It’s time for a much-needed change of pace on the Sixers front. We have pounded our heads against the wall over the Andre Iguodala contract situation, and if for some reason you are obsessed with it, here are other bloggers‘ opinions. But let’s turn our attention to the team as a whole right now.
August Power Rankings: 76ers are 13th
Inside Hoops has taken a stab at ranking all 30 NBA teams extra early going into the 2008 season. Today they updated their power rankings, reflecting all the player movement thus far in the off-season. And, as you probably guessed from the title of this post and subhead, they have the Sixers sitting at number 13. Really?
So you’re probably thinking, “Where’s the link?” First I want you to think of 12 teams better than the Sixers as of this second…
Now click here for the rankings.
Do you agree? Disagree? When I saw the list my first reaction was that there is no way Denver or Dallas are better than the Sixers (assuming Iguodala is on the team of course). I also don’t believe a very young and mostly unproven Portland squad is better than the Sixers just yet either. But if Portland’s actual play on the court equals the acclaim of their talent, I could very well back track on that assertion.
That would put the Sixers at #10. Is that reasonable? I say yes, considering this revamped team hasn’t played an actual game together yet.
But can/should they be even higher on the list?
In my mind (and my heart) I believe the Sixers can surpass Orlando, Phoenix and Detroit as well. Defensively I think the Sixers are, and will be, much better than both Orlando and Phoenix.
Orlando/Sixers
The only distinct one-sided advantage Orlando has is Dwight Howard in the post. With that said in 4 games last year the Sixers did a great job of limiting his touches, easy baskets and overall shot attempts with strong team defense. Howard will be better, but I expect the Sixers’ overall defense will be as well. Howard had his 4th lowest scoring average against Philadelphia last season.
Phoenix/Sixers
As for Phoenix, if Shaq is healthy and can pull a season out of his ass reminiscent of his 2005 performance, the Suns could have one more legit year as a possible contender. But, really how likely is that? All reports are that O’Neal is healthy, working out, and Phoenix is very optimistic about how much better he and the team will be after having had a full camp and eventual full season with the Suns. I love Shaq, so I hope he does well - but the odds are against him at age 35. Advantage goes to the Sixers in my book. Andre Miller plays very well against Steve Nash who is slowing down at a high rate. And we finally have a low post player to expose Amare’s deficiencies in man-to-man defensive situations. I like the 76ers in a series against Phoenix.
Detroit/Sixers
On to the Bad Boys. How much can we really take from that playoff series? The answer to that question depends on your opinion of Detroit’s effort and motivation. Did they underestimate the Sixers and not put forth their best effort? Did they not turn it on until later in the series when they closed things out rather emphatically? Or did the Sixers just come out and play them tough, push them to play their best ball and match up pretty well? I think it is a combination of both, with a little bit of weak coaching on Mo Cheeks’ part as well. But this season I feel the match-ups are much better for the Sixers.
- I’ve said it before; I will say it again, Iguodala at the two forces Detroit to make an important choice on who guards Thaddeus and Iguodala. One way or another the Sixers gain an advantage.
- Elton Brand will be much more effective in pick-and-roll situations on both ends of the court. His individual post defense will bolster the Sixers’ chances as well.
- I am hoping, praying Mo Cheeks has learned his lesson about making adjustments. On the other side Detroit will have a rookie head coach at the helm. Will those veterans respond well to him when adversity hits?
- Finally the Pistons’ old bones are a year older, while we expect the Sixers’ young players will be improved.
This was by no means an exhaustive analysis, rather just a little something to whet the appetites of Sixers and all NBA fans going into this much anticipated season. And a nice departure from all the Iguodala contract hoopla.
Where do you think the Sixers rank in the Eastern Conference and the NBA as a whole?
So, are Sixers fans smokin’ dope?
We conducted a survey right after the Brand signing asking how many games the Sixers will win next season. 71% said the Sixers would win 51 or more games. That had a sample size of 106. Sixers.com is running virtually the same survey and so far 52% say the Sixers will win 51-60 games next season. That is with over 20,000 responses.
Are we all educated basketball fans who understand the game, know how to analyze match-ups and make realistic and compelling arguments in favor of our team? Or are we really just being overly optimistic homers?
