Plain and simple, the Sixers need to come out and jump all over the Thunder from the tap in this game. Last night the Knicks beat OKC 116-106, but they led at the half by 24 (68-44).
The Sixers won a very ugly game with Iguodala and Brand shooting a combined 6-29 from the field. Pulling out games like that is a characteristic of a good team. Pounding 1-8 teams that are over-matched is another trait of a good basketball team. We will see tonight if the Sixers have what it takes and not play down to their competition.
Sixers vs. Oklahoma City Game Notes
As you probably have noticed with these game posts, I set some goals, point out something to watch for and establish an expectation with my pregame comments. Tonight was about beating up on bad teams and avoiding let downs. At halftime with the score 46-42 I thought we would be in for another long and painful night. But shortly into the 3rd period it was clear the Sixers were ready to put this game way early.
They went on a 21-6 run in the first 6 minutes of the quarter, and it was over. As always the Sixers pulled away with aggressive defense led by Andre Miller. He got a few early steals that lead to dunks and layups, and the Sixers were off to the races. Here are a few of the notes I took during the game…
Thaddeus Young is Clearly the Best Player on the Sixers
It’s one thing to score when you get countless touches and plays run for you. It is an entirely different thing when you are able to consistently score without an offense revolving around you. He just has a nose for the ball and always seems to be in the right place at the right time on offense. I look forward to every Sixers game for him and him only at this point. If he keeps this up the NBA will need to add him to the damn All-Star ballot. Right now you have to write him in. 23 points on 10-15 shooting. Another stellar performance for Young.
Sammy Played the Way He is Supposed to
13 points, 16 boards, 3 blocks, only 1 turnover on 6-10 shooting. I think he is capable of this type of performance almost every night. The reason he doesn’t do it now is because he often fails to adjust his game based on the different match ups and game style. But the one thing he can control every night is his energy level. He was fantastic tonight, and the Sixers are going to need him if they want to compete with the elite teams in the league.
Sixers Winning Statistics
Every game I look a 5 stats for the Sixers. If they excel in most, if not all, of these areas, it’s almost inevitable they will win.
- Rebounds (especially offensive) – 54 boards tonight, 19 on the offensive end
- Opponents turnovers (Sixers steals) – 18 OKC turnovers, 9 on Sixer steals
- Fast break points – 25
- Sixers turnovers – 14
- Assists – 31 assists on 45 made field goals
Each one of these areas tells you something about how the Sixers played even if you didn’t get to watch the game.
Rebounding tells me whether or not the Sixers played tough or soft. Are they letting a team push them around like in the Utah game or are they being physical, active and controlling the paint on both ends of the floor?
Forced turnovers and steals gives me an idea of the effort on defense. Turnovers are caused by pressure and activity on defense, and both of those things take effort more so than skill or strategy. Did they pressure the ball and disrupt the offense? Did they have active hands and get into passing lanes? This along with the board work obviously lead to…
Fast break points. Can’t run if you don’t secure the ball and force your opponent into mistakes.
Sixers turnovers. Not many teams can overcome a lot of turnovers, but the Sixers are far from good enough on offense in the half-court to give the ball away and lose possessions. They need more shot attempts to make up for the fact that they are not a great shooting team as a whole. Tonight they had 96 field goal attempts vs. 86 for the Thunder.
Assists. Look we don’t have a Kobe, LeBron, AI or any elite level offensive player who can carry a team with their individual ability. So the iso game isn’t a great option for this team. They need to share the ball, move well without the ball and play as a unit in order to be successful on offense. I can look at the box score without seeing the final score and if the Sixers have a low percentage of assisted field goals, I am almost certain they lost. For the most part it just means guys were forced to do things on their own and didn’t create easy shots for each other on offense. And the Sixers just don’t have the players capable of doing that well on a consistent level.
Good Win
The Sixers did what they were supposed to do, and that is important. Many people had lofty goals and expectations for this team in the regular season in terms of games won. When you face a weak opponent like tonight you gotta pound them. Elton Brand said something after the game that was right on the money. Someone asked him how they prepared for OKC knowing they were a struggling team and if he or the team felt bad for pummeling a team like they did tonight. He said, and I paraphrase – “No, not really. You gotta remember they are still a professional team.” That is exactly right. And good professional teams should bury the bad ones. It helps you stay sharp and on your game. It’s just good business.
