I am heading down to the game in a little bit so let’s keep this straight to the point…
We appreciate the fact that Thaddeus will return to play. It’s awesome that the game is against the Celtics (although it would be better/more competitive if they had something to play for and we were on their level) But that’s not enough.
More than any of the priceless prizes, unique auctions and giveaways you have planned all we really want: IS A WIN! Make the Celtics pack it in early since they have no seeding reason to care.
Can you do that for us? I mean we haven’t seen a win in 5 games spanning 10 days. We really do want to support you going into the playoffs. But you have to show us not only that you deserve it, but that you actually want it.
We know you don’t want to, or like losing. But how much do you want to win? Talent aside – all we ask is that you want to win more than your opponent and have that come through with your effort and consistent concentration. We want wins. We hate loses. But effort loses make us want to vomit. At the end of the day from a player standpoint that’s all I ask for.
Can’t do anything about injuries. If the talent is lacking, doesn’t jive right and the coaching is not maximizing what it has to work with that’s on the GM. All that is certainly an issue. But that can’t be the blame for your horrid play of late.
I was a player, am a player, talk like a player and blog like a player. So I don’t support or believe in the bullshit excuse “we didn’t have it.” What didn’t you have? Your shot? Okay, it happens. Lack of talent? Okay I get it. But that can be overcome that most nights with your effort, your heart, your pride, your focus, your will, you pursuit of excellence, your competitiveness, your love for the game of basketball. Those things are internally controlled and always present for you to pull from. When applied it’s apparent to all and suffocating to your opponent. Go watch the ultimate Jordan DVD or Magic Johnson – Always Showtime if you have no clue what I am talking about.
I would give anything to be in the league and playing for the Sixers right now, even as a the last guy on the bench whose only court time is scraping in practice. And I’d do it for free.
Someone on this team and/or coaching staff needs to get in guys faces. Put a sneaker up someone’s ass. Question whether or not they can look themselves, their teammates, their family in the eye and honestly say they played the last 5 games as hard as humanly possible (every game, every minute) – no excuses. The answer is clear – NO. (How many times are you going to stare at an open shooter, give no thought or effort to run at him and at the same time not get in fundamental rebounding position to at least support your “hope” defensive mentality?) No gimmicks, marketing, discounts, gifts, PR bullshit, coach and GM fuzzy talk can disguise piss poor effort. We know you want to win, but how much?
Play hard! We appreciate that.
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BREAKING NEWS: Ray Allen suspended for one game!
http://www.nba.com/2009/news/04/14/celtics.allen/index.html
Sorta like when AI and CWebb didn’t show up… except this time its KG and Ray Allen as no shows. Is that a ‘culture change?’
paul pierce isn’t playing either. there is absolutely no excuse to not win this game.
This really is FAN Appreciation Night!! Perhaps we might see Stephon Marbury. It would be sad if Marbury got a Championship before Iverson. Iverson clearly had the better career than Marbury. That’s sad and Marbury’s just being a “yes man” right now.
And for those guys who have questions for Stefanski should enter those contests and talk to him one-on-one.
And I would be surprised if anybody on our squad active or inactive, skipped the game!! Or else Billy King will get in another tirade.
GO SIXERS!!!
Well written Dannie. Mike, I’d like to say the same thing but they have played like absolute shit the last 5 games.
Anyone have playoff tickets yet? Im going to game 1 (at home) for sure and maybe 2 or 3 as well. Ive been to about 40 games but never a playoff, I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully they’ll get back in form tonight and head into the playoffs on the right note.
of course i realize that, but they are playing a team without 3 starters. the lineup boston is going to send out tonight is easily worse than any team they’ve lost to on their current losing streak.
i’ll be at both home games. hopefully we get more than 2 this season.
Paul Pierce is playing tonight, according to the Celtics’ announcers. I want us to beat Boston tonight, but to also draw them in the first round. I think we match up better against Boston than Orlando, and who wouldn’t love to see the Sixers and Celtics clash in the playoffs?!
Dannie, good rebuttal to my devil’s advocate stuff (not that I was testing you), and good post up top. Rob was probably right in calling it “passing gas from indigestion”, but it was indigestion as a result of this season, not the recent 5-game losing streak.
