A quick chat with Philadunkia

Philadunkia‘s Carey Smith and I exchanged some questions and answers after game one’s exciting finish. Here are Carey’s answers: OMD: Be honest – with the Sixers down 14 going into the fourth quarter, what were your thoughts? Were you looking to game two, or were you prepared for a comeback? Even though I was very disappointed that we were down 14 points, I had not given up. I really felt with the way Hedo and Lewis were struggling that we had to find a way to steal Game 1 and take advantage of the lack of production from your wing players. Even when we were down 14 I was encouraged by some of the little things I saw from the Sixers before the comeback started. Hustle plays, fiery attitude from Iguodala and some good X&O moves from DiLeo to sight a few. Now all of that being said I still thought if we could mount a comeback that in the end we would come up short. When Marshall missed that 3-ball with the Sixers down 81-73, I thought it was the nail in the Sixers coffin. OMD: So are you confident going into game two? Not very and it has nothing to do with the current Sixers. Traditionally in the NBA when the home team lets one slip away like the Magic did in Game 1, they come out in Game 2 and just throttle the visiting team. I am sure that the Magic players are furious, SVG was not happy in the post game and the fans must be irate, so after a scenario like Game 1 occurs, all of that anger usually finds it’s way on to the court an benefits the home team. If the Sixers can keep it close early and ride out the emotional aspect of Game 2 for the Magic, I really like their chances. OMD: Especially if they get another performance like that from Donyell Marshall. Did you see that coming? Did anyone in Philadelphia expect Marshall, Theo Ratliff and Lou Williams to play key roles in Sunday’s victory? That’s an interesting question and I think for each guy there is a different answer. Myself and every other Sixer fan absolutely expected it from Lou Williams. The kid is instant excitement and offense off the bench and he’s been doing it all year. He’s had games where he is unstoppable. My only issue with Lou is that he frequently gets to a point where he never met a shot he wouldn’t take and that can spell bad news for the Sixers offense. This was especially true in the last month of the season when Thad was out. With Marshall I did not expect him to hit for 11 points in Game 1, but all of us here at Philadunkia have been screaming for him to see more minutes all season long and no one has listened to us. The Sixers made a big deal about signing Marshall and Kareem Rush in the off season and how these 3-ball specialists would open up the floor for the rest of team. Then both guys saw limited minutes all season and often did not even dress for games. It was so strange to watch this year, because the Sixers went and got these guys via free agency to contribute and then sat them. Plus the 76ers are horrible at shooting the 3 and these two could have helped out in many games during the season. I have always known that Theo has the skills to contribute. It was just a question of whether or not his body would hold up for the whole season. If you are talking about straight basketball skills, I would take Ratliff over Dalembert any day. But as a starting center in the League, you still need to be able to play 25-30 mins every night and Theo’s broken down body probably could not handle those minutes at this stage. But right now he’s healthy and rested so I expect him to do good things when he is on the floor. OMD: What do the Sixers have to improve on in order to win the series? They have to provide some sort of resistance against Dwight Howard. You’re not going to stop him, but 18 points in the first half is just super-hero level domination. If he does not get poked in the eye, he may have scored 50 and the Sixers would have lost that game. That incident really seem to throw Howard and the Magic off their stride. Big ups to Carey for taking the time.