Next game: @ Minnesota on Wednesday
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
Do you remember last year when Dalembert played the Thunder (Sonics)? He said he had “fun”!
Anyway, I hope he does understand his limits and give a modest double-double (mainly double digit rebounds).
Dalembert has excellent one-on-one defense on lanky players just like himself (Garnett, Duncan, Pau Gasol, Yao, etc).
He needs to establish that defensive mentality he had in the second half last season!
Overall, great game for the Sixers and hopefully we continue racking up wins against the “bad” teams and blow them out of the water. Also, play Kareem Rush and Donyell Marshall in meaningful minutes, Mo!!
Dannie, missed both games in real time, because I got to go to my first Penn St. game yesterday, but watched Ok.City this morning and will watch Indiana,[D.V.R.] today; You mentioned at the beginning of the year about a 10 game sample; would love to see a team and individual report card thus far, and where do you rank Brand among the poweer forwards, because I thought we were getting a top 5 p.f. and not sure he is that. It seems our starting backcourt is starting to put up good numbers across the board, but as we all know, it is about more than numbers.
Suede - Sixers don’t play until Wednesday so that is exactly what I plan on doing in the next day or two. I had a post prepped with the title “Sixers Woes” I guess I will re-title it now just a bit since they have gotten to 5-5.
I think it’s astounding how the numbers play out when the Sixers win, and when they don’t. The ppg when we win is over 100, but when we lose it is around 90. And you went into detail about why that is, looking at fastbreak points, assists, etc. I can’t say I am thrilled with the way the Sixers have been playing so far, however I do think it can be corrected. The key of the game when we lose is turnovers. Not coming from one person, but most everybody on the squad. If you look at the Magic game, they forced double teams on Elton Brand forcing bad passes and steals. They cut off penetration from Iggy. And they forced Thad to beat them. I think it’s simply a matter of learning to all play together. Yes most of the starters were there last year, but they ALL have different roles, making a learning process over again. Once they find an identity, I think they will make a strong playoff run. Great post Dannie and you touched on some key issues.
“Pounding 1-8 teams that are over-matched is another trait of a good basketball team.” Apparantly this does not translate to the Philadelphia football team. I am done with the Reid/McNabb debacle.
There is something about this team that is great and that is how big their heart is.
Bob Salmi says it best, they have that “instant amnesia” of where a player makes a mistake on one possession, but then that player redeems himself on the next possession, whether it be on offense or defense.
Of the Philadelphia teams playing right now, the Sixers are the least frustrating to watch. (How can the Eagles be tied with the Bengals? What? Flyers? Why did we trade R.J Umberger and let Jason Smith leave? What?)
Let’s go Sixers and get those next 4 games, (to the fans they look winnable)!! The Sixers have been very dominant over the “weak” teams so far, we haven’t been this sure of ourselves in whether the Sixers can win this game and that game since 2002-2003 (Larry Brown’s last season with the team).
Please Mo, play Rush and Marshall in critical minutes, especially against the elite teams!!
The best thing of all I!m seeing is that the “it” they had last year is creeping back into the picture. There were stretches in both games where we pressured and created turnovers and got out and ran. Would love to see more of a Willie, Royal backcourt till L.Will. gets his head on straight, he looks like a mixed up KID out there now. Ivey seems to bring a R.Evans type defensive intensity to the backcourt when he is in there and when we get down a bunch I believe he and Reggie are a good answer.As the turnovers go down this team may be very good!!
Interesting numbers: In Hollinger player stats, at #34 M.Spieghts is only Sixer in top 50. On broadcast Salmi said A.Miller is leading N.B.A. in go ahead f.g.!s in 4th quarter.
Flat Toronto, Indiana minus Dunleavy, Okie City – OK for gestation period, but nothin’ to brag about. Beats losing though. When
halfcourt offense clicks on a fairly steady basis, time to stand and cheer. Until then, just another group of runners that’ll get thumped when forced into playing basketball for keeps. Last 3 – potential shown.
Hey Jumpin, is it me or is Brand!s game more like Barkley than a prototypical power forward? Love his handle and athletism but expected a more post oriented player. Am I reading it wrong?
