Phillies Begin 2nd Half of Season

The All-Star break is over, and the Phillies begin the 2nd half of their season tonight with a 4 game series in Chicago to play the Cubs.

The Phillies unfortunately with their poor play over the past month and a half leave them with a lot of work to do in the 2nd half of the season. The Phillies are perenially a very good 2nd half team recently, but you hate to have to rely on that in order to make the playoffs. The Phillies currently sit 4.5 games back of the NL East leading Atlanta Braves. The Mets are in 2nd place, 4 games behind the Braves.

The Phillies have had their injury issues, but you don't want to blame all of their problems on the injuries. Bottom line, the Phillies offense the first half of the season is the worst it has been in a long time. Sitting out parts of the first half of the season were Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, and Carlos Ruiz. The Phillies still are without Polanco, who is due back possibly this weekend, and Chase Utley, who will probably be out for another month. Ryan Howard has been the only real consistent bat in the lineup, as he had an all-star first half of the season, and is almost batting .300.

The pitching staff has been up and down, but better than expected. The only reason the Phillies are even 4.5 games back is due to the pitching, which has picked up the hitting. In fact, the final 2 games before the all-star break, the Phillies won consecutive games 1-0, behind solid starting pitching from Roy Halladay, and Cole Hamels. Halladay has been everything he was brought in to be. Cole Hamels has been solid this year so far. Kyle Kendrick and Jaime Moyer have been very up and down, and Joe Blanton has been flat out bad.

I hate to keep bringing up the worst trade in Philadelphia sports in my lifetime, but trading away Cliff Lee was a horrible mistake by Ruben Amaro, Jr. People say get over the trade and stop talking about it; however, the trade is significant and applicable to how the Phillies are playing now. If you want to agree with Amaro and say the Phillies couldn't spend the money, then you can blame Amaro for giving Moyer a 2 year deal, and not trading Joe Blanton, although there wasn't much demand for Blanton. Also, if you want to agree with Amaro and say the Phillies needed to replenish the farm system, this is just untrue, because if the Phillies had kept Cliff Lee this year and then let him walk, they would receive 2 first round draft picks as compensation. You could easily argue that these 2 first round picks would be much better than the prospects that the Phillies did get.

Also, Ruben Amaro needs to make the correct decision and try to trade Raul Ibanez. Ibanez is having a bad year, which you kind of had to expect, as Ibanez is up there in age. If no one wants Ibanez, most people feel like the Phillies should trade Jayson Werth. I do not however. You need Werth in the lineup, as he is one of the positives in a poor lineup, and is the only power right handed bat. Bottom line, Dominic Brown absolutely needs to be a starter on this Phillies team, like yesterday. According to Ruben Amaro, Brown can't replace Ibanez because Brown isn't a left fielder. Ohh right, I forgot Ibanez is an outfield covering gold glover out there. Brown technically is a right fielder, but I have to imagine can fill in left field for the rest of the season. Dominic Brown was recently listed as the #1 prospect currently not in MLB by ESPN.com. He can definitely give a jolt to the lineup.

Either way, the Phillies need to step up their game, and have a solid 2nd half if they want to make the playoffs. Luckily, this is nothing new for the Phillies, as they usually do have very good 2nd halves.

Sixers Try to Force Game 7

The Sixers play the a depleted Magic squad tonight in Game 6 of their first round series. The Magic will be without starters Dwight Howard, and Courtney Lee.

The Dwight Howard loss to the Magic will be seen as the most important factor in this game, but if the Sixers don't get their offense going, they will lose this game, even with Howard on the bench. The Andre's have been the two best players for the Sixers in this series, but should not be counted on to carry a team in a series. Both are good players, the problem is, Iguodala is not good enough to be a #1 option on a good team. He is a very good player, and has played well in this series, but has been inconsistent.

The Sixers have not been getting much in this series from Thaddeus Young, and Lou Williams. Both of them have such good offensive skill, and the Sixers need scoring from them. Williams has looked hesitant to do anything in this series, as if he doesn't want to shoot too much. Young is doing the opposite, and is doing too little. Young has struggled trying to create for himself, and has not hit the open looks that he has gotten. The Sixers need to get offense out of those two guys, so they can actually get out of the low 80's in points.

