The 76ers won their first game of the season in Chicago, 98-85.  They did it with gritty defense and hustle.  Andre Miller looked determined to get his game going from the start. He had 12 in the first quarter and 25 for the game.  He was aggressive in looking for his shot.  Miller has averaged around 14 point per game for his career.  The Sixers will benefit if Miller scores above his averages this season.  I would like to see him be as aggressive every night as he was last night. Andre Iguodala’s line was 22 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.   Iguodala did not have a great offensive game, but he was covering Luol Deng and then switched to Ben Gordon, who scored 25.  Gordon is a tough assignment. He can move and get his shot from all over the floor and was causing the Sixers pain when Iguodala was asked to cover him. 

 ”I was exhausted trying to switch off on both guys, and I was still trying to find a way to create on the offensive end,” Iguodala said.

Despite the hard duty on defense, Andre scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter when it counted most.

The Sixers played against a very good Toronto team in their opener. In that game they rebounded very well.  They again out-rebounded their opponent last night.  Reggie Evans and Sam Dalembert are a tough pair on the glass, and rookie Jason Smith is proving that he has some stones as well.  Teams that win on the glass give themselves a chance to win games by limiting their opponent’s opportunities. Let’s hope that pattern continues.

The Bulls were not at their best, and maybe all of the Kobe Bryant trade talk has taken a toll on their psyche.  John Paxson has said that no trade was ever close to being done, but there have been non stop rumors since preseason.  The failure of the Bulls to come to terms with Deng and Gordon on contract extensions may have been a distraction for two of their key players. They are expected to be in the hunt for the conference title, and I would bet they will pick up their play quickly as the annoyances fall behind them.