The Timberwolves game will be an interesting one because it is a potential “trap” game due to the Wolves losing a number of close games by an average of 5.8 pts in their 8 game losing streak. The Sixers have a couple days off to prepare for the Wolves and a Cheeks’ type of team pays attention to detail and have been blowing out the “bad” teams thus far (most of those at Wachovia though). Something has to give for either team. I think it will be a Sixers victory, maybe a 12 point victory and the Wolves’ youth will be exposed, but don’t take Rick Kamla’s Wolves lightly though (NBATV joke– keep those fantasy stats up though)
Also we will see former Sixers Rodney Carney, Kevin Ollie, and Calvin Booth, perhaps some motivation for them, Carney in particular!
But I think the Sixers will win in an ugly game, but hey the last road victory was ugly. Ugly or not, a win is beautiful when it’s said and done! Go Sixers!
Suede They’re not even close in talent. I loved Chuck as a force. Played on equal terms with “the trees” at 6′ 4″! Once led league in rebounding! A lot quicker off floor and to ball. More adroit as scorer around basket. Could finish after absorbing contact. Strong and soft hands – caught the ball, seldom stripped. Electric.
Brand has a better (and more classic) 15-18 ft. shot, also licks his fingers better – that’s about it. Is obviously a plus addition to team. Am not ga-ga over his game though (sounds like you’re not either),
and haven’t been since seeing him at Duke. Pedestrian inside. 20 & 10 surely takes talent and determination, but requires context and look at subtler aspects for proper evaluation. Battery-operated.
JJG……Chubby’s Steaks were very good. Found it no problem at all. Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll take more if you’ve got them. Any good family restaurant/diner that is an easy off and back on the Schuylkill will work.
Dave T…..I had to choose between the two, so I picked Chubby’s this time. I’ll be going to Mama’s before my next game on December 13th. Same goes for you. I would welcome any other recommendations.
Jumpin, would NEVER call them equal talent wise, and not sure if I!m disappointed yet but expected a go to guy that gets a basket at the end of the game, and not sure he is that though. Charles was my favorite, and 2nd best, next to Wilt, Sixer of all-time.
Blski, did you hook up with Kevin at the game? And Rob, will be watching Timberwolves game with interest because, if E.S. wants to move A.Miller at the deadline they may be one of the takers.[R.Foye?] Seems they are a rudderless ship and #1]Foye has been a disappointment and #2] expectations are higher this year for them.
You’re welcome, bski, glad ya liked it! I could use a steak sandwich, with melted provolone cheese, fried onions and a side of their fries now! Will try to come up with some other convenient, good eatery
suggestions for ya.
suede I loved both Wilt and Charles too – enormous talents, unique individuals.
I don’t think Brand is an end of game play call. (Maybe he’ll persuade to the contrary with time.) Maneuverability down low isn’t that special.
#16 deepsixersuede– I’ll be watching the game, but I did NOT say it was because we are looking at Randy Foye and trading Andre Miller possibly. Foye would make a nice backup for Andre Miller though. But the game is an intriguing one because the Timberwolves have been in close games, whether 8 games lost or the lone game won against the Kings at the Target Center. You do bring up a good point regarding Ed Stefanski, he is not afraid to make a bold move when appropriate. Other than Dumars, Stefanski is perhaps the second best GM in the East.
Suede…I did not see Kevin. We got there early. I looked over in his section and row but nobody was there yet. After the game started I saw people there, but I never ventured over. I was watching the game and taking with my sons throughout. I should have gone over between quarters or at the half. Sorry Kevin. I’ll make the effort next time.
My thoughts on Elton Brand thus far. I love him as a leader, a defender, a rebounder, and a guy that can sense mismatches on the post easily. Sure, he is not averaging 20pts a game, but we don’t need him to be the only source of points and carry his team on his back for all the years with the Clippers. Teams are starting to follow the examples of the Celtics and the Lakers, where it is about winning games and team effort (with no egos involved). Even though we are missing that “closer” the two teams I mentioned have, it will be there through the form of a quiet Andre Miller, where according to Salmi, A.Miller is leading the NBA in go ahead FGs in the 4th qt.
