Sixers Start Season With Loss

Wednesday evening was an eventful night in which the city of Philadelphia hosted a quite unusual occurrence. The Philadelphia Phillies and 76ers played on the same night in late October. After a historic yet bizarre suspension of gave five Monday night the Phillies ended a twenty five year championship drought as they beat Tampa Bay for the World Series title. While Philadelphia fans have awaited this year’s basketball season with much anticipation the Sixers were not able to come away with a win as they start the 2008-09 season off with a home loss to the Toronto Raptors. Chris Bosh had 27 points and 11 rebounds while Jermaine O’Neal added 17 as the Raptors beat Philly 95-84. The game was moved up from eight o’clock pm to six o’clock pm to accommodate the conclusion of game five of the World series but it appears the Sixers could have used the two extra hours to prepare for the start of their season.

Louis Williams came off the bench to lead the Sixers with 16 points while Elton Brand, making his Sixers debut, finished with 14 points and a pulling down a healthy 13 rebounds. Andre Iguodala scored 15 points and handed out six assists, Andre Miller pitched in 13 points, five assists and for Philadelphia. Samuel Dalembert and Thaddeus Young had nine points and eight points respectively. Rookie big man Marreese Speights was not in the line-up for the Sixers opener but could have been a great help down low.

The Raptors trailed by three after one quarter but came out with a strong second quarter, outscoring Philly by nine to take a six point lead into the half. The scoring stayed close for the final two quarters but the Raptors maintained their consistency and stretched it to an 11 point difference by the final buzzer. The two teams stayed close all evening but Toronto led most of the way. The lead only changed hands twice the whole game and knotted up four times.

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The Sixers will get their next opportunity to get things going Friday night, October 31st, as they play host to the New York Knicks. After the Halloween night clash they will then travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks for their first road game of the season on Saturday, November 1 st.

By Jay Lewis
Pro Basketball Fans Philadelphia 76ers Correspondent

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