On August 10th, 2012, the Sixers officially announced a deal between that netted them Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson. The trade sent Andre Iguodala to Denver and Maurice Harkless and Nik Vucevic to the Orlando Magic. Iguodala has gone on to win a title with the Warriors while Vucevic is becoming one of the best young centers in the league. Averaging 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, Vucevic dropped a season-high 35 points on the Sixers in last night's 124-115 Magic victory at the Wells Fargo Center. He made 13 of his 21 shots from the field and hit all nine of his free throws.
The 25-year-old out of USC was drafted 16th overall by the Sixers in 2011, but played just 51 games with the team before being dealt. He never got consistent playing time under Doug Collins and since being traded, he's been one of the key players in Orlando, averaging 16 points and 10.9 rebounds in four plus seasons, spanning 260 games.
Vucevic has also had plenty of success against his former team in 11 games, averaging 19.3 points and 13.8 rebounds per game. For a guy who never really got an opportunity to spread his wings in Philadelphia, Vucevic tells CSNPhilly's Jessica Camerato that he doesn't have any hard feelings toward the Sixers organization.
“It’s always nice to come back here and play in this arena,” Vucevic said. “I met a lot of great people here. Everybody was great towards me. I have a lot of good memories, no hard feelings when I come back here. I just enjoy coming back here, playing well and trying to win.”
The Sixers had trouble containing Vucevic and finding energy throughout the game, trailing by as many as nine in the first quarter, 11 in the second, but managed to trail by just five at halftime. The Sixers managed to take a six-point lead in the third, but ended up down by six at the end of the quarter. The Magic ran away with things in the fourth, as the Sixers were outscored 11-2 to start the final stanza.
“To be totally honest with you, I looked up, we were up six, the crowd was in it, feeling pretty good about ourselves,” Ish Smith said. “All of a sudden, I looked and we were down. They kept going and kept executing. All the momentum was gone then.”
“It’s just a three- or four-minute period where everything collapses and the game kind of gets out of hand,” Nik Stauskas said. [CSNPhilly.com]
Philadelphia shot 54.4 percent from the field compared to Orlando's 48.2 percent, but free throws were a big factor with the Magic taking 41 shots from the line and making 36 of them. The Sixers made 19 of 26. Falling behind early in the game can't become a habit for the Sixers, who don't look much like the team that nearly upset the Golden State Warriors just a few weeks ago.
“I think the individual defenders, when we start games, that starter group’s got to get going,” Brown said. “Really, we need to get going. I think that our group that we’re bringing off the bench, their spirit and their energy is where, for the most part, we want it to be. We need better defense from that starting group.” [CSNPhilly.com]
Over their last four games, the Sixers have allowed 114, 121, 129, and 124 points. Orlando also scored 28 points off the Sixers 22 turnovers while the Magic turned the ball over 11 times, leading to just 13 Sixers points.
The Sixers don't have time to think about the lapses against the Magic as they are in Detroit for a matchup with Andre Drummond and the Pistons at 7:30pm tonight.
Brandon Apter is a Managing Editor for Sixerdelphia.com