But do you really feel good about this team going into next season? I don’t. I feel the same way I did after the Mutombo trade, like the promise of the team was somehow risked in a high-stakes bet to win now. We were doing so well with Ratliff and Kukoc at the time, and just like with last year’s team, I felt like we didn’t get a chance to see how good it could be. That was an incredibly fun team and awesome sports story last year. When things like that end, it’s usually not for the better.
What in the hell was Sammy just thinking? You know what? This is explains why we have lost 5 straight… we have no common sense and we play like we don’t care if we lose. Ridiculous. Sammy- Good luck on your next team.
C’mon; 4 tek’s (so far), Celtic’s are just so entitled it’s ridiculous. They are also very easy to cheer against. . . Now more than ever.
That was not the kind of shot Iggy should have been taking at the end of the game. He should have been looking for an open team mate at that point.
I thought he got fouled. Still poor execution down the stretch by everyone. Iguodala should have drove the basketball about 5 seconds earlier so we would have had more time coming off the inbounds pass down by 2. We are now 6-11 in games decided by 4 points or less. That may or may not be a good thing in the playoffs. Hopefully we have gained valuable experience in these games.
And then not getting an open jump shot at the buzzer—also bad. Looks likely that we’ll be playing the Celts in the first round, but after that performance, against a Boston team with no KG or Ray Allen, I’m not encouraged.
Sammy–Look at what that boneheaded turnover did to the Sixers!! That is why we need Elton Brand back to reduce the boneheaded turnovers by Reggie and Sammy.
It does seem strange and yet chickenlike, that Glenn Rivers wanted to put Pierce back in the game, a game that did not count for them.
But again, our problem is DEFENDING the PERIMETER!! Also, the missed free throws down the stretch and lack of fastbreak points in the second half really doomed us. But I prefer facing Boston than Orlando!!
The Celtics wanted to remove the bad taste from last Sunday!!
Rob, I think the Sixers would rather face Boston also… They obviously threw this game! Just Kidding. But I do not have a preference on who we play but heres something you should note:
We lost by 24 pts when the Celtics had Allen, Pierce, and Garnett.
We again lost by 19 pts when the Celtics had Allen, Pierce, and Garnett.
We lost by 1 pt when the Celtics had Allen and Pierce.
And now we lost by 2 pts when the Celtics had just Pierce.
Not exactly a favorable match-up.
Thad had a nice day back, however the ankle did affect his jump shot. He had open looks from downtown and missed some free throws he would make, but the ankle had something to do with it. Once Thad shakes off the rust, I think the Sixers will make it quite a series. Still if it were the Sixers-Celtics, I would say Celtics in 7.
With the Magic, we have to double team Dwight. Our frontcourt has done a nice on Howard, but it opens up the shooters.
With the Celtics, it is best to defend them straight up one-on-one.
Guys on TNT believe that the Sixers could make it quite a series with the Celtics Round 1, like that of the Hawks series last season. This series will be intense and should be fun based on the history of two great franchises. Plus, this would be a great test for our young players and understand what it takes to be Championship Material. We can make it a 7 game series, but the Celtics will win it. Then, the Sixers can come with a new mindset, similar to the Hawks this season and get off to a better start for homecourt advantage as the 4th seed. I can’t wait for Elton Brand because Sammy and Evans scoring is as painful as pulling teeth and the rebounding has been awful since he went down.
THAT SAMMY TURNOVER IS DRIVING ME CRAZY THOUGH!! Why are these sloppy plays made and some are made down the stretch? GROW UP SAMMY!!
Also, where was Donyell or Rush? We need some threes down the stretch in the 4th quarter. They need some burn time especially in the postseason in a 7 game series. Those two are opportunity scorers and game (series) changers.
Anderson Varejao and the Cavaliers better watch more than their coconuts when they face the Celtics. That is quite a bench for the Celtics.
GO SIXERS!! SNAP THE CAVS HOME STREAK!! GET MOMENTUM!!
Missed open shots and terrible execution down the stretch.
Iguodala didn’t get fouled on that ridiculous shot he took. Negligible contact that we would have went crazy if it was Pierce driving and got the call. He could have drawn the foul had he bulled his way all the way to the rim. He stopped and what may have looked like a push was really him slightly fading on his own, creating enough air space for Pierce to get a good contest and force that tough off-balance shot. You have to really fadeaway and create space (Kobe-style), go into Pierce’s chest more (LeBron style) or be quick and creative enough to avoid the contact all together and get a clean shot (Wade). In between doesn’t work.
