The Philadelphia 76ers are almost as bad as this "free Vi-Fi" (Not even a double u) that I am using to post this game thread. They have less than half the wins as the Utah Jazz do, and it's almost January . . . and our Utah Jazz don't even have 10 wins yet. Tonight could be the night. And let's be real, folks; tonight SHOULD be the night.
I really don't want to go into great detail here because a) lazy, and b) "Vi-Fi". And really, most importantly, c) it's better not to really investigate this team. That's how I felt when I erroneously put Rony Turiaf on their roster, when he was cut already. I guess subconsciously I want them to be a more capable roster -- even if they just aren't right now.
Game Situation:
Philly has 4 wins, and two of them have come in their last three games -- against the Magic and Heat, two teams we ALSO beat. They are on game four of their seven game road trip, and will have a few nights off after this game to get ready for the Golden State Warriors. They did play last night against the Portland Trail Blazers and got whooped. Bigtime. But let's not sleep on them, this could be a trap game.
The Jazz are on a hot streak of sorts as well, a win tonight would give them three in their last four. So these are two teams, somehow, playing their "best" ball right now.
If you scout these two teams you will notice that they both have a lot of problems, but bright spots are there. You'd also probably be scouting these teams as part of your job, and not out of fun. Philly likes to play really fast and have a Top 12 Defense (by Def RTG). The Jazz play slow, and have a Top 14 offense (by Off RTG). Should be fun if you enjoy offensive rebounds!
History:
The Jazz are up 48-41 against Philly all-time, and a commanding 30-14 at home. They won the season series last year, and have won the last three games. The big weapon for the Jazz last year was Alec Burks, though most of the media paid attention to the Trey Burke vs. Michael Carter-Williams thing.
Injuries:
Alec Burks is out tonight with his on-going shoulder issues. Philly will be without Joel Embiid, Andrei Kirilenko, Jason Richardson, and Hollis Thompson tonight. They will also be without Rony Turiaf, whom I thought was still on the team somehow. Trevor Booker should be playing tonight.
Rosters:
You really can't lose to this team, yet four teams have this year.
Starters:
PG: Does
SG: It
SF: Really
PF: Matter
C: Tonight?
Marquee Match-up:
Gordon Hayward is our star player this year, but I don't know who matches up with him. The real fun will be Derrick Favors against Nerlens Noel. Noel is a defensive beast. Favors is too. It's going to be fun.