On the Sixers: Liberty Ballers | Hoop76 | Philadunkia
After suffering a heartbreaking loss in the season opener, the Bucks return to Milwaukee for a Halloween home opener against the Philadelphia 76ers. You may remember the Sixers as the team that lost 26 games in a row last season but still finished with a better record than the Bucks. Yeah, they were pretty bad.
Still, Philly appears to have somehow gotten even worse, with so many players coming and going that their team website is having difficulty getting things right anymore. Michael Carter-Williams--the one guy from last year's roster that you would recognize--is still out with a shoulder injury, third overall pick Joel Embiid is out for the foreseeable future with the foot injury he suffered before the draft, and fellow lottery pick Dario Saric is playing in Turkey until further notice. On the plus side, 2013 lottery pick Nerlens Noel made his NBA debut in Wednesday's season-opening loss in Indiana, grabbing 10 boards and blocking three shots to help offset a rough night from the field (2/11 fg, 6 pts).
Meanwhile, the Bucks will try to draw from the good and the bad from their season opening loss in Charlotte. For the majority of the second and third quarter, the ball was moving around beautifully and shots were falling en route to a 24-point lead on the road. On the other hand, when Charlotte ramped up its ball pressure late and got the crowd into the game by getting stops and chipping away at the lead, the offense became stagnant and they couldn't stop the bleeding.
But even after a questionable decision not to foul at the end of regulation led to overtime, the Bucks still had a very good chance to escape with a win. That was one of many learning experiences the young Bucks will have as they grow together this year. The shoes don't walk backwards though, so we'll get a chance to see how the team bounces back in front of an expected sellout crowd. It should be quite a fun night. Ready?
Ready. pic.twitter.com/t5lzM2RQrw
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 31, 2014
Cool. Let's do this.