Comments on: Sixers Get Lucky Going into Tonight’s Game Against Utah

By: The Real Rob

The Real Rob — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:26:46 +0000

Bad news: Marresse Speights will be out 6-8 weeks with a partial MCL tear!
http://www.csnphilly.com/pages/landing_09?Speights-Out-6-8-Weeks-With-Partial-MCL-=1&blockID=91117&feedID=704

That is a big loss, plus it could take Speights an additional week to four weeks to really get back in the groove.

Hopefully, the Sixers will finally get the real Elton Brand going and his minutes will not be yo-yoed as much and Jason Smith will get more solid minutes for a guy who missed a year of basketball. Perhaps, Eddie Jordan will finally get an established rotation going. Also, will Primo Brezec get activated and play at all this season? Will Ed Stefanski sign a player, perhaps a PF?

Hopefully, this team will have enough depth to step up without Speights. I hope so, (gulp)! The team has a couple days off to prepare for the Bobcats this Wednesday at home.

GO SIXERS!!

By: jjg

jjg — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:12:06 +0000

At least Sixers didn’t come in to the Windy City on little cat feet. Instead arrived ready to challenge, probably due to their head coach calling them kitties following Jazz pushing and pasting. Raced to 16 pt. bulge in 1st but water finds its level. TOs, missed FTs, scant paint production, penetrable D (and better B-ball IQs & balance of Bulls) accounted for 17 pt. 4th Q opponent advantage (33 pt. Sixer sag). Was whittled away by Chicago’s too-early relaxation and Sixers’ trademark, frenzied, up-and-down, less-thinking-involved finish, resulting in stat lines of Iguodala & Williams to belie actual overall performances. Should have stayed home: Jason Kapono, Willie Green, Marreese Speights, Taj Gibson.

A foolish inconsistency of concentration and effort: the hobgoblin of little teams.

By: The Real Rob

The Real Rob — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:08:05 +0000

Adam– who is The Real Bob? LOL. But seriously, I think you might be right.

Tonight, I happened to catch a bit of the game. ( I was babysitting and their TV blackouts local Philly games.)

The box score just says it all, of all nights, our bench did not show up and the team made only 13/21 from the line. Surprisingly, the Sixers shot the threeball extremely well and they defended the Bulls well from the perimeter. Everything was very close in the stats and it was a close game, but the missed free throws and the surprising lack of bench effort cost us the game there. (Good to see the balanced scoring from our starters, especially Brand–they have to keep this up if the team wants to greatly improve in any which way!!)

GO SIXERS (Maximize on your days off!)

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:50:22 +0000

The Real Bob – i see us winning two of those games if we’re lucky

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:43:56 +0000

76ers have no hope for this year. Hopefully we get a high draft pick and just draft jon wall

By: Morty

Morty — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:32:23 +0000

Can’t agree more with those upset with the coach. The team is more then likely stuck with Brand, so they really need to make a good faith effort to get him on track, if that is possible. At least enough to make him trade-able for more than another team’s trash.
The lack of PT for Holiday is also another indication of misplaced priorities. Unlike Ivey, Green and Carney, Holiday has a potential impact future in the NBA, so his development should be a priority, not an afterthought.

By: Dave T

Dave T — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:26:42 +0000

Fkd215: We definitely see eye to eye with how the Brand situation is panning out, and you explained what I was trying to get at perfectly in your last post.

Greek: You bring up a great point about the “body language” aspect of the Sixers. There is a clear gaping lack of camaraderie on this team. It’s evident in how they listen to the coach during timeouts, the lack of fire for each other when good plays are made, AND when bad plays are made people aren’t getting as upset as they should be…where are our leaders stepping up and knocking some sense and life into the team? And let’s not even discuss killer instinct…non-existent for this squad. At least, right now.

What’s a shame is that, unfortunately for Brand, there are no other veterans on this team with any clout that could give him an earful to wake him the fuck up out of his funk. I absolutely don’t believe that it’s injuries that is killing him. Yes, he doesn’t have the 100% explosiveness and hops he once had, but we are not talking about C-Webb here. Brand seems like he’s in shape, and he’s had a full almost TWO YEARS now for his leg to heal up. Maybe his shoulder is bothering him more then he’s letting on…but I have a feeling this is a giant mental block thing for him.

