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 PHILADELPHIA VS. TORONTO MILWAUKEE VS. CHARLOTTE SAN ANTONIO VS. DALLAS L.A. LAKERS VS. SACRAMENTO |
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Fred's Points: Pressure is on the Sixers ESPN.com What's the first thing you notice when you see ESPN's Fred Carter on NBA 2Night or SportsCenter? Of course, he points at you. It's his way of saying hello. So we've asked NBA expert Fred to greet us and make some points for ESPN.com from time to time. Here are his points on the Raptors-76ers series. Look for more questions and answers occasionally. Enjoy. Raptors-76ers 1. Toronto came off its big win at Madison Square Garden last Friday and went in to Philly and won 48 hours later. Considering the relative inexperience of the Raptors, were you surprised they won Game 1? It surprised me that Toronto was able to muster up enough energy to win Game 1. After you come out of an emotional win where you face elimination, your energy level is usually down a bit for the first game of the next series. When I was a player, we beat New York in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final. Two days later we were playing Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Milwaukee and it was very difficult to get ready for that game. The Raptors played well in Game 1 but the Sixers didn't do themselves any favors in that game. The Sixers came out flat and therefore the Raptors weren't at that much of a disadvantage after leaving it all on the floor in New York.
2. Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens looks like a genius by moving Chris Childs into the starting lineup alongside Alvin Williams and moving Vince Carter to small forward. Why does this lineup give the Sixers -- and Knicks before them -- so much trouble? Vince Carter is a little better player defensively than people realize, but the real problem for teams facing Toronto is offsetting Carter's production with the man who is guarding him. When you put George Lynch on Vince, not only can Lynch not stop Carter, he can't score either. It would be better to have an offensive player going against Carter and do what you can at the defensive end with double teams. At least then, whoever was guarding Vince could offset his offensive production with some of his own. If Carter gets 35 and the player guarding him gets 18, you don't have as much to overcome as if Carter's opposite gets four. Also, with Childs and Williams in the backcourt at the same time, it gives them two guys who can handle the ball, make open shots and not turn the ball over.
3. Carter has taken a lot of heat, including from teammate Charles Oakley, for not coming through. Was Oakley just trying to motivate Carter or do you think he really was questioning his heart? I have to believe he was mostly trying to motivate a young player. I didn't agree with Oakley's tactic but it seems to have worked. I felt that in his third year in the league Carter simply isn't ready to take over games and dominate in the postseason. Some of the greatest players ever took a long time to get to the point where they could carry their teams to championships. Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Walt Frazier, Julius Erving and Hakeem Olajuwon all went quite some time before they won titles. To put that pressure on a third-year player was unfair, but Vincent responded and got the support of the fans and his mom. Things have worked out so far. 4. Philadelphia is the No. 1 seed and is expected to advance to the Finals. If the 76ers don't get out of the East, will it be considered a disappointing season? No question. If the Sixers don't find a way, first to get out of the second round and then to make it through to the Finals, it will be disappointing. They just have to find a way. I thought Allen Iverson did a great job in Game 2. Lenny Wilkens had different opportunities to control that ballgame. I thought he made a mistake by not calling a timeout when Philly went on the 11-0 run in the third quarter. Also, Allen was 21-of-39 and the rest of the team was 13-of-40 from the floor. Somewhere along the line you have to double-team Allen and make the rest of the Sixers beat you. Toronto did not.
5. Allen Iverson was unstoppable in Game 2 as Philly evened the series, getting a career playoff high and topping 50 points. Is there anything Toronto can do to stop Iverson? Iverson's performance in Game 2 was the best I've seen in a long time for a point guard of his size. The way he controlled that game was Jordan-like (or Maravich-like, who got 50 on me in a ballgame). But like I said, the strategy should be apparent. Commit to stopping Iverson and make the rest of the Sixers beat you offensively. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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  ALSO SEE Fred's Playoff Points: Bucks-Hornets Fred's Playoff Points: Lakers-Kings |
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