Most NBA coaches act like they can't hear fans heckling them, which is a little silly considering a lot of those fans are no further than 10-15 feet away, tops. Mo Cheeks isn't like most NBA coaches, though, and has no problem engaging with fans the entire game. In Game 1 against the Pistons, he noticed that his 76ers went on a run every time the fan sitting next to the bench happened to take off his glasses. So what did he do? He walked over and took the glasses off the fan's face several times throughout the game. In Game 2, Cheeks decided to have some fun with some loud fans sitting behind him. From Chris Sheridan of ESPN:
Cheeks kept up a running dialogue with the hecklers through much of the game, asking one woman what exactly she meant when she yelled "40-42."I'm sure it was funny at the time, and it's nice to see a coach not take himself so seriously that he can't have a little fun. And while I'm sure the fans got a laugh out of it, I'm guessing they got an even bigger kick out of the home team tying the series 1-1 after dominating the 76ers to the tune of 105-88.
"What's that, our record?" Cheeks asked before holding out his index finger, then cupping his hand into a circle, signaling that the only record that counted was 1-0.
In Game 1, the Pistons let a 15-point lead turn into a four-point loss, but in Game 2 the team took control early and never looked back. After shooting 39% on Sunday, the team finished 54.9% from the field on Wednesday.
The end result looked was something that looked an awful lot like how the team played throughout the entire regular season: a dominant performance by the starters early followed by a heavy dose of the young bench late. Only one starter -- Rip Hamilton, who played 36 minutes -- finished with more than 30 minutes as the rotation went 10-deep.
The Sixers, on the other hand, simply couldn't compete while receiving virtually nothing from their best player: Andre Iguodala lost his battle with Tayshaun Prince, finishing the game with just four points and one rebound on 1-9 shooting. Pistons fans can argue that Game 1 was a total fluke, but Sixers fans may feel the same way after Game 2 knowing that Iggy likely won't struggle quite this much the rest of the way.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Mo Cheeks is a very good coach.
Posted at 2:40AM on Apr 24th 2008 by frank
2. frank: Agreed. The fact he got the Sixers in the playoffs at all is pretty amazing.
Posted at 2:47AM on Apr 24th 2008 by Matt W.
3. Yes, he is a good coach but I think the team getting into the playoffs has a lot more to do with their players and the fact that they play in the east. Philly, along with the ATL really have no business playing in the postseason.
Posted at 3:20AM on Apr 24th 2008 by ali deCastro
4. Yeah, but at least Philly has a gameplan. The Hawks, who arguably have more talent than the Sixers, just look lost on offense. They've had, like, two good possessions all series. Cheeks deserves credit for pulling his young team together so quickly.
Posted at 10:27AM on Apr 24th 2008 by RandallKim07
5. Mo Cheeks just the told the Piston fan the plain truth about the Sixers playoff record during game 2. Way to go Maurice tell the truth and the heckler shuts up.
Posted at 12:21AM on Apr 25th 2008 by George B Vieto