Whereas Boston’s big three of Ray, Truth and KG will all get in each others faces for blunt talks or pick me up conversations…who on the Sixers could possibly off this to Brand? Iguodala is the closest one we have to someone that can do that (and I’ll readily admit he’s improved over the years in the leadership category)…but he’s not the personality type to change someone’s outlook by the sheer will of his personality. That leaves EJ…who with the yo-yo-ing of Brand’s minutes (as another poster said, forget who) is only making things worse.

Sammy in the high post – This really is laughable. This is inexcusable and there is no reason for it. As others have said, he sets junk picks and is a terrible passer. WHY ON EARTH would he be in the high post playing that role when we have not one, but FOUR other players that could be a legit option in that spot: Brand, Speights, J Smith, Thad…all of whom have varying strengths to rely on in the high post. Unreal.

By: The Real Rob

The Real Rob — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:13:14 +0000

Also, am I crazy to think this? I think Bryon Scott will coach the LA Lakers and become Phil Jackson’s successor next season.

Then of course, there is always a chance of him waiting in the line of Ed Stefanski’s former co-workers. (I doubt it though!) The Sixers need more help in terms of talent, than a new coach.

By: The Greek

The Greek — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:30:00 +0000

Dave T, during the draft combine Jason Smith was one of the fastest guys there. His times were faster then many of the guards who ran.
Lou is playing much better this season but it should be coming off the bench.
Until Jrue gets the starting nod, this team is damn near unwatchable. Although us diehards will continue to watch them, but man does it suck.
Willie Greene playing 15 minutes a game is 15 more then he should be playing.
One last note, this team looks like they don’t like each other. When a guy scores intead of his teamates running over to them for a high five there just isn’t any reaction. Brand gets an and 1 yesterday ans Sammy who is one foot away doesn’t even congratulate Brand.
During the knick game there was Thad diving on the ground for a loose ball. The whistle blows and Sammy is right next to him. What does Sammy do? Instead of lending a hand, the goofball grabs the ball and plays hackey sack with it. This shit is important, you need people playing for each other. This team sucks, I heard that we are last in attendance, well deserved.
I was the first to call out Ed last season to a chorus of boos, well looks like I was right.

By: The Real Rob

The Real Rob — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:23:00 +0000

We are getting close to the one-year “anniversary” of the day Eddie Jordan was fired from the Wizards and ironically the Sixers will play that team that day. So far, it is not so much the coach to blame entirely, but the efforts of our starting lineup. But who has given Lou Williams, Andre Iguodala, and Thaddeus Young the green light to be trigger happy from downtown? Lou did the same thing last year. This season, he started off brilliantly and then succumbed to bad shot taking and less distributing. I thought early on that Lou would actually fill in the Andre Miller void nicely based on the first four games, but the only thing that bodes well for him is the rebounding.

These turnovers are getting way out of hand. This team needs a true PG somewhere, perhaps a veteran backup, like Antonio Daniels or Juan Dixon, someone who knows the Princeton Offense left to right.

Dalembert has been Dalembert on both ends of the floor (only great defense was against Lopez at New Jersey in the final seconds). This team no longer has Theo Ratliff, who threw DiLeo under the bus and yet Donyell Marshall for Sixers postgame is getting very critical of this team (which I love by the way!). This team needs a proper backup, because Primo Brezec is not going to get the minutes.

So far, the bench has clearly outplayed the starters, which is not so unusual for other teams, but very disturbing for this team.

Elton Brand needs a proper rhythm and not have his minutes yo-yoed. If he does not produce, then by all means start reducing those minutes. He clearly has lost his confidence on the offensive end! Defensively and on the boards, Brand is still looming.

Whatever remains this month will be tough! Take a look:

11/14 @ Chicago
11/18 vs Charlotte
11/20 vs Memphis (probably without Iverson)
11/21 @ Cleveland
11/24 @ Washington (one-year “anniversary” and a motivator for EJ)
11/25 @ Boston (oh boy!)
11/27 vs Atlanta (hope our Georgia kids still have their charm)
11/29 @ San Antonio
11/30 @ Dallas

Anyway, GO SIXERS!!! (This team must avoid the slow starts if they want to improve!)