You make the call.
34 comments ↓
we are better than Denver, Portland and Orlando. but its tough to rise to the real elite, when you lock up guys that arent good enough to win with. thats exactly what we are going to do
Pheonix got better with Lopez and Barnes plus time with Shaq while we have to put the pieces together and Mo, well, he is the key; rotations, end of game situations, etc. . Denver, are they kidding? S. Hunter may start at center if Nene isn!t healthy. Anywhere from 10 to 12 probably. Are we better than any of the top 8 teams in the west ?
@suede - I think Barnes has very little if any impact on Phoenix and wouldn’t be surprised if Alando Tucker ends up out working/playing him for minutes when it’s all said and done.
Phoenix still has not addressed their back-up PG issue and I am wondering if they are thinking D.J. Strawberry is good enough to handle it right now. Either way they get considerably worst when he goes out of the game.
Lopez is like Speights in my mind. How much does he play and when he does, as a rookie how effective will he really be? I don’t think Phoenix got better at all.
Who are the top 8 teams in the West going into the season? My list…
And I think we are better than the bottom 3 teams.
Dannie, defensive players [Lopez] seem to be able to contribute sooner, and next to Shaq and Amare he is a nice fit. Forgot about Tucker and Strawberry, both should help defensively. Barnes, if I had to choose between him and Rush, I!d probably take him, he!s done it in a playoff situation where Rush has not had that oppurtunity yet.
This year, I see us in landing in 49-52 win range, and probably between 8th -12th best team in the league.
Next year, however, is where I see us doing real damage, and I’d give us 55 wins, and a lock for a top 6th-7th team in the NBA. I’m a huge chemistry guy, so I’m not one that tends to predict giant turnarounds very quickly. Granted, I did say the exact same thing about Boston last year (this first year they’ll get 53 wins, and NEXT year they’ll win the championship…that prediction didn’t turn out great!) but I see that more as an aberration than the norm.
I think the one thing I have yet to hear analysts and most fans really get is our DEFENSE. Our defense has the potential to be flat out incredible. Assuming we retain Iggy, there is no other starting lineup in the NBA, aside from Detroit and Houston, that can boast a starting five unit where ALL FIVE GUYS are either good, or great, individual defenders. Even great defensive teams like Boston and San Antonio have excelled at defense because of their team philosophy, and covering up holes of individual defensive deficiencies, or having cases where perennial crappy or mediocre defenders (Allen, Ray…Pierce, Paul…Parker, Tony) decide to actually commit themselves to defense.
With the way Mo had these guys playing as a defensive unit last year, the addition of Brand to anchor our inside defense with Sammy, as well as a veteran presence to give us a tough, winning attitude, will make us unstoppable glue. Good individual defenders + a team that’s already VERY capable of playing very good team defense + 20 & 10 free agent + more confidence, swagger, cohesiveness + Thad a year older and willing to do anything to improve + two ridiculously athletic wings in Iggy and Thad = off the chart potential for a lock down defense. This will lead to so many fast break points it’s not even funny.
I have yet to hear analysts take this into account when discussing rankings, and it’s something we’re going to make them look very stupid for. With Inside’s rankings…I’d put us over Denver and Orlando for now, that’s about it. We might have a better record by the end of the year, but Portland’s future is so bright with adding Bayless and Rudy Fernandez, I wouldn’t bet against them.
My East rankings:
1. Boston
2. Detroit
3. Toronto
4. Philly
5. Washington
6. Orlando
7. Cleveland
8. Milwaukee
9. Atlanta
10. Indiana or Chicago
I see us, Toronto, Washington and Orlando as VERY good teams that will all have similar records around 46-52 wins, with next year us really separating ourselves from the pack.
Until proven otherwise, I would still put Orlando at #3 in the East, and until proven otherwise (i.e. Jermain O’Neal can stay healthy and play at a high level once again) Toronto would be #5 behind the Sixers. That means the Sixers start at #4 in the East as their +/- preseason projection, and probably #10 or 11 in the league.