It was just an example of a hole in his game that can be fixed in his off-season workouts with some creative skill training. He is very good when he can get to the rim or backboard. It’s when the defense stops him (or he stops himself) just short he tends to look really bad. He hasn’t developed go-to moves for that particular situation yet. You watch Wade or Kobe and you see the array of shots they have in their arsenal in those situations and LeBron just uses his physicality.
The last shot was bad by everyone involved. Dileo has to draw up a better play. Every coach has a go-to play do the Sixers? I can’t tell. Players have to execute MUCH better. Did anyone actually set a screen. I mean really put a body on someone. Couldn’t have if Pierce was able to stay draped to Iguodala and force the catch 35 feet from the basketball. Also Iguodala was in panicky. He didn’t set up the screen either. This is a fatal flaw of the Sixers as a whole anyway (poor screening and use of screens) aside from Willie Green how does a good job of it. There is a reason he always gets that open/mildly contested 15 foot elbow jumper every game.
Iguodala needs to understand catching the ball in that spot is a losing play and avoid it. Clear out a side and hold Pierce on your back closer to the three point line and get your shot that way. Again watch the better players historically when there is heavy pressure. They always get the ball in a legit scoring position regardless of defense played. That’s what great players do.
Other than that they were in a position to win but didn’t finish. Again defensively they sucked. Pierce was indefensible and made scoring his 31 looks like child’s play. Boston shot 51.9% from the field and 56.3% from three (Pierce was 7-9 with a ton of wide open looks).
I know everyone is going to get caught up with their Sam bashing because of his flamboyant open floor turnover. But that was his only 1 (Iguodala had 4) and he contributed 4 blocks, 9 boards 2 steals and 8 points on 4-7 shooting in his 34 minutes of work. He wasn’t the problem.
Will be interesting to see if Cleveland plays anyone tomorrow night. Miami and Atlanta had a battle of the reserves tonight. But even if Cleveland doesn’t play LeBron and Mo more than 15-20 minutes how confident are you in a Sixers win?
Without Mo and LeBron, that is a different story there. Actually, I think Boston’s bench might be better than Cleveland’s right there. Ben Wallace is going to be out for the Cavaliers, but not having him will not matter until the ECF for them.
Also, how many technicals does it take to light up the Celtics on both ends of the floor? Wow, the only way technicals can help a team!
The Sixers have the least technicals, while the Celtics have the most technicals. That is quite a matchup right there, but the Sixers must NOT get in a “technical” contest.
Dannie: That might be one of my favorite posts, if not THE favorite, I’ve ever read in your blog columns. Your post mirrors my thoughts completely about basketball in general, and the lack of competitiveness that can happen at the professional level. I loved how you talk about your own competitiveness night in and night out…for pickup games, or local league games, not getting paid, just for the sheer thrill of it. It’s very, very sad that certain athletes that are paid millions have forgotten this attitude, or perhaps never even had it in the first place…where there pure joy for the game has been lost. Makes me very sad, and angry when I watch this happen around the NBA, our own team obviously very much included.
Nice to hear someone someone with the same views as I do, and explain it probably far more eloquently then I’d have been able to. Big time kudos Dannie, keep up the great postings.
couldn’t agree more dannie, They haven’t had that heart and effort since Iverson left, He gave it his all on the court for better or worse he would bust his ass night in night out. He was a warrior and was as competitve as it gets. He had the ’Jordanesque’ mind set that only the great have. It was what made him truly special as a player, he could walk onto the court and just by example he would make every player on his team accountable.
You knew what you were getting every night when he took the floor. These sixers I certainly can not even come close to saying this. I agree that losses suck, however i will still be proud of my team if they go out there give it their all, leave everything on the court and still lose. That’s a team that people will root for at th end of the day.
I think maybe the sixers should sign iverson to the midlevel this off season and bring him home.
Dannie, what else is lacking in the endgame situations is the kick out option, to a quality shooter no less, that would give opposing players pause to collapse in defensively. Pierce, even Wade, two guys as you say more qualified for that situation would have a tough time with this surrounding cast and I sometimes wonder if Marshall, cold off the bench, shouldn!t be used in those situations.