Back to Brand for a minute, he communicates to his teammates after certain teammates commit any errors on certain possessions. That is a leader right there. Hopefully, with Thaddeus Young playing very well, teams will soon focus on him and then it could open things up for Andre Iguodala, Andre Miller, and Elton Brand. Plus, we are still in hopes of Kareem Rush and Donyell Marshall playing critical minutes and hitting threes in critical minutes whether we be trailing by a lot and make a tremendous surge, be there when the game is close and we want to withstand the opponents’ run on both ends of the floor, and be there when we need a 3 pointer down by 3 with 10 seconds or less remaining. Hopefully, our guys will start hitting shots when Brand is double teamed and when the spacing is present or needs to be presented. Overall, I am excited and like what I see from Brand. Meanwhile, the Clippers are struggling without him!
Brand, the kind of histrionic ‘mother hen’ player who puts on a bit of a show as “command tower intelligence” while his a** is getting beat and he’s making as many mistakes as his teammates. In other words, a politician in shorts, advancing an image … “it’s him, not me.”
Rob, I meant my interest in Foye, just think our options are very limited as far as A.Miller is concerned. Like Jumpin said earlier, the good teams that defend will test us when the fastbreak is not there and the A.Miller/Iggy backcourt will be tested then.
Suede, JJG, Rob…I’ve followed your conversation about Brand and it got me thinking, which is usually not good. Please let me know if my reasoning is in any way faulty.
I don’t see Brand as a “go to” guy either. At least not a “go to and stay with” guy. Here is what I mean by that. I don’t see Brand as being the type of guy you can give the ball to, let him dribble down the clock, and then make something happen at the end. I don’t see us having anyone with those capabilities right now. I see Brand as a simply a “go to” guy. A guy we can give the ball to who can then be an initiator or facilitator in the final seconds.
The question is do we need a “go to and stay with” guy (there aren’t very many of these guys in the league) or can we live with having a few “go to” guys (Brand, Miller, Iguodala) who can be facilitators?
We know we don’t have a Kobe or LeBron we can rely on down the stretch. Last year Iguodala was thrust into that role for us. I didn’t think it worked out very well. Back then I talked about how just because you need someone to take on that role and you want someone to take on that role does not mean that you actually have someone capable of taking on that role. It was obvious that Iguodala did it because we needed and wanted someone to do it. I’m sure Cheeks had hoped to see Iguodala grow into it, but it never happened.
Instead of putting one guy, who is ill-suited to the task, in that role, I would much prefer to see us run something. I feel that we should have a few bread and butter, dependable plays that we run efficiently to use down the stretch. That way, who gets the ball won’t be so critical. The ball could start with Miller or Iguodala or Brand, but it would not have to stay with them and we would not have to rely solely on them to make the play for us. I would prefer to see us use more of our playmaking ability as a team, since I don’t feel we have an individual who has enough on their own.
Just look at Friday night, for example. With a 4 point lead, our second to last possession consisted of Andre Miller pounding the ball at the top of the key for 20 seconds and then stepping in to take a 20 footer. He missed. Indiana scores and cuts it to 94-92. For our final possession we have Brand on the wing dribbling out the shot clock, driving down to the baseline into a double team, and forcing up a shot. He also missed. We were lucky to hang on for the win. It would have killed me to see us fight so hard for 3 quarters and take the lead only to lose the game on those last two crappy possessions.
The thing is, I don’t see that we have much choice. Not only do we not have anyone to take control single-handedly down the stretch, but I don’t see anyone developing into it. Brand has been in the league for ten years. If he hasn’t developed that ability by now, I doubt he will. The only way Iguodala will develop it is by becoming a knock down jump shooter. As it stands, he is not which means that no defender has to worry about playing his jumper. Because of this he is not the all around threat he needs to be to succeed in this role. He may develop into it, but he’s been working on his jumper for four years now, so I’m not too optimistic. Thad has a chance. He has the low post moves and he has added the jumper. If he can improve his handle he would have the game to fill this role. Then we would have to see if he has the psychological makeup to handle it.
So that’s what it comes down to for me. Instead of forcing the crunch time role on somebody, I’d rather see us continue playing a team game by screening, cutting, passing, and making the defense work. If someone grows into the crunch time role then fine but, if not, at least we will be giving ourselves a better shot at closing out games than we have been.
Blski, I do hate it when we dribble the clock down and go one on one rather than get into a set. I don!t mean to sound down on Elton because he works hard on both ends and is an unselfish player. We do have 4 guys,Sam not included, who can create a scoring oppurtunity, in our starting 5 so your mindset is one we will have to use.
jjg - Judging by your harsh criticisms of Brand, I have to assume that it is deeply personal, in which case I am sorry that Elton hit on your girlfriend / cut you off on the freeway / took the last Steel Reserve 40 from the bottle shop.