Dannie,
Agree with you regarding Phoenix; 300 lb. 35 yr. olds aren’t apt to elevate their game. But my money’s on Magic & Pistons in a Sixers series, though Brand narrows the gap. 23 yr. old “Superman” Howard plus Turkoglu’s efficient (and always threatening) 19.5 and Nelson maturation helps take care of business in Disneyland. As for Pistons, throw out the stats and diagrams, those geezers (and that organization) have the winning mindset for which young Sixers still reach.
The Pistons are an interesting case. Could they simply fall off a cliff, performance-wise? Just like with the Eagles, it is hard to climb the long season, reach the conference finals year after year, and then fall a bit short. At some point fatigue, mental if not physical, has to creep in. I would not be shocked if they did collapse (less than 50 wins, bottom 4 seed), and neither would be shocked if they did not.
Prince & Hamilton, you can count on. Billups, McDyess and Wallace might need extra Cheerios for motivational valleys. Take a look at their roster; just deeper than Sixers. Plus, they’ve added Kwame to Maxiell - that’s 12 bruising fouls to work with.
whoever put Denver at 11 is on crack. Their defense was horrible WITH Camby, this year it will probably be the worst in the league.
i actually would put orlando, phoenix, and detroit ahead of us for now. they are all proven teams with experience. As the article from insidehoops.com said, the sixers/trailblazers did win a few more games than than they should have.
although i agree, i put them ahead of the mavericks, blazers, and nuggets.
theres no way the nuggets can be too effective that no defense, the age-ing mavericks, will continue to decline and the blazers are very young and talented, however they are an unproven team and with the departure of jarret jack and james jones, their outside shooting is now in question.
i agree with the sixers at the #10 spot, and 4th or 5th spot in the east.
it kinda sucks that the three division winners automatically get the top 3 spots in the playoffs, so that the sixers dont have a chance to beat out the magic or the pistons, even though that would be unlikely anyways.
My rough take on Sixers v. Pistons rosters:
DalembertMcDyess
Thad<Prince
Igoudala=Hamilton
Miller=Billups
EvansStuckey
Green=Hunter
Rush>Afflalo
Pistons are still better, but we’ve closed the gap.
Don’t know what happened there. At the start, it should read:
DalembertMcDyess…
Ahh forget it… formatting is off…
you guys are giving this orlando team zero credit…they are the second best team in the east—they went out this offseason and got exactly what htey needed, and that was a defensive minded 2/3 in pietrus—they are going to be a tough out in the east this year…somebody has washington being better than them—lets be serious…
Hey guys, I just found this on myfoxphilly.com:
“The Philadelphia 76ers have placed their mascot Hip-Hop on the injured-reserve list.
The team said the popular and entertaining mascot suffered an injury to his knee while attempting one of his sky-walking dunks for a group of children.
Hip-Hop is beginning an extensive rehabilitation program, effective immediately.
“We expect Hip-Hop to make a full recovery,” said Senior Vice President of Business Operations Lara Price. “We know how badly he wants to return and we know how much his fans are looking forward to him getting back on the court to perform the dunks that made him famous.
Hip-Hop, a 10-year veteran, has only missed one game since joining the club after attending college at John Hopkins University. The only time he was forced to miss action was due to birth of his first “bunny”, during Game Five of the 2001 NBA Finals.
Hip-Hop hopes to return in time for the start of the regular season.”
If we lose Hip-Hop for an extended period of time it could cost us a few wins. Is his backup capable of stepping in and giving us the same level of production? If not, will we go over the luxury tax threshold to sign a replacement? Whatever the case, the Sixers better not take this situation lightly. Just when we thought everything was lining up for us to have a great season, this happens.
hey morty, Brand doesnt get to play?
Ryan:
I’ll try it again, the formatting didn’t go through so things got messed up.
Dalembert is worse than Wallace
Brand is better than McDyess
Thad is worse than Prince
AI2 and Hamilton is a push
Miller and Billups is a push
Lou is better than Stuckey
Evans is worse than Maxiel
Smith is slightly worse than Kwame
Green gets the edge over Hunter
Rush is better than Afflalo
Morty,
All due respect, but I just don’t think the analyzing player vs. player by position thing ever works for gaging who has the better team. Ever. A good or bad team has nothing to do with how good one position is better then another. Players have strengths, and players have weaknesses…unless you are saying “Is Kobe better than Willie Green” (obviously, a yes)…it comes down to what each player does for their particular team, how well they do it, and how the team chemistry is.