Back to the absence of Howard. Besides Howard, the Magic are also a very good three point shooting team. They take a lot, and they make a lot. Without Howard in the game, look for the Magic to take ever more, because that may be the best chance they have to win this game. The Sixers should be able to defend this however. Without Howard in the lineup, the Sixers do not need to double down when the ball goes into the post, and instead, can stay out high and cover the Magic players at the three point line. I will give Gortat or Battie any low post shots they want if it means keeping the Magic three point shooting at bay.

The Sixers should not look at this game, and feel like they have the edge without Howard playing, and with the game being at home. The Sixers need to come out with an edge, and execute, and hopefully force a Game 7 back in Orlando.

Howard Suspended for Game 6

Dwight Howard has been suspended for Game 6 on the 1st round series for his elbow that caught the head of Samuel Dalembert. This really was an easy decision, but you never know. Howard is the biggest star in this series, and one of the biggest in the league, and the league obviously doesn't want their stars sitting on the bench.

It goes without saying that Howard being suspended helps the Sixers out a great deal. Howard had 24 and 24 in Game 5 in the Magic victory. He really should have been ejected early in the game when he threw his elbow. Without Howard, the Magic's starting center is Marcin Gortat... if you don't know who he is, neither does anybody else. He did score six points in Game 5 though, which equaled the amount that the Sixers bench scored. Without Howard however, the Sixers will not need to double down on him in the low post, which usually allows the Magic to get good, open three point looks. With the game at home in Philly, and the Magic not having their big man, the Sixers have a big advantage in Game 6. They still need to come out and play their game, and not act like this game will be easy to win, because it won't.

Courtney Lee is also out for the Magic, who also caught an elbow in the head from Dwight Howard, this one inadvertent however.

Sixers Lose Ugly Game 4 to Magic

The Sixers let a golden opportunity slip away on Sunday evening, losing Game 4 to the Orlando Magic at home. A victory would have allowed the Sixers to take a much needed 3 games to 1 advantage in this series, and they were unable to capitalize. Now the Sixers are forced to play a best of three series, with two of those games at Orlando, meaning the Sixers would have to win one on the road.

The Sixers absolutely let Orlando off the hook, and if the Sixers would have played even average, they win this game. The Sixers could never find their stroke, which is unacceptable at home, especially in the playoffs with so much at stake. The Sixers made a late comeback to tie the game in the 4th quarter, but Hedo Turkoglu nailed a three pointer on the final possession with 1.1 seconds left to play to win the game 84-81. The Sixers were down by two after the first quarter, and then the 2nd quarter was played. It might have been the ugliest quarter played in the NBA playoffs so far this season, as the Sixers wound up outscoring the Magic 14-12 in the quarter. If the Sixers would have been hitting any of their shots, they would have taken a double digit lead at halftime. Both teams were not playing well to say the least.

Instead, it was tied at halftime, and the Sixers continued to struggle on offense in the 3rd quarter, and the Magic started hitting some shots. Hotting some shots was enough, as the Sixers still couldn't hit any. Right when they were about to make it a game, and would cut it to 5 or 6, the Magic would push it back to 10. This happened from the later stages of the 3rd quarter until halfway through the 4th quarter. Somehow, someway, the Sixers scored, and eventually came all the way back and tied the game at 81 on a dunk by Dalembert with under 20 seconds left. The Magic had the final possession, and Turkoglu, isolated on Thaddeus Young pulled up and took a three pointer, and drained it for the win.

The Sixers need to do a better job of getting out in transition to get as many easy baskets as they can. The Sixers still struggle in the half court sets, and need to get out and get as many transition buckets as possible. The Magic did do a good job of getting back in transition, you could tell they worked on that. Iguodala struggled scoring, going 4-13 in this game, and Andre Miller went 6-18 from the field. Lou Williams is still better than Willie Green, but looked very hesitant at times in this game. The Sixers as a team shot just 39% from the field, and 73% from the line. The Sixers took 10 more shots than did the Magic, and made 2 fewer shots.

The Magic aren't exactly playing up to their capabilities either. They definitely miss Philly's own Jameer Nelson. Alston has played well in this series, but hes not Nelson. The Sixers have to make everyone else beat them besides Dwight Howard. They have done a good job of that, and the Magic's supporting cast have done well when they have needed to. Either way, the Sixers led a great opportunity go by the wayside, and now must try to bounce back in Game 5 at Orlando.

Sixers Game 2 Preview

The 76ers look to go up 2-0 in their series against the Magic and possibly steal another game in Orlando. It isn’t going to easy, nor is it likely that the Sixers will take two in Orlando and bring a 2-0 series lead back to Philadelphia.