Actually, I am kind of curious what it is that leads you to conclude that Elton is such a shallow, insecure teammate/leader. That is not sarcastic, either. It is reasonable for people to be disappointed because he has not played like the low-post, defender-drawing threat that many assumed he would be, but what exactly have you seen from him that makes him appear as a “histrionic mother hen”? Specific examples are encouraged.
bski- Bill Simmons addressed the issue of the Sixers lacking a crunch-time, go-to scorer in his NBA preview column, and it is a valid reason that their ceiling is below that of a championship-caliber team. It really will be a problem for the Sixers if they make the playoffs.
Andre Miller doesn’t have the consistent jumper. Neither does Andre Iguodala. Elton Brand can hit the mid-range shot and get to the rim, but I doubt his ability to get a good shot off in a late-game, iso situation (kind of like the double team scenario from this weekend’s game that you brought up). Louis Williams has the speed, handle and J, but I don’t know what the hell is up with him right now.
So, that leaves Thaddeus Young. I am hoping by the end of the year, Thaddeus can be a reliable enough threat to take over the game in pressure situations. Otherwise, I’m not sure our team, as assembled, has the ability to make it deep into the playoffs.
Suede…Glad to hear I’m not alone. I’m not down on Brand or anyone else either, but you have do be honest about what each one of your guys can and cannot do, don’t you? You know, this is the other side of the discussion we were having last week.
JJG was talking about how he isn’t thrilled that Brand shoots 15 foot jumpers. At the risk of speaking for him, what I got out of it was that JJG wants/expects Brand to be our big man banging on the low block.
Morty and BoomDizzle took the other side in saying that they were fine with Brand taking the 15 footer.
I jumped in to say that if the 15 footer is Brand’s strength, he should stay with it. I said I think that instead of the coaches forcing guys into roles (Brand should be on the low block, for example) they are not comfortable in or don’t perform well in, they should allow each player to play to his strengths and then blend those strengths into a solid team.
Well, this crunch time role is the same thing. We should not be pushing a guy into this role if he is not comfortable or not capable of filling it….if it is not his strength. Brand’s strength is the 15 footer then fine, let him shoot it. Brand’s strength is not as a crunch time, isolation, go to guy, then don’t ask him to do it. To take it further, if nobody’s strengths lend them to this role, then we should go at end of game situations another way that gives us a better chance for success because, let’s face it, what we are doing is not working.
BoomDizzle….I see it the same way.
Guys, we keep talking offense, but Brand!s effect defensively was also something I was looking forward to. Garnett seemed to raise the effort level of guys like Perkins,House, etc.. We seem better suited, other than point guard, to becoming a very good to great defensive team, can that happen with this group?
suede...I think we could. If we would do like Dannie said and stop doubling so soon and helping so much on the perimeter when a lot of it is unnecessary. Also, Brand and Dalembert need to coordinate better. Many times both of them go for the block, or the rebound, at the same time, leaving openings for the opposition to exploit.
I’m hoping that as they all spend more time on the floor with one another they will iron out a lot of those things and the defense will solidify.
Dannie- don’t know if you saw this or not, but you guys were linked in the Ball Don’t Lie blog on Yahoo! sports. Clink on the hyperlink under the 76ers entry:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/BDL-NBA-Power-Rankings-Shattered-dreams-broken?urn=nba,122405
Team stat to really keep our eyes on:
Assists. The games we have either been creaming teams, or winning, have been when our assists are over 25 a game (a few times 30+, which is very impressive. I don’t think our problems on offense are all that complicated. We:
-Don’t have a go-to-automatic scorer that can be relied on every night to break down defenses and score an easy 20+.
-Do not have guards and wings regularly capable of hitting a 3 (although Thad’s headed in this direction)
We do have:
-Athleticism. LOTS of athleticism (Iggy, Thad, Brand, Lou, Green).
To compensate for our lack of a go to player, and long distance shooting 1 and 2 guards, we need good ball movement, and to get out on transition, set great picks, be unselfish, and MOVE…THE…!@#$ing…BALL. When we play as a team…together…we have the talent to overcome our deficiencies and win. Not to win a championship…nor make a deep playoff run…but this team is talented enough to win 47-49 times this year.
