Less than an hour and a half until tip-off for the Sixers first road game against the Atlanta Hawks. Should be a good game and a much better barometer for the Sixers compared to last night’s beatdown of the New York Knicks. The Hawks have talent in the frontcourt and on the perimeter which will really test the Sixers defense.
I think the biggest thing everyone will be watching is the battle of the power forwards. The one the Sixers got vs. the one the Sixers courted but passed on. Interestingly these players have completely different games. Brand’s post and mid-range game compared to Josh Smith’s up-tempo and perimeter game. Should be fun to watch.
I’ll be typing up my game notes during the game, but feel fee to comment now, during and of course after the game.
Sixers vs. Atlanta Game Notes
This loss was embarrassing considering how they came out and thoroughly dominating the Hawks for the first 20 minutes or so of the first half. They had a 20-point lead at the 3:12 mark in the second quarter and didn’t trail in the entire game until the 1:53 mark in the fourth quarter. There is no way they should lose a game in which again they out-rebound their opponent, get a career game from Thaddeus Young and shoot 85.7% from the free throw line.
Why is Samuel Dalembert in the post still a part of the Sixers half court offense? I have yet to see anything positive come from dumping the ball into him down low. I will say, to his credit, he does a good job diving to the basket when Brand has the ball in the post. Now…
Sammy really needs to stop missing “gimmies” around the basket
Thaddeus Young is shooting the ball with tremendous confidence. It looks like he has turned himself into a solid three-point shooter. His form looks very smooth and consistent. On offense another big addition I’ve noticed in his game is the pump-fake one, two dribbles and knock down that 15-17 foot jumper. If he continues to shoot the three well, opponents will have to respect it, and it plays right into that move. A lot of people made a big deal about his improved handle, but so far I don’t see that at all. In fact I think he is still shaky and inconsistent handling the rock, which is why that mid-range jumper is so important to his offensive game.
Absolutely love the hustle from the Sixers right now.
It’s clear after 3 games that Brand is going to be doubled-team almost every time he catches it in the post. So I ask why has Mo not put Kareem Rush on the floor with him to counter this? With that said the Sixers are going to have to contend all year with teams leaving Andre Miller wide open outside the three-point arc. Every time he enters the ball into Brand his man doubles, and they don’t even rotate over to him, daring him to shoot a deep jumper. He needs to start attacking the middle of the lane to take advantage of this. And the Sixers might think about having a better perimeter shooter enter the ball to Brand and put Miller on the weak side.
Andre Miller’s jumper was off tonight. But his energy level and quickness look even better than last year. He seems to be in fantastic shape. We will have to see how his body holds up all season, but it looks like we don’t have to worry too much about him having a huge drop off in performance.
Another double-double for Brand (17 points and 16 boards). Both Brand and Sammy should be in the top 10 in rebounding all season.
Joe Johnson is a freakin’ beast! He chewed Andre Iguodala up tonight for 35 points, 5 assists, only 2 turnovers on 14-23 from the field. In fact, Mo put Thad on Johnson for that last play and did about as good a job as possible forcing him into a 32-foot three-pointer that he nailed at the end of the shot clock. Johnson basically showed you:
- What a go-to perimeter player looks like and
- Exactly why Andre Iguodala is not one
Andre Iguodala still doesn’t have clear role on offense. I worry about him having too many poor performances because all of his touches and points in the half-court are coming off of isolation plays around the top portion of the arc and rely on him making jumpers. Perfect example was with 2 minutes left in a tie game they went to an iso at the top for Iguodala, and he forced up a terrible three that led to a wide open dunk by his man who broke loose after the shot hit all backboard. That can’t possible be the best option when the Sixers need a bucket late in games.
OH, and why the hell does Iguodala insist on coming off pick-and-rolls and dribbling directly into a trap area? He needs to make sure he uses those screens going towards the middle of the court or he will be a turnover waiting to happen. 6 turnovers tonight for the $80 million dollar man. I hope he understands big contracts means even BIGGER criticism.
The Sixers have no go-to play or clear option late in games when they need a basket. In my opinion this is a coaching issue that needs to be resolved asap. Four straight plays down the stretch:
- Andre Iguodala bricking on a highly contested three-point shot
- Elton Brand trying to post up but Andre Miller’s man doubling him immediately. Then Andre Miller gave it back to him then decided to run right behind him in order to post-up himself. That took up too much time and forced Brand into a contested fadeaway that he missed.
