By Kyle Soppe
The 76ers have been getting lots of love from Drew Shaner and Chris Volo, so they are today’s “Box Score Breakdown”. They traveled to Orlando, and were beaten badly by a well balanced Magic team, 103-87.
The home team never trailed in this game, but their 16 point halftime advantage didn’t grow in the final 24 minutes, as the teams played to a draw in the second half.
Jameer Nelson handed out a season high 14 assists (more than Lin for those who only listen to stats with the name Lin attached), more than half of the teams assists. His 14 assists were two more than his previous four games put together. This was the second occasion this season in which he has tallied at least as many dimes as Dwight Howard has rebounds.
Ryan Anderson scored a game high 27 points, the 10th time in 31 games in which the sharp shooting forward has managed at least 20 points. He had only done so nine times in his career coming into this season.
Dwight Howard only missed two free throws (given, he only attempted three), improving the Magic’s record when he does so to 5-1. His 17 points and 14 rebounds marked the third consecutive game in which his point + rebound total was 31 or fewer. Previously, he had gone over 31 in 13 of 15 games.
Howard recorded 40+ minutes for the seventh time in February, something he had done only six times before the month began.
JJ Redick may not be the high scoring threat we remember from Duke, but one trend remains: his teams does remarkably well when his stroke is on. He connected on two triples this game, and the Magic are now 11-3 in games in which he makes more than one trey. Put another way, they are a .500 team when he doesn’t make at least two.
Jason Richardson is never shy about hoisting up three pointers, but February has proven to be a month of high three point attempts, even by his standards. He has made 30 three pointers in his last eight games, and has shot more threes than twos this month.
Orlando won the ball game, despite attempting fewer field goal attempts. At first glance, that seems like it would be unusual, but teams attempting less shots than their opponents were 7-5 last night.
The 76ers lost in convincing fashion despite making more two points and more free throws than Orlando.
Plus/minus is as important as any stat when it comes to evaluating productivity, and the 76ers have the games best in Jrue Holiday. Not on this night, as Philly was -17 points with their point guard on the floor. Coming off of the bench, Lou Williams played over 31 minutes, and recorded a 0 plus/minus ratio. Meaning that in the 16 minutes he didn’t play, the 76ers were outscored by 16 points.
Speaking of super sub Williams, he recorded the most impressive 76er stat line, totaling 21 points and seven assists (his highest assist total since April of 2010). He also took care of the ball and now has 34 assists and only six turnovers in his last eight games.
Andre Iguodala had a nice all around game, as he scored 15 points, handed out four helpers, and grabbed five rebounds. This was the 19th time in 20 games in which his rebound + assist total has been at least nine. Not exactly a marksman, Iggy put up exactly five three pointers for sixth time this season, and this was the first time the 76ers lost one of those games.
The Philadelphia bench was called on for extensive duty, as they attempted more shots than the starters and had 59.3% of the teams assists. Thad Young trailed only Dwight Howard in minutes played, and he didn’t start.
Elton Brand (who averages 9.5 rebounds per game for his career) pulled down two rebounds in a game for the third time in a month.
Jrue Holiday is a nice point guard, but his aggressiveness can be called into question. He didn’t earn a trip to the charity stripe, and has now attempted four or fewer free throws in 80.6% of the games this season. His ability to take care of the ball is also a bit behind where most 76er fans would like it to be, as this was the eighth game in which their starting point guard registered at least as many turnovers as assists. In this offense, they can’t overcome big turnover games like the Knicks can. Holiday has 13 turnovers in his last six games (the Sixers are 3-3) while Jeremy Lin has committed 36 turnovers for the 6-0 Knicks.
Oddly enough, this was the first time this season in which the 76ers scored 80-88 points in a game (the same holds true for the Knicks during the Linsanity run).
Not surprisingly, Philly has yet to win a game in which they surrendered at least 100 points, as this loss drops them to 0-5.
Where would you like me to go next? What teams/games interest you enough to value my input on their box scores? Post or tweet me (@unSOPable23) with requests
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