Let’s hope we play with some confidence and zest like the Thunder game, get some better floor spacing, keep using Thad more, allow Iguodala to play his athletic-defense-setting others up game, and Sammy / Brand to own the boards. If we keep passing the ball…and keep up intensity, we will start to gel and win more then we lose. It is up to Mo and the coaching staff to get these guys playing together and with intensity. Mo…do your job. Please.
imagine how much better this team would be if we had a 2-guard that shot over 30%? instead, we pay this guy $80mm and still wants to get his 15 shots. in the summer, we argued to the death about resigning Iguodala — i think this blog was about 50/50 on bringing him back. its a bad sign when 50% of the most knowledgable fans dont think he is a good fit. we should have somehow got ben gordon.
sorry, Iggy is shooting 37% from the floor, 25% from 3. this guy reminds me of Marc Macon, who i once coined as the worst starting SG in the NBA. i cant believe this board is not being harder on Iggy. we just paid this guy $80mm !!!! are you happy with mediocrity ?? this guy just stinks. i said over the summer he was not a good fit and it is very apparent. this team needs a perimeter scorer and we should have let Iggy go and made a move for a traditional SG or waited until next season.
McKie: Do you really think Igoudala will finish the season at those numbers? It’s the same as thinking Green will end the year shooting 52% from 3. Relax, Igoudala will end up shooting 33-35% from 3, and 45-47% overall.
To weigh in on crunch time situations, the Sixers just need to focus on playing their type of game all 48 minutes, not suddenly changing things up simply to satisfy some preconceived conception of how they “should” handle those situations. Anyone remember last season when they would all of a sudden run iso after iso for Igoudala? Usually didn’t work so well, right? Like Dave T said, move the ball. Our end of game lineup will have 4 or 5 players all capable to making a play, let it come naturally instead of forcing 1 player into a do or die situation.
AaronMcKie4MVP – I have a post coming most likely tonight on a Sixers after 10 games since that was my personal grace period for the team to show me something. Really just breaking it down into three areas, coaching, the roster and looking at the rest of the season.
I am with you for the most part on Iguodala because we paid him so much. He is a fine player, but not at that rate. But I think it’s important to note that the perception of his ability is strongly determined by his contract. He doesn’t stink at $6-7M per year but at $11M and more in the coming years they he probably does stink.
morty, you say relax, but i was never interested in anything less than a conference finals appearance this season. It seems people on this board are happy with 48 wins and a 5 seed. that just doesnt do it for me. i think we HAD a great opportunity to really build a championship team…. that window is very small and i feel it is now closed…. it is just as important to avoid overpaying the wrong players as it is getting the right guys. The ability to pay a great, young stud player like Thadeus Young a below-market contract only lasts a year or 2. And inside that window is when you need to capitalize and get the most out of your roster. there were people on this blog who recognized Thadeus as our marquee player last season. ES should have recognized this in Thad and took that into account with Iggy’s offer. instead, he paid him like a marquee player. even those who like Iggy will concede that he should be our 4th option. someone tell me how we pay a guy like that $80mm? ?? ? ?
i dont know what you guys see in Iggy that makes you like him so much. he makes so many bad decisions. he is not clutch, i dont feel comfortable when he has the ball in a close game. i dont see why we paid him that money after a horrendous post season. i dont want to beat a dead horse here, but we really could have spent $80mm much wiser. this is a bad contract we are stuck with for 6 years. i agree that $6-7mm would have been worth it.
McKie: They can still pay Thad market rate. If they had let Igoudala walk, I don’t think it would have helped the salary cap all that much. As long as ownership is willing to pay the luxury tax, they can continue to bring in good players at the mid-level exception begining next summer. That is why I will be happy with 49-50 wins this year and the 5 seed. Next year I will look for them to add to the team with James Posey, Robert Horry type players and contend for the conference championship.
Off topic, this site is a tremendous time waster: http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/newgf.cgi
It shows in depth +/-, individual stats for individual runs in games, etc. Have fun exploring.