- Andre Iguodala again on an iso and laying another brick on a jumper. His inability to get by a single defender and into the lane should be a concern for everyone.
- Lou Williams coming into the game after sitting, I believe the entire fourth quarter and taking a three-point shot, of course missing.
I am not stressing too much after this game because Joe Johnson had a hell of a game and made some big plays down the stretch. We have to give credit where credit is due. Also the Sixers did a lot of things well this game against a good opponent. But Mo and the Sixers need to figure out how to maintain the high energy level they seem to start every game with. They also need to stop turning the damn ball over so much. That is exactly what led to the Hawks coming back in the game tonight.
Next game: Monday at home against the Sacramento Kings which needs to be a win.
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Both teams excel in the fastbreak department, but beware of the Hawks!
The Hawks walloped the Magic in Orlando last Wednesday. I warned you guys about them– they could get that 8th seed when it is all said and done because they basically have the same starting lineup.
GO SIXERS!
Looks like Mo is matching Elton with the stronger and Sam with the quicker players,[Elton on Randolph and Horford and Oniell] and [Sam on Smith and Lee and Bosh]. Good energy tonight, don!t know if a team that can!t shoot the three has a chance against us this year because we really limit scoring chances.
DAMN
Dannie, Mo seems locked in on an 8 man rotation with [Lou, Willie and Reggie] off the bench; I would like to see a 10 man rotation that allows us to pressure defend more ,while sacraficing some offensive continuety; is this temporary or do you think adjustments are coming? Mo was quoted as saying by opening night he would have his rotations down.
Suede - I honestly had no clue what Mo was talking about “having his rotations down” before having played a real game. Right now he is playing the guys he knows with the addition of Brand. That’s fine to start with because in theory it would reduce the chemistry issues only having to integrate one new player.
Adjustments MUST come but this has been my fear with Mo all along.
He needs to put shooters around Brand more so teams don’t completely take him out of the game by simply doubling off Miller who can’t hurt them by making perimeter shots. I am kind of confused by Rush isn’t playing more. Supposedly he shot the hell out of the ball all off-season and Mo was said to be impressed.
Like I said in a previous comment I am giving them 10 games to figure it out. People have said 15-20 but I think if they haven’t figure it out after 20 games the Sixers could be in a pretty bad hole to start the season.
Dannie: Great column about the game, you’re right on with all your points. Love what you were saying about Iguodala dribbling into trap areas instead of using screens to get to the middle of the court, great call. I also agree with your thoughts on dumping the ball to Sammy in the post.
We need to make clear…I should say, Mo needs to make clear…now that we have Elton, Sammy’s ONLY priority should be: rebounding, defense, blocking shots, putback shots, and busting his ass on transition defense. I remember a lot of people used to compare Sammy D to “a new Ratliff” a few years ago, and seeing how many shots he could alter and block, many were inclined to agree, and cited because of his athleticism, he would be the better player once he learned to polish his game. What’s a shame, is that Dalembert hasn’t.
As Ratliff’s career went along, he developed into a capable post player that could be relied on if given the ball on the block. He developed a nice drop step move, and some excellent quick spin moves toward the paint to catch his defender off guard. Obviously never a steller offensive player, but was starting to become a lock for a 12-13 and 8-9 type guy before the injury where we were forced to trade him.
In six years (has it really been that long? Yikes) Sammy STILL has butterfingers, STILL jumps around like a clueless jackrabbit, and STILL has just terrible footwork and patience in the post. The Sixers brass really needs to put him in his place and just let him do what he does best. Let’s let our all-star FA handle the offense on the block.
Point about Mo’s “offense”: Is anyone else with me that there is FAR too much standing around, and not enough movement off the ball? We are a team of athletes. This is our biggest strength…quickness, speed, defense, hustle. Since our 3 point shooting is non existent, it makes a lot of sense to me to start developing a half court offense that is based off a LOT more screening, especially backdoors, than we are using now.
