Road Work

Last night in Portland, the Sixers won one of those games that NBA teams almost never win, the dreaded fourth game in five nights, end of the road trip game against a rested opponent. It was even in overtime. A few notes...

> Your hero of the game: Andre Miller, who more or less willed this one. Something I hadn't quite noticed about Andre before is just how freaky strong he is, especially on defense. He wound up working against the 6'-9" Travis Outlaw on a 1-on-1 defensive switch. Outlaw, sensing he had a physical advantage, tried to grind Miller down in the block, and the point guard simply locked in place and went nowhere. Outlaw wound up forcing a long bank and missing, and um, really, wow.

Now, it's not like Outlaw is some kind of star, or that there are no other point guards in the league that could have pulled off that trick, but it still showed me something. First off, that Miller truly cares about winning, to be putting his body on the line in that situation. Secondly, that he might be an Eric Snow level defender, which is saying something. (I'm talking about back when Snow could, you know, move.)

> The Sixers' announcing crew clearly has a hard-on for Reggie Evans, and it's not too hard to see why; he has no physical gifts, and yet is an effective NBA player. Plus, he clearly enjoys playing the game, and that's not a small thing; his enthusiasm is infectious, and it seems to help him really get under the skin of the opposition and enemy crowd. Evans had some key (and, of course, questionable) stops last night, especially late, and while it's pretty hard to imagine him getting those calls against teams with more star power, that doesn't mean he's not fun to watch.

> Tony DiLeo can flat out coach. In last night's game, the Sixers ran out to a big lead at the half behind too hot to last shooting, then went ice-cold to start the second and eventually give back the lead. Throughout the Blazers' runs, DiLeo kept stopping the momentum like he was leading the dance, even buying time for Andre Igoulsda, who had four fouls early in the third.

DiLeo also does something else that's pretty great; he uses his good but fairly untested young players (Lou Williams, Marresse Speights) in situations where they are likely to succeed, and gets them out of bad situations. The confidence that both players showed in crunch time spoke to the coach, and while it seems like a small thing, I can't tell you how many times I've seen a young NBA player ruined by the Sink Or Swim school of non-thought

A final point: maybe it was just the length of the road trip, but DiLeo does more with a deep but limited bench that any Sixers coach I've seen as an adult. He's got the remains of Donyell Marshall and Theo Ratliff, both signings that I more or less mocked in the off-season, giving him useful minutes and helping to change the dynamic of any game.

As for Portland...

> I can see why they like Greg Oden; he tries hard, is active, and is exactly what they need. Unfortunately, he's also a walking foul, didn't show much in the way of range, and has no real moves in the post. Maybe he develops these things, and maybe he doesn't. Portland also really didn't need another wing player, no matter how good Kevin Durant is. But, um, jeez... at some point, you've got to take the next Bernard King over the next Samuel Dalembert, don't you?

> Rudy Fernandez is a lot of fun; he's got hops and couldn't miss from downtown last night, and was the reason why the Blazers forced overtime. But everything is at a million miles per hour, and he doesn't seem to have much in the way of a mid-range game.

> I couldn't be sure of this on the non-HD feed, but it really does look like Steve Blake wears pink sneakers. Maybe it's a breast cancer thing, but if so, he's on an island. Oh, and also, he can't keep anyone in front of him. Portland needs a real point before they are going to go anywhere.

Finally, this... the Sixers wound up going 3-2 on their West Coast road trip, and won what might have been the two hardest games. The next 10 they've got on the schedule feature a fair number of Eastern also-rans, and they might even be able to put the Pistons down for good. Maybe no one else in town much cares, but seeing how the last three times the Sixers have made the playoffs, Detroit has been there to end them in the first round... well, I'd like to see them out of the playoffs.

Besides, who really wants to see more of Detroit, anyway?