To no one's surprise, the Sixers dropped their season opener to a talented Raptors team last night in Toronto. They hung in there for a while and kept it close before the Raptors turned it up and got out to a 22-point second-half lead. But then the Sixers made it interesting, coming to within 1 in the 4th quarter on the strength of some solid play off the bench and Andre Iguodala making an impact after registering just 4 points in the first half. Being a native of this region, I began to think they might win.
Then the reality of Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, and Andrea Bargnani set in. Oh and I guess we can't forget the reality of Sam Dalembert. His foul on a Bargnani 3-ball was pretty much the rally killer, and all I can think of every time I see him is what an albatross he'll be for years.
Gonna be a long season, one in which more people will pay to see pro basketball in Toronto than Philadelphia. Again.
New Voice in the Mix
It was good to hear Marc Zumoff calling hoops after the long off-season. Jury's still out on Bob Salmi though. We found ourselves missing Steve Mix; his voice's absence was unmistakable throughout the telecast. Of all the changes the Sixers needed to make this off-season, canning Mix wasn't one of them. We'll give Salmi his shot though. Let's just hope it isn't another mistake of Firing Scott Graham proportions.
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