I’m not saying change to the Princeton offense all of a sudden, but I’ve just always thought with this group we’d be most successful having them run around in screen screen screen type mode, constant cutting, screening, moving to ideal floor spacing. I almost feel like we should adopt an offense around how Rip Hamilton is used for the Pistons…movement, don’t stop, create seems, use them. This would really cater to what Iguodala and Thad could contribute on offense, as well as turn Andre Miller into more of a slasher, opening the whole court up, and allowing more offense to be run inside out through Brand.
ill say the same thing i said all last seaon and offseason. i cant believe we gave $80mm to a guy who just cant be counted on or trusted in a close game. iggy thinks he is the man who should take big shots and he just isnt that good. you guys can talk about 3 games this and 3 games that but the fact is Iguodala’s $80mm should have been earmarked for ben gordon.
I hear ya. Likewise I am very concerned about Iggy and Mo’s coaching. Sammy doesn’t need to do anything but rebound, rebound, block shots and put backs. I don’t think Mo knows how to use Sammy at the high to dump down which is going to be a problem. Iggy is the same guy we all knew he was. No jumper, fade a way, step back which you have to have at the two. And no three point shot. He has no handle to iso, but I love Thaddeus!!! He went got a Jumper unlike Iggy. Mo has got to find time for Rush, and in the words of Eddie S. “we may look good on paper, but paper don’t play.
Dave T., my main issue now is on defense, something you stressed earlier this week. Sam is being asked to chase players with small forward like games on offense all over the court,[J.Smith,D.Lee and Bosh]. He had 10 pts. and 8 reb. at half and was nonexistent in the 2nd half. Cut his minutes and use one more big, [Theo, Marresse] for a small stretch in the 2nd quarter [5 min.?] to give him a breather.Would love a 2nd unit that traps at some time during the game[Ivey,L.Will.,Reggie,and either [Sam/Elton] or [Thad/Iggy] just to shake teams up.About the offense, Dave I think what you see is what you get, don!t think these guys can run what your asking because for us to be efficient the ball MUST be in A.Miller!s hands. Elton seems to be catching to far from the basket half the time and Sam, though getting o boards has to get a clue and stay weakside at ALL times. A.Mckie, I keep picturing this team with Thad on one wing and A.Parker or R.Bell on the other, two guys that would do less THINGS but add the ONE thing we need. Dannie, agree about Rush but again, is he capable of finding his rythm quickly, I wonder what they are seeing in practice, did I say practice, yea practice!!!
Each game they start off incredibly well, jumping out to an early lead. I don’t know what happens but they lose whatever it is they had going. They looked great in the first quarter of the raptors game. I think a big part of it is Mo’s bad substitutions.
Iguodala (6 turnovers, poor 4th quarter decision-making; scorched by Johnson) is to franchise cornerstone as Sam is to late-game heroics (12 min without a rebound; 4 turnovers) as Miller is to feathery ‘J’ (5-18! - can you say “bricklayer when fatigue gains traction”?) as Brand is to lateral foot speed (Horford faced up 10 ft on right, zipped past him baseline easily). Coughing up a lead of last night’s size could suggest storm clouds ahead. Halfcourt offense continues to be unsightly. With this assortment of players (and coach), is patterned or set offense truly a work in progress? Player constitutions and habits don’t vary much year to year; lights aren’t guaranteed to go on. I see them losing 3 of next 5 if their fast-breaking is effectively contained. Bright spots: Brand’s early game scoring assertiveness, Willie G’s 8-10 sparkler, Thad’s strong deeper shooting, consistent team rebounding advantage, yet untapped bench potential, improved foul shooting. How in the world does Flip Murray drive down center of lane uncontested with shot clock running down? Where was Brand or Dalembert there? Watching, is where. Somebody, anybody’s gotta step into the breach, stop ball progress or contest shot. In optimistic conclusion, this is the NBA, where rapid swings occur. It’s early. Purportedly, Sixers are a team of good guys. Cheeks’ irregular minutes distribution might cut into an imagined harmony though. Time for Mo to employ bench.
Jumpin, when Murrey drove Sammy seemed 4 ft. away, couldn!t believe he didn!t challenge him. Do you think this team can have quick ball movement when Iggy and L.Will. continue to do EVERYTHING off the dribble?
Suede – To your point about Elton catching the ball “too” far from the basket. I think this is a problem and it isn’t.
