Denver Nuggets at Philadelphia 76ers Afterthoughts 10/31/12

Image courtesy of AP

Andre Iguodala returned to Philadelphia and it quickly became obvious he wanted to show up his old team.

Painfully obvious.

After being introduced to a chorus of mostly boos from the crowd, Iguodala hit the opening basket of the game. But he didn’t do much after that, ending the game with 11 points and 4 turnovers as the 76ers outlasted the Nuggets 84-75 in their season opener.

The story of the game was Iggy, and seeing him brick three after three for the other team was a nice change of pace for Sixers fans, but by the end, the story became Spencer Hawes or, as Malik Rose likes to call him, “The Windex Man”. Hawes, the Sixers first man off the bench, finished the game with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks. He hit two three-pointers after hitting three all of last season. Down the stretch, he was unstoppable.

“Spencer was our ace of spades,” said Coach Doug Collins

Jrue Holiday also had a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 11 assists, and newcomer Dorell Wright ended the game with 14 points and 7 boards, praising the team’s defense as it’s saving grace tonight.

“To get games like that on the defensive end [after shooting 35%] is very impressive,” he remarked.

Five Sixers scored in double figures in a game that many thought would be a tough win without Andrew Bynum.

Ty Lawson was Denver’s leading scorer with 16 points and 7 assists and he led a comeback charge in the middle of the fourth, getting the deficit as close as one point, but Philly never let them get the lead. They bent, but never broke.

Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field in a sloppy game, but when the Sixers needed to, they made their shots and didn’t let Denver grab the lead towards the end of the game.

This game will make any Sixer fan exponentially more excited about the prospect of adding Andrew Bynum into the lineup. There were times when the team didn’t look good, but both teams had their struggles throughout the game, and it’s game one of an 82-game season. The chemistry will only get better and having a bench like the Sixers do gives them so many different rotation combinations that it’s tough for opponents to prepare against.

One potential weakness seen tonight is that, at times, the team seemed careless with the basketball when running the floor, leading to bad turnovers. Once they get in tune with each other, that should stop being a problem but it was prevalent tonight.

Fans were and potentially still are afraid of how the Sixers will far without Bynum for multiple games, but tonight the team showed flashes of brilliance. Albeit there were stretches where they struggled, but they did something tonight that they were criticized for not doing all last season: they closed.

Last season, many criticized the team for winning blowouts but losing close games. Philadelphia let Denver sneak back into this one tonight, but they made sure to come away with the victory. They head to New York Sunday for the start of a home-and-home against the Amare-less Knicks. They’ll need to play better than they did tonight to beat them, but as long as they keep these games close until Bynum comes back, they should be fine. If they keep winning without Bynum, the East should watch out.