I know this is non-Sixers related, but did anyone else read George Karl’s comments about Iverson? From our newspapers as reported by hoopshype.com:
One last item, and it comes from Denver Nuggets coach George Karl–as duly chronicled by Rocky Mountain News columnist Dave Krieger–after Sunday night’s victory over the T-Wolves, sparked in large part by Chauncey Billups, the guard they got from Detroit in the Allen Iverson deal. Karl: “I would say when A.I. was here, we had, most games, (possessions) in the teens of contested tough shots. Sometimes in the 20s. And I don’t know if we’ve had a double-digit one since Chauncey’s been here.” Philadelphia Daily News / November 17
What always irked Karl was Iverson’s inability to run the offense like a general. When it came to beating the elite teams, the Nuggets had too many questions with The Answer – about his shot selection, his dedication to defense and his ability/inability to trust his teammates. “Sometimes I saw something, but I couldn’t get it done on the court because I didn’t have a playmaker out there,” Karl said. Philadelphia Inquirer
Ouch! Did Iverson say anything to provoke these comments from Karl?
AI comments from Karl make sense to me. If you think about it we witnessed that first hand here. That’s why we had eric snow here to run the point with AI at the offguard.
From a coaching standpoint, A.I. requires much forbearance. From a fan’s standpoint, he insists you watch.
Karl’s got an ego, is giving it ventilation while in a (presumed) happy state after a win. The opportune or probing questions of the writer that preceded Karl’s words are missing, and would lend the reader a fuller understanding of the communication. As is, it’s a “sour grapes” extract.
sfw….Yeah, Karl’s comments make sense, but I’m still a bit surprised by them. First of all that he said what he did instead of keeping it to himself. Second because he knew what Iverson was before he got him. Iverson was in the league for 10 full seasons, which is an ample body of work, before the trade, so there should have been no surprises with the type of game he plays. Third, I remember reading several quotes from Karl about Iverson after the trade. Reporters would ask Karl if Iverson was difficult to deal with and other questions of that nature and Karl invariably responded with answers like he hasn’t seen anything like that, that Iverson has been more than he expected, that based on Iverson’s reputation he expected to have some issues but nothing could be further from the truth, he’s been great, and such. Maybe all these supportive comments were made during the honeymoon period and things changed over time. I just hope that Karls said some of these negative things to Iverson’s face rather than wait until he was gone to let loose.
Post #41 had a paragraph line divide between 2nd and 3rd sentence; eventual layout is off, at variance with what I saw on my screen before ’send’ – jumbling has occurred in a few posts when I’ve edited messages, for whatever the computer transmission “logic”.
Bski, agreed. Should not have been a surprise and he hopefully, confronted AI about these issues. Karl is a Carolina guy. So, I’m sure he consulted with LB prior to acquiring AI. As I’ve said before Denver was not a fit offensively(AI & Anthony(1 ball) OR Defensively, AI & Anthony. Better fit in Detroit especially on ’D’ end of the court where he’ll receive help.
Does anyone know the status for Dalembert and Evans regarding tomorrow’s game?
This is where we could really test our bench and see how incredibly deep it is!
Reggie Evans is DTD.
Regarding Samuel Dalembert:
Dannie- What is DTD? Is that a Game Time Decision? That would probably mean more time for Speights, Ratliff, and Marshall perhaps, especially if Evans and Dalembert are showing signs of pain.
Now if Dalembert does play, let’s hope he is not showing any signs of grimacing. Do you remember last season, when Dalembert had 18 pts 11 rebounds and 9 BLOCKS, including a critical one late in the 4th quarter on Al Jefferson to seal the deal for the Sixers?
Now, Dalembert is consistent in terms of playing against the “weak” teams on BOTH ends of the floor. Now, he needs to make better decisions and know his limits, if he wants to be an ultimate player. Against the contenders, he can ill afford to make any bad decisions out there on the court.
As Always, GO SIXERS!!
These 3 and 4 days off are killing me, just too long to wait. I was away all weekend so I haven’t got to see the Sixers play in what seems like an off season. I hate it.
Fans- Hate It
Players- Love It (rest) & Hate It (stops that “hot” momentum and Minnesota’s a cold place)
Also, I can’t wait to hear your reaction once you see the New Target Center– their court, their uniforms, and of course their roster and coaching staff is completely different that there is nothing there that will ever remind you of Kevin Garnett once playing there. Talk about change!!
Rob – DTD is day-to-day. He isn’t hurt that bad and we aren’t close enough to a game for them to declare him a game-time decision. He still has a lot of time for treatment to get him ready to go. And it’s Reggie Evans. Not sure a finger injury would keep him off the floor. Will know more tomorrow.