The Sixers just need to keep their momentum going from the 4th quarter of Game 1, and play the way that they want to play. They can’t worry about being up 1-0 in the series, they need to approach this game just like they would approach any other. The Sixers stole Game 1 in Detroit last season in the 1st round of the playoffs, and then got blown out in Game 2. Even though overall it would still be considered a good thing to go 1-1 in Orlando, the Sixers need to realize that they have the opportunity to really take control of this series by winning this game. Instead of coming out and not working as hard in Game 2, knowing that you still won Game 1, the Sixers need to come out and play even harder in Game 2, knowing that they have an opportunity to go up 2-0 in this series.

To win this game, the Sixers will really need to continue to defend the three pointer like they did in Game 1. It helped that Orlando missed shots that they usually make, but the Sixers did a good job of not letting Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu ever get into a rhythm and get into the game. It seems stupid to talk about how to stop the Magic and not mention Dwight Howard first, but Howard had a great Game 1, and the Sixers still won. Yes, it would be nice to slow down Howard, but let’s be honest; it’s not going to happen. Howard is a beast, and no one on the Sixers can defend him. Theo Ratliff did do a respectable job defending him though I will say.

On offense, the Sixers need to get out and run where they can, and get as many easy baskets as possible. Orlando is a very good defensive team, so the Sixers need to get as many layups and dunks in transition as possible. In the half court set, Iguodala, Miller, Young, and Williams need to get their baskets, as they can all create.

It would be exciting if the Sixers can get this win tonight and come home up 2-0 in the series, but they will need to play their best game possible to accomplish that.

Sixers Magic 1st Round Preview

Let’s be honest - The Sixers do not have that great a chance to win the series. If this was KC odds makers, I would put it at about 9%. But there is still a chance and anything can happen. We at Kotite’s want to give a preview of the matchups you will see while watching this series. This matchup and the 9% is assuming that both Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu will play. Today it was announced they might return. If they do not play, Sixers percent chance of winning goes up to 40%/ Let's take a look at how the Sixers and Magic match up - position by position.

PG: Andre Miller vs. Rafer Alston - Advantage Sixers

If hometown favorite Jameer Nelson was not injured this would be a lot closer (with advantage still going to Miller, primarily because of experience). Miller should be able to control Skip-to-my-Lou fairly easily, but will have trouble keeping up with his speed.

SG: Willie Green vs. Courtney Lee - Advantage Magic
Any starting 2 guard in the league is better than Willie Green, so the advantage Magic really has nothing to do with Lee’s skill. The rookie from Western Kentucky shoots well from the field, can hit the three, and shoots well from the line, and moved big free-agent signing Mickael Pietrus to 6th man. Hopefully Willie Green gets taken out early and Big Lou Williams gets a lot of minutes in the series.

SF: Andre Iguodala vs. Hedo Turkoglu - Advantage Sixers
Hedo has a bum ankle and might not play in this series and Andre was completely embarrassed last year in the playoffs with a performance that I could match - that is how bad he was. I expect Iggy to step up his game and play very well in this series.

PF: Thaddeus Young vs. Rashard Lewis - Advantage Magic
Thaddeus Young is the best player on the Sixers. You heard it here first. It is a shame that AI part 2 cannot play 2 guard, so when bust-Elton Brand comes back next season, Thad is playing the 3 and not 6th man. Rashard Lewis a freak of nature and will give match-up problems for Thad if Lewis’ knee is alright for him to play.

C: Samuel Dalembert vs. Dwight Howard - Triple Advantage Magic
This is not even close. The self-proclaimed Haitian sensation, Sammy DDDDDDD, on his best day is not even close to the skill level or physical prowess of Dwight Howard on Howard’s worst day. Sammy D could be a good player, but he thinks he is Dwight Howard and he really is much closer to Shawn Bradley. Expect at least one 20/20 game from Howard, especially if Hedo and Rashard do not play.

Bench – Advantage Sixers
The Magic do bring Mickael Pietrus off the bench, who is a very good player. JJ Redick also comes off the bench, who can provide instant offense with his 3-point shooting. The Sixers have the best bench player in this series in Lou Williams, who usually plays in crunch time over Willie Green. The Sixers also bring Speights off the bench, who has shows the ability to do a lot of good things at the power forward position.

Picks
Mr. Green: Sixers in 6
Roget: Magic in 5