gotten off to a poor start to the season and a lot of that can be blamed on his poor shot selection. He really needs to do a better job of picking his spots and not settling for contested jumpers like he did in tonights game. He is too quick and creative to be settling for tough jumpers.

 

For the Suns, this was just an ugly game. Nash really tried to take on more of a scoring role but his shot was off all game long. The same can be said for Hill.

 

The only bright spots were the play of Hakim Warrick, Robin Lopez and Ronnie Price off of the bench. I believe Warrick ended up with 14 points, Price had 16 and Lopez continued to show that he can step outside of the paint and knock down the 15-18 foot jumper. He also did a nice job of battling down low, even when the game was out of reach during that 4th quarter. I have liked what I have seen from him so far in the first two games of the season.