Honestly I got nothing fancy for this game. We just need a win. And especially need a win against weak (I can’t say weakER right now given how the Sixers are playing) teams.
First game for the Sixers in a few days and I am just looking forward to watching some more basketball.
I am looking forward to seeing the new starting line-up if Eddie Jordan follows through on what he’s been running in practice (Carney starting, Thad at the three, maybe Jason Smith in for Brand). I interested to see if being benched lights a fire under Brand’s ass and maybe more importantly if his body is even capable of acting on his added motivation and drive.
I am even more curious to find out how any line-up change impacts overall player minutes and what types of line-ups will be used throughout the game.
And lastly will we see any defensive improvement having had plenty of time to prepare specifically for Charlotte but also in general. Have the weaknesses and holes in this teams defense been discussed and addressed by the coaches and players in practice.
On top of that we can talk about the Ed Stefanski interview on 950 ESPN today.
Key questions asked (paraphrased):
- Why not bring AI back to breathe some life into this team and put people in the seats?
- Is Eddie Jordan throwing you under the buss by not playing Brand and taking him out of the starting line-up if that occurs?
- Do you still think Brand has that all-pro type of stuff left in him to bring to the Sixers?
- A couple years ago it was said that you went in and told Maurice Cheeks to play a different way. Do you have those same kind of conversations with Eddie Jordan about Elton Brand? Basically saying can you play him some more?
- Are you of the mindset that you have to improve this team to win now or more of the mindset that this team needs to be nurtured and grow in it’s current form?
- Are you looking for a big trade now?
- Is the Sixers situation as bleak as the fans think it is?
- You were 100% convinced that any offer you made to Josh Smith Atlanta would have matched it and that’s why Brand was the guy for the Sixers?
Follow-up questions NOT asked that should have been:
- Yes or no: Do you think you would win more games this year with AI back?
- What exactly are you trying to do with this team as you say? What is the direction this team is going?
- If you say you want young players to get minutes why isn’t Jrue seeing more court time? Are you going to tell Jordan to play him more the same way you did with Thad and Speights?
- You say it’s a process getting Elton back, but how does benching him, not giving him many minutes and sitting him in 4th quarters helping the process? If he needs “games” should you be playing him more minutes to get him back quicker?
- When you signed Brand did you think the process would take this long?
- When you hired Eddie Jordan you and he both said Brand would work and fit well in his offensive system – what happened? Why isn’t it working now considering Brand had a full training camp and preseason?
- Why is Jordan giving up on Brand after only 10 games?
- What is the identity of the team NOW?
- If all that experience from the last two playoffs was valuable for the young players why aren’t we seeing it now during the season? You gotta win now to even get back to the playoffs right?
What questions would you guy have asked during that interview?
This is the game thread and I’ll be here chatting all game.
Loading ...
{ 52 comments… read them below or add one }
Check that. Elton Brand is starting.
That is good news Dannie, they have to see as soon as possible what he has. What lineup change is happening?
I don’t think there will be a line-up change now.
Good defensive start for Brand
Good active start for Brand so far. Effort is there.
What the hell was that play where Dalembert apparently thought he was Hakeem Olajuwon?!?! Holding the ball with one hand at the high post, three pass-fakes in five seconds which the defense didn’t bite on once…then spinning to attempt to dribble like a point guard in the lane and chuck up some clanker layup? Wow…dude will never get it.
How often do you see an Iguodala feed to Lou Williams for a Lou alley oop? Nice look.
OH Brand is awake.
Carney first player off the bench. Brand at center let’s see how this super small line-ups works out.
Lou Williams is getting eaten alive by Stephen Jackson, jesus.
I’d love it if Carney becomes the 6th man for the guard spots. I have no complaints about grooming him for a larger role…plays tough defense, has a good shot, real athletic. More minutes he gets over Green, the happier I am.
Elton Brand has TWO DUNKS in the first quarter. Get hype. haha
Why is the long full court pass so hard to resist passing?
Brand looks like he’s crashing the boards well. Got a few boards and 2nd chance points
Elton Brand has come alive!!!
Three dunks in the first quarter and a ton of defense from Brand.
Guest: It’s only hard to resist passing if you are a fake PG named Lou Williams.
selfish last play by iggy, i wish Holiday had been put in there instead of Green, Thad-Iggy-Carney-Williams is a dangerous lineup, i’m liking it, good moves so far, coach EJ
Thad Young’s off the ball defense is looking great so far. He’s made some excellent rotations and has quickly gotten himself in help position when the Bobcats are driving. I like the fact he is beating people to the spot and then getting in defensive stance as opposed to being lazy and just chasing a guy around going for the steal.
Why is Ivey playing over Holiday? Seriously I need an answer to that question.
No answer to that one Dannie, unfortunately. Holiday should be tossed every minute of PG he can get when Lou is resting. Because Holiday’s height and defense are strengths, it makes Ivey’s biggest strength, his defense, redundant. And while Ivey is a solid PG in running the offense, he’s not special enough to want him in there over the youngin.
Ivey also scored my first Dave-table-punch of the night when he missed a WIDE OPEN dime in Jason Smith, who was just sitting there with no one around him on the wing for an easy jump shot. Instead Ivey drove into traffic and got clobbered by three defenders.
