Newly acquired Chris Webber hit only 4 of 18 shots from the field. He says he is frustrated with his play.
[size=-1]By Joe Juliano[/size]
[size=-1]Inquirer Staff Writer[/size]
Just a week ago, the 76ers were the object of a city's affection after president and general manager Billy King pulled off a six-player deal that brought them all-star Chris Webber.
Last night, that same team was the target of the fans' dissatisfaction in its home arena, but it was hard to tell if they were aiming at Webber or the fact that the Sixers bumbled their way to a 99-93 loss to the New Jersey Nets at the Wachovia Center.
If they were unhappy with Webber, Webber has news for them: He's unhappy with himself. In his third game with his new team, Webber shot 4 of 18, committed five turnovers and contributed 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
After the game, Webber was peppered with questions by reporters, and he responded with caution.
"Anything I say will be an excuse," he said. "It's a lot more than catching and shooting. There's just a lot of adjustments I have to make. Yeah, it's frustrating. That's why I'm not going to say more than I have a lot of adjustments to make, and I hope you can respect that.
"I've never had five assists in three games in my life. Let's not go any further. I need to adjust and make it happen. I've got to find a way to figure out what's going on."
Can he make the adjustment?
"Definitely," he replied. "I have to if I think I'm the player that I am. I don't think I've ever had three games with this low scoring and rebounding, even when I came off my [knee] injury, so you can imagine how frustrated I am. That's why I'm trying to keep my words short because I know myself."
In three games as a Sixer, Webber has averaged 13.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 31.5 percent from the field. In Sacramento, he was averaging 21.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists and making 44.9 percent of his field-goal tries.
With the Sixers in the middle of a stretch of six games in eight days, Webber also has to be watched because of his surgically repaired left knee, which swells and gives him pain during a heavy schedule.
Still, fairly or unfairly, adjustments have to come quickly because time is growing preciously short for the Sixers, who lost their third straight home game. They fell 21/2 games behind the first-place Boston Celtics in the Atlantic Division, and 11/2 games behind Indiana for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Allen Iverson scored 28 of his 37 points in the second half, including 15 in the fourth quarter. But he committed nine of his team's 18 turnovers in the game while trying his hardest to incorporate Webber into the offense.
In discussing the need to acclimate Webber quickly, Iverson had a hint of desperation in his voice, fearing the fans might turn on the guy they were praising just a week ago.
"I want him to play well so bad," Iverson said. "I know how rough it is in Philadelphia. I know how hard it is to survive here. I've been through my ups and downs here. I've dealt with criticism the whole time. Being in Philadelphia helped me grow to be a man....
"I don't want to see what happened to me happen to him, and him not be able to respond. I honestly think he'll be able to handle it because he's a strong man. But I just want him to play well before the people start getting on him."
The Sixers, who registered a season high for points the night before, were sluggish last night at both ends. They shot just 43 percent from the field. They had problems matching up with the Nets' dynamic duo of Vince Carter and Jason Kidd, particularly in the second half.
Carter, who was 1 of 9 from the field and had six points in the first half, went 7 of 10 and had 26 points in the second. Kidd rebounded from a ho-hum five-point, one-assist first half and finished with 15 points and six assists.
Making life rougher for the Sixers was the loss of Aaron McKie in the second half with tendinitis in his right knee, depriving them of a key defensive player. "I thought we defended Carter and Kidd well in the first half," Sixers coach Jim O'Brien said.
After the Sixers came out of a time-out with 1 minute, 24 seconds to play and trailing, 90-85, Webber found himself open on the baseline and missed a 10-footer. He got his own rebound but shot an air ball on the follow. "I just feel being the type of player that I am, I can do a lot more," Webber said.
