Monday, April 14, 2008

Last second loss

I'm at work. I check the score on ESPN, and I see that the Sixers have escaped with a one-point victory over the Cavaliers. Then I get home and check the boxscore and discover that the Sixers lost. Ouch.

I watched the video of the last play of the game. Dalembert clearly hit Brown before the buzzer...but I don't think it should have been a foul. And, no, I'm not crazy.

If you watch the video, Dalembert jumps to defend against Lebron's shot. When Dalembert lands, he suddenly lurches forward -- right into Brown. If you look behind Dalembert, you can see that Ilgauskas gave him a shove as he was landing, probably as an attempt to get better position for the potential rebound. At least that's what it looked like to me. Take a look and tell me what you think.

[note- I wanted to put a link in to both the game's boxscore and the video over at ESPN.com, but for some reason ESPN.com isn't loading on my computer right now so I can't get the URL. Sorry about that. Makes it a little harder for you to watch the video and give your thoughts.]

Regardless, it goes in the books as a tough loss for the Sixers. We'll have a hard time against the Pistons in the first round, but it's still good to be in the playoffs for the first time in awhile. Plus, a win in our last game will give us a .500 record on the year. Considering expectation coming into the year, I think that qualifies as a successful season.

[Update: apparently I'm not the only one who noticed the push from Ilgauskas]