Nice going Willie Green…selfishly breaks the offense in the halfcourt set to jack up a contested jumpshot that clangs out right when the weakside screens are being set to get other players open…only to be followed on the other end by a total defensive lapse where he turned his back and let Captain Jax waltz into the lane. PLEASE PLAY CARNEY OVER GREEN!!!
Why in God’s name is Jrue and Kapono not getting any time?
Oh sure now Kapono gets in the game. Amen. Why is Green on this team? I don’t get it. The guy brings nothing, absolutely nothing to the table.
When Andre drives into the lane looking to pass, he needs to make quicker decisions. They forced a couple turnovers by closing in on him and that lead to fastbreak baskets… which got them back in the game. If we play smart basketball in the 4th, we should win.
I think Eddie Jordan thinks he can redshirt Jrue or something
Ed. R: Willie Green is not a terrible player. I’ve not a fan of his either, but he certainly DOES bring things to the table. He’s a good, tough nosed defender, and he’s a great slasher that can attack the basket and get to the free throw line. We’re all aware his shot sucks, his shot selection is junk, and he can be selfish and just drive into traffic or chuck stuff up. But he does have skills as well.
If it’s a choice between Carney…who is bigger, plays the same level of defense AND can shoot…or Kapono who is lights out from 3 point land…or Holiday who can D up as well as distribute and needs minutes to develop…yeah, you’ve got to go those three over Green. But I do think on the right team he’s a decent 7th – 8th man that can bring some spark and scoring off the bench for 15 mpg (tops…and on our team he should be getting no more then 10-12 mpg. Ever).
iguodala is the worst play maker of all time, i swear he has no clue how to pass
Good thing the Bobcats can’t shoot. They are getting a lot of wide open looks and missing badly.
how many times you going to leave stephen jackson wide open before you realize he can bang em?
WTF
Boris Diaw just got an offensive rebound over Brand. Neither player jumped.
lol, this team is so bad. almost no one can handle the ball, and the only one that can, Lou Williams, isn’t playing his natural position
From midway in the 3rd quarter through the end of the game our offense has been shit. We’ve reverted to selfish one on one bullshit basketball. Lou Williams has been taking it to the whole too much instead of being patient. Iguodala is shooting up dumb jumpers and turnaround fadaways. Elton Brand is settling for jumpshots from the high post. Thad Young is jittery and rushing things.
We aren’t being patient, we aren’t moving the ball, we aren’t making the extra pass. The Bobcats defense DID tighten up and improve during the end of the game, but we are reacting to it horribly. We get pushed, instead of pushing back with professional basketball, we fold into selfish play. If we lose this game, this will be a very disappointing loss.
And we STILL have no freaking CLUE how to rotate quick enough to get out on 3 point shooters. We are lucky we are only down a bucket, the Bobcats have had a zillion open looks from behind the arc, and have simply been off tonight.
that was a terrible shot Dala
What do u know, Iguodala takes a HORRIBLE shot
Can we have a tracker to keep a tally on how many late game TO’s Iguodala has when he drives into traffic?! Jesus christ.
jesus christ man with the missed free throws
that was a gift from wallace
Dannie, Iggy was about to turn it over again right there before he got fouled. I fully expect the 76ers to lose this game, but I hope they prove me wrong
I wish we had a offensive coach to draw up a nice set play in these situations. Oh wait isn’t Jordan a good offensive coach? hmmmm. Looks like the same team we had last year.
sorry that last comment was toward dave
Anyone else besides me that would have bet their life Iguodala would have botched the last second layup if he didn’t pass that off to Lou? Whew. We got lucky and bailed out.
On the other end, the Bobcat’s Felton missed a WIDE OPEN Gerald Wallace who made a nice backdoor cut into the paint. If Felton had hit him, Bobcats would be up.
wtf was that shit they just did after Lou’s lay-up? I really just don’t like this team or the players on it.
Don’t they know they are playing the Bobcats and struggling and are a .500 team?
This team is still far to immature for my taste
thank god the bobcats are terrible, those last two possessions were absolute trash.
On a GREAT NOTE, not even a good note, Elton played extremely well tonight, blocking shots and hustling hard. He’s been showing some improvement lately, hopefully he keeps it up!
Guess we don’t need a set play. Not a good win. Actually a very lucky win.
One thing to keep an eye on moving forward. How many minutes did Sammy get in the 2nd half? I don’t remember him even entering the game past the 2nd quarter.
Great to get Brand playing well. But this team is still pretty terrible whether they win or lose and that is a big issue.
Wow…Elton Brand NICE on ball defense on that last play!!! He bullied (was it Diaw?) right out of the paint, using brute strength to shove him out in an awkward spot on the floor, and used his length to keep an arm up in the passing lane, resulting in a deflection that won the game.
Let’s hope this adds to Brand’s confidence and that he can build on this going forward.
More than getting his 20 and 10, the physicalness and energy Elton brings on the defensive end is SO important for this group.Maybe there is hope between he,Iggy,Jrue and Rodney for this group to defend above average at least.
yeah defense has been better lately.
Great game by Brand. Rough outing for Thad.
Lots of small ball. They are barely beating the worst teams in the league, but they are beating them. I guess that’s a good thing (or maybe not.)
Give Elton Brand a couple of games playing the 5 and let us see how the Sixers do. Then perhaps that three way deal could work and the team can certainly clear some cap space, as well as give you some extra depth.
Anyway, GO SIXERS AND GO EB!!