Suede – I was telling my girlfriend before the last two possession they need to get Donyell in the game. There was no reason for him not to be inserted there. I saw him licking his fingers on the sideline as a sign he was mentally prepared to go in if called on. Never happened. Why did we sign him if not for end game situations – cold or not?
Also, I am not sure teams actually pause to collapse in defensively on great players in late game situations. My general viewpoint is teams always collapse in endgame situations because they don’t want that guy to beat them because their is a perception they are more adept at making that shot. If joe schmo shooter takes and makes the shot so beit.
You absolutely need Joe Schmo shooter not so much because it will open things up in late game situations but so there is someone that will take (not scared and actually wants it) and can actually make the shot when passed to (Kerr, Paxson, Posey etc.). Shooters open things up during the game when teams may pause more or say don’t leave that guy. End game coaches want the ball out of Kobe, Wade, LeBron’s hands at all cost most times. Furthermore I didn’t like the match up in that iso play. Against the Lakers he had Ariza on him. Decent defender but not as seasoned or fierce as Kobe. Had Kobe been on Dala not sure we have the same result. Pierce proved last year he can hold his own defensively against elite perimeter players so not sure I like just banking on Iguodala winning that battle there.
Set up a play that creates more movement and open space for Iguodala to shot would be better. Watch Boston in end game situations. Very rarely do they play straight iso unless they have a clear mismatch (Allen vs. happy feet Vuijcic or Pierce on a smaller player). I can point to two go-to plays Boston runs in “need a shot” situations. They run the play with Allen on the back screen with Pierce having the ball so help defenders lock their eyes on him, lose Allen and don’t see the screen coming. We all remember that one right.
They also run a small/big ball screen at the top usually it’s House setting the screen for Pierce. Put’s the defense in a really bad spot. If you double Pierce House gets his shot off quick and can make that or quickly swing to Allen in the corner. If you switch it well Pierce would be too big and too good for that to work most times. If you go under, Pierce can hit that. If you fight over, you better get their so Pierce can turn the corner. If you show too high their is no way you can get back to House in time to contest.
That is just smarter basketball that maximizes the talents of your individual players. We’ve have yet to see any sign of that kind of play in years in this town.
We wouldn’t even make it to the sweet 16 in the Ncaa tournament. Playoffs are coming and it feels more like an execution.
At least our future dream teamer, cornerstone, and best freakin Player Thad came back.
I don’t mind late isolation if it is in the post. But when you isolate up top it is to easy for the defense to rotate and help. Especially when they lack the shooters to keep the defense honest.
You’re exactly right about getting Marshall in the game. Who would you have rather had take those two wing 3-pointers — a clearly winded Thaddeus Young or Marshall? Young was short with both.
I, too, am so tired of the 1-4 “iso” play. How about a pick-and-roll or some sort of down screens or something?
Good coaches draw up plays to get good shots at end of games, at end of quarters and out of time outs. Again, this coaching staff has done a piss poor job at creating opportunities for this team to be successful in crunch time. Players make plays but coaches put you in the best possible situation with the right guys on the floor. Dileo and this staff frustrates me with their inability to make in game decisions that help win games late. Sixers have now lost 6 games in a row down the stretch when they needed victories at the most crucial time of the season. That shows a lack of leadership and ability to get it done when it really counts.
To me Dileo and this staff lost their jobs, unless they miraculously win the first round. As of right now the Cavs have the record in their sights going 40-1 to tie the all time record held by the Celtics. That’s a huge accomplisment and momentum going into the playoffs. That would mean 7 losses in a row for the Sixers going into the first round playoffs. Crazy as it sounds I would have put Iggy, Miller, Lou, Green and Donyell on the floor for that last play. Open up the floor, kick out to any shooters if they collapse which they did. Win at all costs, that’s what Dileo wanted. To bad he hasn’t been able to do that the last 6 games.
2 critical late game possessions: Williams, fumble turnover going middle resulting in Celts breakout; Williams, hesitant low-arced back-of-rim miss from 20 followed by Celts rebound. Momentum swing, Boston.
Iguodala and Miller seemed to be playing on separate islands in game’s
closing minutes. In other words, winning psychology wasn’t apparent, individually or collectively. The 5 game skid and 10 prior close losses
have undoubtedly cut into their close-out confidence.
