Reggie Evans, best known for his infamous attack on Chris Kaman’s privates a couple of years ago, was perhaps the biggest reason that Philly shocked the world last night and stole Game 1 from Detroit.
Reggie ensured the Sixers’ first-ever postseason win in Motown by rebounding maniacally, scoring more than anyone expected, and like the rest of his teammates, played exceptional defense.
Mo Cheeks’s game plan – to guard ‘Sheed straight up and live with him getting big numbers while staying home on everyone else – was also inspired.
“We played Sheed one-on-one with Sammy and we weren’t going to help,” Cheeks said. “If Sheed made shots, we were going to live with that. But we didn’t want to start doubling and chasing their other guys around. We wanted to keep them in front of us and not over-help. I think that was big for us.”
Philly played about as well as it could’ve have possibly hoped, and that right there, is the problem. They’ve probably thrown their best punch at Detroit, in what has now become a must-win situation for the Pistons, and there’s way too much time left in this series.
