FanHouse ReggieEvans

This isn't an April Fool's Joke, Philadelphia. Sixers stud Thaddeus Young will miss 2-3 weeks due to a ankle sprain and bone bruise, according to the Associated Press.

It's sort of a critical time for Philly, with the playoffs well within reach but not guaranteed. According to PlayoffStatus.com, the Sixers have a magic number of three with nine games to go. But the loss really shows up when you at the race for the No. 5 seed.

Kyle Korver used to play for the 76ers. You figure he's friendly with a few former teammates ... like gregarious Reggie Evans. The Sixers visited Korver's new home last night. Korver and Evans tussled for a ball for a second. Once the whistle blew and the players walked away, well ... just watch.



Next time, Mr. Evans, a simple "Well done Kyle! Bully for you" would be preferred to a violent butt-slap. At least we know Brett Favre will never make it in the NBA now. He'd be the new Rasheed Wallace.

H/T: NESW Sports.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Mavs-Hornets game tonight.

1. Prince Of Thieves: Predictable? Yes. But come on. Everything I do, I do it for you. Tayshaun Prince lodged four steals against the Sixers in Game 4, and was making the Sixers look silly at times. Throw that on top of his game high 23 points and you have a classic Pistons killer game. Not to be confused with Andre Miller, who's trying to be the Piston-Killer. Prince has had a marvelous series, and is the buoy keeping Detroit afloat with Chauncey Billups struggling and Rasheed Wallace being canceled out by the fleet of young bigs on Philadelphia. But Prince's most vital work has been on Andre Iguodala, making him a non-factor. He can't let up tonight, because the Pistons need to end this thing as quickly as possible to get ready for a sharp Magic team that's resting up for them.
2. Fahrenheit 90: The Sixers are 2-0 when they score 90 or more, 0-2 when they score less than 90. Seems simple, and it is. Shoot better, score more, make the pace faster, beat the Pistons. They want you in a defensive slugfest. It's not much of a strategy thing, but it should definitely be a goal for the Sixers. They need to get out and run as much as possible, especially with Thaddeus Young and Andre Miller. And for you, dear reader, keep an eye on that scoreboard. If it's in the 40s at halftime, Detroit's looking good. If it's at 50, this thing might get tight.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Pistons-Sixers Game 3 tonight.

1. The Road Home: So it appears that Philadelphia is starting to get all excited about the Sixers again. Which is fun for them. And important. If the Sixers can't protect their home court in Game 3, this series can get out of hand quickly. The Pistons can snap the trap if they smell blood, you don't want to wake them up. The Sixers also need to come out and hit shots to get the crowd excited. What you don't want is to let Detroit hang around. Put them down hard and fast, or they will close on you. You won't be sneaking up on them like you did in Game 1.

2. Iggy No Biggie: All year long I hear about how great Andre Iguodala is. Every game I watch, he's marginal. He can fill a stat sheet fine, but the Pistons have completely swallowed him whole this series. The Sixers need to break 95 to win tomorrow night, and they wont' get there if Iggy doesn't have a breakout game. The Pistons have actually turned to the ridiculously long Tayshaun Prince to contain him and it's been effective. Pick and roll plays are in desperate need of improved efficiency, and Samuel Dalembert may want to stray from the lane to set the pick more in order to create the separation Iguodala needs.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the 76ers-Pistons Game 2 tonight.

1. Shock And Awe: Admit it. You didn't see it coming either. The question now is whether Detroit can get their mojo back and put a righteous beatdown on the upstart kiddos. Detroit has a penchant for taking series' off. The thing with the Sixers is now they have some belief. If the Pistons let them walk out of Detroit with a 2-0 lead, that belief is going to swell to confidence and a killer instinct. In the playoffs, you cannot let them smell blood. Detroit can't just be concerned about the Sixers. They've also got to try and save as much energy as possible, because Boston's way down the line and the Magic are suddenly looking very legit. That's all after just getting past Philly. They need a quick, decisive win tonight.

In an already spectacular opening weekend, the Sixers decided to up the ante a little bit. After being down as many as 15 in the third quarter, the Sixers stormed back and upset the Pistons 90-86 to take a 1-0 series lead in Detroit.