It doesn’t really matter if people think Iguodala or Rip is better…or Sammy D or Dyess…(which is very subjective anyway and you could argue either way effectively). That comparison doesn’t gauge wins or losses, and certainly won’t effect who wins a series.
And now to completely ignore what I’ve just said and have some fun…Rodney Stuckey is superior in every way, shape and form in almost every facet of the game to Lou Williams.
I agree with people saying Orlando is a team to watch out for…their frontcourt improves getting Tony Battie back, another year of chemistry together is a big plus. The Pietrus signing will shore up the wing spot a bit (although he’s mostly a slashing defense guy without a great shot, similar to Bogans and Mo Evans, just a bit better, so I don’t see this as a huge upgrade). Clearing up their PG logjam of Nelson, Arroyo and Dooling to Nelson as the clear cut starter, and Anthony Johnson as a great defensive, solid backup will help them a lot too.
I really see Sixers, Raptors, Wizards and Magic as having equally improved “if” things go right, and very interchangeable in the 47-52 win range.
Sixers are undoubtedly better than the Pistons, Suns, and Nuggets. The Nuggets shouldn’t even be in the top 20 now. The Celtics, Lakers, and Hornets are the only three teams that I will concede should definately rank ahead of the Sixers right now. Guess that means they should fall somewhere from 4 to 10.
Rumor going around the forums that Smith f’ed up his knee. Guess we will find out in the morning…
good one bski! am i the only one that appreciates parody here?
Hip hop now Jason Smith, not good. Stefanski has said he plans to sign another minimum big man, that becomes even more important if those rumors are accurate.
My daughter is a big Theo fan, but does he come here for the minimum, not sure. Harrison is a good shot blocker but seems to be hurt all the time.
JKAY….Thanks. Just trying to lighten the mood a bit.
Hoopsworld has the Sixers ranked 4th in the east. That’s a little better. Plus, they have both Cleveland and Detroit ahead of us, two teams I think we surpass. Anyway, at least it’s a bit more respect for us.
Dave T:
Sure sure, just looking at the roster depth overall in response to jjg. If we did a comparison of last years rosters … woah, much much worse. From 1-12 our roster should be much stronger than last year.
Stuckey shot 40% from the field and 18% from 3. Potential? I could not say, but for now I’ll take Lou. We can revisit later this season.
@suede - yes Theo plays for the minimum, he is at that stage of his career I believe right now at 35, especially having not played more than 63 games in 5-years. Play for a winner is all he should care about.
@BSKI - glad you posted that I was going to add it to the post, in the comments is just fine. It seems they have a similar opinion of Orlando as I do. But I think they have Cleveland much too high. LeBron is great, but he got to a Finals in a much weaker Eastern Conference. That one-man game isn’t going to do as well this season and going forward. He needs better help. Thoughts all?
Rodney Stuckey is not better than Louis Williams at all. Morty produced some stats (thanks) they show a pretty fair disparity in production and “efficiency” which Dave you like to talk about. For a guy who penetrates as much as he does and doesn’t shoot many 3’s his FG shooting is surprisingly awful.
Stuckey is extremely unproven and a terrible, let me repeat TERRIBLE shooter. He is very good at penetrating, finishing (when he is under control) and getting fouled then making his free throws (which is were most of his points come from). He is a solid defender. That’s it. He isn’t a gifted passer, when he drives he is looking to score 100%.
Dave T - I can’t believe you would say something like this…
What is your basis for this statement? A couple decent playoff games (recency effect)?
Ratliff would be a nice addition. He’s both a better version of Booth, and would be a ‘nice circle comes round’ story.
Dannie….No problem. Happy to do my part.
Ratliff would be a good pickup….What’s up with Smith’s knee?
josh smith signed a 5yr/$58mm offer sheet with Memphis whivh im sure atlanta will match. if we pay Iggy a dime more, we are idiots.
when i was watching the olympic team play the other day, the projected 2012 team had rodney stuckey in it??!!?? and andre iguodala wasnt???!!?? any thoughts?
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