Sixers Struggle in Utah

         The 76ers arrived in Utah for Monday's game coming off a solid win in Sacramento only the night before. The Sixers had won that game with high energy and great games from Jrue Holiday, Dorrell Wright and even Lavoy Allen. However, the Sixers' performance against Utah seemed like an entirely different team as they would trail the entire game in the loss.

         The Sixers came out surprisingly flat and fell behind quickly. Doug Collins subbed out all 5 starters after the Jazz jumped out to an early 16-6 lead and although the reserves would show more effort, the Jazz stayed ahead for the entire half. The Sixers gave up 8 first half turnover that resulted in 16 points in transition for Utah. Hawes was the only starter that looked playable(which is saying something); Holiday, Turner, and Thad Young combined for only 6 points at the break, which is unacceptable from Philly's core 3 players. The Sixers trailed by 16 at the break, 58-42. Villanova alumni, Randy Foye, led Utah in the first half with 13 points.

        Utah maintained their healthy lead throughout the 3rd quarter as the Sixers' struggles continued. The 4th quarter was only more of the same as the game remained securely in Utah's hands. The Sixer's reserves played the majority of the final quarter as Collins made the decision that the game was out of reach. The Jazz extended their lead to as much as 23 as they took the victory, 107-91.

         Possibly the most disappointing performance in the loss was from Holiday who finished with only 7 points off poor shooting and 1 assist and 4 turnovers. Jrue also had a horrendous -38 (+/-) when on the floor. Wright led the Sixers with 19 points but did not shoot as well as he did against the Kings. The rookie Arnett Moultrie received plenty of playing time to demonstrate his value and scored 14 and grabbed 8 rebounds. Philadelphia only had 9 assists as a team as they did not move the ball well. Foye led the Jazz with 17 and Favors added 13 off the bench with 10 boards and 3 blocks.

        This was a very disappointing loss as the team looked completely uninspired even after the snapped their road losing streak with a solid win the night before. The playoffs are obviously out of the picture now for the 76ers but lately they had still been playing with a desire to win. That desire was just not there in Utah. The Sixers return to Philadelphia to face the Bucks on Wednesday.