The problem is with the block-to-block screen that the guard is supposed to be making. They are doing a horrible job of it, which is no surprised since this teams screening as a whole is horrible.
Do you guys remember the Stockton Malone Utah Jazz teams? Stockton and Hornacek might have been the best small on big screeners in the paint I have ever seen. Those guys were nasty with it. Stockton even developed a dirty reputation largely because of his screening on big men in the paint. They always got a really good chuck on Malone’s defender and forced teams to switch leaving a little guy to guard Malone or if the big did fight through by the time he got there Malone had already established excellent position close to the basket and the ball was delivered on time.
The other part of the issue is where the screen is being set. It’s being set directly under the rim which is bad spacing. Brand needs to be on the opposite block and when the screener is coming set his man up and then he has the whole paint to find good inside position. It’s all these little things the Sixers aren’t doing that make them look really bad on offense, but when done right pay huge dividends.
Why it’s not a huge issue is because Elton through his career likes to post up a little bit further from the basket to give himself more room to use his quickness when his back is to the basket and when he turns and faces up.
You’re right, Suede, Sam just watched, didn’t make an attempt to help. No justification in passivity there. Murray would’ve found more resistance at Strawberry Mansion.
As for quick ball movement, offensive leaders have to exhibit it, others will fall in line then. Pounding ball for solo excursions is corrosive, a morale killer. Even Miller, while deserving some license as point, does too much of it, imo. To answer your question directly: No. But I’d be happy to see better teamwork. It’s all about spacing, ball movement and getting ball into hands of your bankable shooters (whomever that may be) in pet spots.
Dannie, well said. Seems it is about attention to details, hope they get it. Jumpin, used to tell the young kids I coached at least 3 passes when they were being selfish; how do you curtail all the dribbling? Guys, I remember a lot of isolation with J.Lynam!s teams in the pro!s, is he the right guy for Mo to be leaning on,as far as the type of offense or is it in the pieces?
Screening: From what I’ve watched, I think the person that mentioned “setting the screener up” was right on, that’s a nice observation. This, IMO, has been a huge achilles heel so far. It’s one of those details that can really make or break a whole team’s offense. I’ve seen a lot of guys actually come to set pretty decent screens, but because the recipient hasn’t taken the extra step outward to lead the man farther from the basket, and leave the defenders whole side/back exposed, it allows the defender to very easily slide past the screen and continue covering their man.
This is an even more fatal flaw against extremely athletic teams, which Atlanta definitely is…quick, agile bodies already have a natural advantage to be able to get by screens effectively, and we are just wasting good effort from our screener every time the mini-play isn’t set up properly.
The Celtics, for example, are masterful with their approach to screening. To Doc River’s credit, he hasn’t let the little things go, and Garnett, one of the best big man screeners in the L, has obviously not let his teammates (veterans or youth) take the easy way out. Watching them run their half court sets (when they actually move the ball well) is like a clinic for pick setting. I’d really like to see our coaches and Brand start to step up and lead in this area, it needs massive improvement.
I also REALLY think it would be a wise move to start giving Brand the ball in the high post early in the shot clock, and have Andre Miller/Lou Williams set backdoor screens for either Iguodala or Thad on the weakside, giving them some open cuts to the hoop. Brand is an excellent passer from the post and has a nice eye for cutters…and we desperately need Iggy to start getting some easy buckets.
Suede Curtail excessive dribbling in youngsters? Hard to do as kids naturally ape what they see in their heroes. When setting sound picks, properly using them, and making simple and well-timed, productive passes are featured and applauded on ESPN highlights, your instruction load will lighten. Until then, ‘pine time’ is a well-established behavior
modifier. And positive reinforcement gets results too. Have to know your players. And have to insist on the right way to function in an offense, over and over, until you’re hated like Larry Brown at the end of practice.
Lynam’s teams had legitimate shooters: Hersey Hawkins, Johnny Dawkins, Ron Anderson, Derek Smith, Mike Gminski.
This year’s edition is lacking in that respect.
Where are all the new players the Sixers added?
(Rush, Ivey, Ratliff, Speights, Marshall)
We could have burned the Hawks from beyond the arc and sealed the game.