Thanks Dannie! I got brain freeze and forgot about that. It is cold out in Philly/South Jersey!!
Bski:
I saw the same comments from Karl this morning, and I was pretty pissed off when I saw them, for several reasons. Here’s why:
-Karl, throughout AI’s two and a half year stint in Denver, professed nothing but 100% professionalism, a great attitude, and great leadership from Iverson. For him to then attack Iverson like that means that his issue was with Iverson’s game, and how he plays it, not attitude.
-If that’s true, that AI did not have a lack of attitude, then it is up to GEORGE KARL to put the talent he has in the best possible situations to succeed. To me, this seems much more Karl’s failure then AI’s…as a coach he has the authority to enforce his vision of how the team should be run. AI seemed to be at a much more mature place…Karl did not enforce his vision properly.
-IMO, Carmelo Anthony was much more at fault then AI as far as crappy shot selection and stalling the team’s offense. When people criticize AI for shooting too much, at least the majority of the time he is driving to the basket and getting shots near the rim, or shake-bake moves to get a clean shot, creating openings for others. Melo will just chuck it up whenever, at awful times, and stall the offense. Melo should be a top 5 NBA player year in and out…his horrendous shot selection and settling for the jumper is a huge reason he’s not. For me, it’s him that is 70% of the time stopping the offensive flow, not AI.
-Chauncy Billips has something Iverson never had…A HEALTHY FRONTCOURT!!! During the majority of Iverson’s tenure, Nene wasn’t able to suit up, and K-Mart was just coming off microfracture knee surgery. Billups has a huge luxury, even with Camby gone, of playing with two VERY tough nosed and defensive oriented big men in a healthy Nene and K-Mart back to 100% health, with his timing back. Chris Anderson is also a far better piece to round out the frontcourt than Eduardo Najera given his height and blocking ability.
-Why any coach would throw his former player under ths bus like that, after doling nothing but praising him, is a mystery to me. Not cool.
-They were throwing in totally incapable PG’s to work the backcourt with Iverson. If you are going to have a 6′0 PG like A Carter run the backcourt…yeah, you’ll have defensive problems. And with Chucky Atkins hurt for two years, they had one of the weakest PG depth spots in the NBA. If they were smart, they would have pulled the gun on the numerous trade scenarios for Kirk Hinrich, giving Iverson a 6′3, defensive PG that can hit the 3 to pair with.
-George Karl never cracked the whip with his team. He was always afraid of pissing off Melo, AI, K-Mart, etc, and let them slowly get away with doing their own thing instead of putting his foot down. This AI is not the old, immature AI of old. Karl needed to immediately stop pussyfooting around and coddling to his superstars. If he had actually set a hard nosed tone on and off the court, this would not have been a problem.
-Karl also never really decided what Iverson’s role was to be. He would say, “AI should be a PG that averages 10 assists” then instruct Iverson to score 25-30 as their SG, feeling they needed the offensive fire power. He never clearly identified and carved out Iverson’s exact role…and with a guy like AI and Melo, vagueness is your worst enemy. They need clear guidelines. AI is going to be finding MUCH more success in Detroit because Michael Curry understands how to come down on a player with tough love, and seems to have a better ability to communicate roles and wishes to his players.
Karl should be ashamed for those comments. I’m fine if people attack AI for his shot selection, inconsistency with distributing, etc…but if you’re the coach…GET A HANDLE ON YOUR PLAYER and get him to play HOW YOU WANT. If he doesn’t…sit him. It’s not complex.
Most telling Iverson stat in Denver:
In 1/3 of Denver’s games (27), Iverson had 10 or more assists. Their record in those games: 24-3. Now, is Iverson’s inconsistency due to his lack of ability to put up those numbers more regularly, or disobeying authority…or has Karl not gotten his message across right and stamped out iron-clad roles and gotten his team to play the proper way? To me, that’s 75% on Karl, 25% on AI. Shame on you Karl for those comments.
Basically, it’s blame the scapegoat! Always happens! Sure the way his tenure ended in Philly was ugly, but we never did that when we traded Iverson to Denver. Another instance of the scapegoat was this: When the Timberwolves were losing last year, Kevin McHale questioned Kevin Garnett’s work ethic and passion! I’ll tell you what McHale has done, he’s turned teams into winners, not his teams though.