Even the normally upbeat Maurice Cheeks is starting to show a bit of strain. Following Friday's 102-78 road loss to the Celtics, Cheeks said he had talked to his listless team after its third straight loss but wouldn't get into what he said.
"I'm just trying to figure out different combinations out there to see what we can get done," Cheeks said. The 7-9 Sixers are having a hard time scoring, aren't stopping people and aren't taking care of the ball. For a team that's 16 games into the season and came into 2008-09 with high expectations, that's quite a few areas that need to be worked out.
They want to run with the ball, but are having trouble getting out in transition. Once they're forced into the half-court offense, they are having some of the same difficulties they had before acquiring Elton Brand -- namely, a lack of player movement and not enough ball movement. Andre Iguodala isn't as involved because Brand has the ball, so Iguodala has become little more than a jump shooter, which isn't his strong suit.
On defense, the Sixers cannot contain dribble penetration. Once they don't, they are left to scramble to cover open perimeter shooters and big men inside.
"We just have to learn how to stay stern, stick to the game plan and not leave the (opposing) shooters," Brand said.
CELTICS 102, SIXERS 78: The Sixers were no match for the defending champion Celtics, who did pretty much whatever they wanted at TD Banknorth Garden. Boston clamped down defensively, limiting the Sixers to a season-low 28 points in the first half, and shot .513 (39-of-76) from the field. The Sixers again had more turnovers (16) than assists (15) and scored a season-low in points.
