Sleeping Sixers

Well-rested Philly never got wake-up call in Game 1

Kenny Thomas lost the ball to Ben Wallace on the first play.

Eric Snow threw away an entry pass a few minutes later.

Derrick Coleman let Wallace poke away a key rebound in the closing minutes.

And Keith Van Horn looked like he never should have got out of bed.

It was that kind of night Tuesday for the Sixers. While Detroit played well in forging a convincing victory in Game 1, Philadelphia looked oddly lethargic.

70.6 Sacramento's shooting percentage in the third quarter as they blew Dallas out of the gym. The Kings made 12-of-17 from the field, and threw in an 11-of-13 effort from the line to boot. "I got theories with this woman, this Joumana Kidd who wants to be a TV star. She wants face time on camera. The great way to get face time is to bring the cute, little precocious kid. Oh, great. I'd like to smack her." -- Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, who earned a one-month suspension for his comments about the wife of the Nets' Jason Kidd. Will Dallas ever be able to hold Sacramento under 120 points?

In a game interrupted by a power failure at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Sixers never wandered out of the dark. They committed 17 turnovers, got outrebounded 38-35 and managed just seven fast-break points.

At least the Mavs had an excuse for their blowout loss to the high-flying Kings -- they might have been tired from their seven-game marathon with the Blazers. Philadelphia, however, was supposed to be rested and ready. It had four days off after dispatching the Hornets in the first round. Detroit, which needed seven games to survive Orlando, was the team that could have claimed fatigue.

Instead, the Pistons took it to the Sixers early and often, relying on the size of Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton to penetrate and shoot over Philadelphia’s defense. Normally the Sixers attack opposing guards who put the ball on the floor, but Larry Brown's dobermans didn’t offer much resistance Tuesday night. Billups and Hamilton had free reign.

Even after Billups went down with a sprained ankle, the Pistons' bench picked up the slack. Mehmet "Memo" Okur, a 6-foot-11 forward from Turkey, led a huge effort by hitting all seven of his shots to finish with 16 points and six rebounds. Okur now joins fellow international rookie Manu Ginobili of the Spurs as the Memo and Manu of these NBA playoffs.

The good news for the Sixers is that, as bad as they played, they still managed to get within three in the final quarter. Brown will make adjustments to get Allen Iverson (27 points on 8-of-21 shooting) some better looks against Detroit’s swarming team defense. They also could catch a break if Billups is slowed by his ankle injury.

But the biggest adjustment for the Sixers might be to wake up and remember what got them to this point. They're lunchpail guys, not stylers. If they want a reminder, they need only look at the Pistons.

	Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images Stud: Mehmet Okur, C, Pistons Detroit's import from Turkey ruffled Philly's feathers in Game 1 by making all seven of his shots from the field, including a leaning 3-pointer to beat the shot clock, and filled out the box score with six boards and no turnovers.		Glenn James/NBAE/Getty Images Dud: Raef LaFrentz, C, Mavs Dallas fans' worst fears were realized as LaFrentz and the Dallas frontline were flambéd by Vlade Divac (whose layup Raef watched in the photo above) and the Kings. LaFrentz also made just 1-of-7 from the field and finished with two points.

Who is the sadist in charge of the NBA playoff schedule? On ESPN on Tuesday night, we had the Pistons-Sixers, a series involving two teams ... that... score... like... this. Simultaneously, over on ESPN2, we had the Kings-Mavericks, a series involving two teams thatscorelikethisandthenpushtheballdowncourtandscoresomemore. Doesn’t the NBA know that switching gears like that can give a viewer whiplash? The Mavs actually stayed near even on the boards with the Kings (43-42) in Game 1. But they gave Sacramento too much freedom to move through the lane. How about bumping some cutters or putting a body on the Kings now and then? Paul Pierce scored 34 points in Game 1, but he managed just five in the fourth quarter after the Nets switched to a quasi-zone with Richard Jefferson on the Boston star. Unlike Kerry Kittles, Jefferson has the strength to battle Pierce. It will be interesting to see if the Spurs stick to their strategy of playing Shaq and Kobe straight up Wednesday night in Game 2. It worked in the first game, but San Antonio might be smarter to mix it up to keep the Lakers off balance.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

 

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