Mo needs to get his rotations firmly established, as well as his coaching decisions, otherwise it will be a very mediocre season and another 1st round exit against the Cetics or the Pistons!
There were TOO many turnovers being committed, not only in this game but the previous two as well. I know their uptempo style may result in turnovers, but there are a couple that were completely unneccessary. Iggy had 6 in this game! Andre Miller has to handle the ball more and be the man distributor. Iggy’s fancy passes are killing us. Sammy doing too much is killing us, other than rebounding, catching lobs, and defense.
We have been committing more turnovers than our opponents (including that win over the Knicks).
Our opponents have hit more 3s than us. Our perimeter D must improve, perhaps Ivey could help.
Recap in Three Games:
-Reduce Turnovers
-Mo’s Rotation and Coaching Decisions Must Improve
Get Rush and Marshall involved for perimeter shooting
-Perimeter Defense Must Improve
-Close Out Games
(In Mortal Kombat terms, Finish Him! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05sz5qArKGs)
Also, closing out and taking over games are the only parts where we miss Allen Iverson!!
This game reminded me of a game last year against the Hawks– a big lead and a dominant first quarter, then we went on to lose the next 3 quarters. Remember that game?
i love the point about dumping the ball to Brand in the post. I was yelling at the TV the entire night, they need to either have someone else give him the ball or rotate miller and Thad or whoever the best shooter on the floor is. The double team wont be a factor if the person Brand throws it out to cant shoot the 3 at all
wow mo cheeks really needs to earn his pay this time. this team needs a lot of work. can actually believe what i’m saying but it looks like our season may rest on how well he can actually coach these guys to play the way they should. well its just 3 games so i guess we should reserve judgement
Shots attempted through 3 games; [Elton [16]; A.Miller [15]. Iggy [12]; L.Will., [12]; Thad, [10]; Sam, [9]. Good balance with Iggy leading team avg. 41 minutes per game, Mo must be trying to forcefeed him into the 2 guard position. Brand [38 min.] seems to be getting app. 5 min. a night at the 5 spot, we know who the backup center is.
Some points. First of all, Green and Lou should almost never be in the game at the same time. Second, Rush should be seeing more PT. Third, Sammy should never receive the ball in a post-up situation – his points come solely on alley-oops and put backs. In a word, coaching.
All that said, ATL probably doesn’t win without two miracle 3 balls by Smith and Johnson.
Next up, the Sacramento Kings, John Salmon’s team! LOL
So far, the Kings are scoring 92pts a game, but are giving up an astonishing 107.3 pts a game.
Kings are averaging 35.3 rebounds a game.
Sixers are averaging 51.0 rebounds a game.
Kings are averaging 17.6 TO’s a game.
Sixers are averaging 18.6 TO’s a game.
It could come down to better ball handling and rebounding dominance for the Sixers!!
John Salmons is a nice player. Can do a lot of things on court, with and without the ball. Basically, he’s Iggy minus the strut and hulabaloo. Can he help it if Maloof brothers held a fire sale? As Kings are winless (and presumably hungry), wouldn’t be surprised to see a competitive game, at least for a while. But, at home, Sixers should be able to wear ‘em down after Saturday embarrassment, if they take care of ball. Cheeks will probably insert off-season aquisitions tonight.
acquisition – the correct spelling of “ack-wah-zih-shun”
One other point: if AI2 takes 13 shots, 6 of them should not be 3 pointers.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3679931
Thoughts?
Max- I AM SPEECHLESS!! WOW, THE SEASON JUST STARTED, but you knew Detroit had to dismantle sometime. This move would perhaps help Denver in an effort to clean up defensively, but for Detroit, how can Rip and AI play together? Also, Rasheed will be a FA next summer! That is why Maxiel got the extension! Also, Dumars is quite a GM, so he probably has some tricks up his sleeve. Before, I used to really loathe Detroit, but Allen could have a better chance of getting a ring now. I feel good for him, but bad for the fact that we have to face him numerous times!! Uggh!
I feel great for Allen, and the irony of it was that the Sixers tried trading him to the Pistons before 2001 until Geiger’s contract dismantled the trade.
WOW! A Pistons-Celtics game is coming up this Sunday on NBATV, I don’t know who to cheer for now!! Iverson just changed the whole picture, but I’m still a Sixers fan!!