If someone told you that Andre Iguodala was going to have only 16 points off of 4 of 15 shooting, and Rasheed Wallace would have 24 points and nine rebounds, you'd probably think the Pistons won. Likewise, if I told you that the Sixers only shot 42% from the field, and only 33% in the first half, you'd think the Pistons won. And in fact, Detroit was shooting 48% at the half. They ended up at 39% for the game. The Pistons failed to score more than 20 points in either of the two final quarters.

So who was the hero of the day for the Sixers? Thaddeus Young? Nope. Louis Williams? Nuh-uh. Andre Miller? Well, he did have 20 points to lead the Sixers, but no. It was Reggie Evans. Yeah. That guy. Evans scored 11 points and 14 rebounds, including a game clinching put-back to secure the win.

The Nuggets and Lakers certainly produced an odd box score. Beyond Allen Iverson's explosion (as described by our Brett Edwards last night), there's the matter of Marcus Camby, who recorded a brilliant 20 rebounds... but no points. Seems odd? It is -- this would be only the second occurrence of the 'feat' since 1997, as Reggie Evans pulled it off two seasons ago.

If I told you it happened seven times between 1993 and 1997, I bet you could guess the culprit in one try: Dennis Rodman. The peak of The Worm's skewed box scores came in 1993 with the Spurs, when Rodman went for 28 rebounds -- including ten on offense -- without a point. Ten putback opportunities, zero baskets. Camby recorded four offensive boards last night, and went 0-3.

The difference between Camby and Rodman? Denver expects Marcus score; the Spurs and Bulls of the 90s had no such aspirations for Rodman. In one of those 20-rebound, 0-point games, Rodman didn't even record a field goal attempt or free throw try.

Desperate for NBA news -- any NBA news -- in this basketball-starved month that is September? Here's a big one for you: the Nuggets and 76ers got together for a trade that sends Reggie Evans to Philly in exchange for Steven Hunter. Okay, it's not quite the Allen Iverson blockbuster that went down the last time Denver and Philly traded with each other, but it could still end up being pretty interesting, at least from Philly's perspective.

The Sixers are getting a rebounding machine: Evans averaged 7.5 rebounds in just 17.1 minutes per game last year, which translates to a league-high 19.7 per 48 minutes. He was more or less buried on Denver's depth chart, though, especially with Kenyon Martin returning, but in Philadelphia he could end up starting.

At 6-8, Evans is a bit small for power forward, but he's a strong defender and obviously knows how to clean the glass, so he could be a decent stopgap until rookie Jason Smith is ready to assume a starting gig. The Sixers also received the rights to 6-foot-11 Ricky Sanchez, who spent last year in the D-League. I don't know much about him, but hey, he's 6-foot-11, why not?

The Rashard Lewis contract has essentially backed the Magic into a corner in terms of improving the rest of the roster, but that doesn't mean the team is done trying. They still might land the recently bought-out Adonal Foyle, and they're reportedly in talks with the Nuggets regarding Reggie Evans. From John Denton for Florida Today:

Evans, 27, has proven himself to be a premier rebounder when given significant minutes and he's a better-than-average post defender. He could fortify a Magic frontline that will have Dwight Howard, Tony Battie and little else.

Payroll concerns also are an issue for the Nuggets, who have $78 million on the books for next season. Getting out from under the $18.8 million still owed to Evans during the next four seasons might appeal to Denver.

One rumored trade could feature the Magic sending Keyon Dooling and Pat Garrity to Denver for Evans and enigmatic shooting guard J.R. Smith. The Magic would have to throw in another low-salaried player to make the deal work. Both Dooling and Garrity have expiring contracts, something that would be appealing to the Nuggets.

If the Magic can somehow manage to turn Dooling and Garrity into Evans and Smith, they have to pull the trigger. Yes, expiring contracts are nice, but not as nice as players with actual talent and upside.

For one, pairing Howard and Evans would give the Magic an excellent rebounding duo -- Howard finished third in the league in rebounding last year and Evans finished first in rebounds per 48 minutes. While Smith is unproven and one stop away from being a bona fide journeyman, there's no denying his electric potential. And unless you're hoping to see a whole lot of J.J. Redick this year, the Magic certainly have a vacancy at shooting guard. There's no way the Nuggets would do this trade were they not in a salary crunch, and the Magic can't afford to be too cautious in the improving East.