What was that last play called? “Ring-around-the-rosie 35″? Traditional side line-up design, hoping for interference, confusion & decent open look; a good defensive team and effort swallowed it up. Why bunch the court when you’re lookin’ to create room in 1.8? “F Troop” execution by players, but lack of creativity by Dileo and staff.
execution.
What struck me was the great defense Paul Pierce had. He could possibly be the most underrated player in basketball. He guards the other team’s best player, he shares the ball, he can post up and still shoot the three, and he is clutch. How many big shots did he hit last year in the playoffs? Im a big fan of Pierce.
On that last inbounds play, clearly the ball was not supposed to go to Iguodala that far away from the basket. I think it was supposed to go to Lou Williams who cut across the baseline. Right when the play started, Iguodala went to set a baseline screen on Lou’s man. But Lou, for some reason, cut way to far from Iguodala and Lou was actually running out of bounds to receive the pass. Whether it was Iguodala’s fault for not being in the right place, or Lou’s fault for not running in the right place.
I know when I play basketball, the screener’s job is to stay stationary and make sure you absorb the contact, but don’t lean into the contact. It was always the other player’s job to run close enough to the screen, to make sure his man got screened.
The inbounds play before that, where we had to call a timeout… Well that was just horrible. A coach like Doc Rivers was probably laughing inside about that inbounds play. A ring-around-the-rosé was the perfect comparison.
Before Ray Allen and KG, there was always Paul Pierce. Pierce is perhaps the most underrated clutch player in the NBA and the toughest son of a gun, tough as nails player I have ever seen. This was Billy King’s GREATEST MISTAKE of not drafting Paul Pierce and he has had our number ever since.
Now, for Glenn Rivers, why doesn’t he play Kevin Garnett just to regain his legs? The Lakers did the right thing by getting Bynum to play in a couple of regular season games. Game after game, Bynum’s legs were returning. He played better game after game.
Participating in practices are completely different from games. Garnett could be rusty, as evidenced by Young with his jump shots. Young had great looks he would hit from downtown and missed a dunk he would make. (Thank you Reggie Miller for giving the hall pass!!) My advice for the Sixers if we play the Celtics, attack Garnett on the offensive end. Iggy has to dunk on him a couple of times like he did in the second meeting against the Celtics. Garnett loves to play with energy and is all over the court, but how much and how long will his injury hamper his mobility? Maybe a limping Garnett might affect the Celtics for a game or two. So far, the Celtics have been great without him, especially Big Baby. In the long run of the postseason, they definitely need Garnett. Point is for the Sixers–attack any Tin Men on the floor.
This series has the makings of last year’s Hawks-Celtics series:
1) Athleticism does affect the Celtics for certain runs.
2) Reggie Evans, Marresse Speights v.s Celtic Bigs in terms of chippiness.
3) Celtics dogpaddling on the road in the playoffs ( 2 rounds went 7 games).
4) Thaddeus Young (this year’s Josh Smith–TNT guys think so)
5)Bad perimeter shooting for Sixers (Hawks were bad last year.)
6)Celtics are turnover prone, especially the bigs.
Maybe it’s just the optimist in me speaking, but in the postseason you never know. That is the great thing about the postseason– opportunity scorers or role players come out of nowhere and make an impact in a game or even a series!!
Dannie, you should post a NBA Playoffs Post for all the Series Matchups and talk about the nitty gritty for each matchup after today. Also, I hope you continue to have NBA posts even after the Sixers get eliminated, when they do. Thanks!
GO SIXERS!!! BRING THE ENERGY!!! BEAT THE CAVS!!
Guest. This is what these guys do for a living. Coaching and playing. Doc Rivers probably knew through past tendencies what Dileo would do given previous situations. The Sixers have probably run similar out of bounds plays in the past and the Celtics defended it well. Just what good teams do. To add some football to this poor coaching dilemma. Bill Parcells and Bill Belichek are very good at situational plays. They know how to get the most of out a play when they need it most. They spend practice time working on plays so they are prepared no matter what the circumstance is. That’s coaching and being prepared.
Mo Cheeks couldn’t do it, now Dileo can’t do. But the common theme is they both have the same assistant coaching staff. I really don’t like bashing or saying someone should lose their jobs because that’s not right. But Lynam is clueless and always have been. Even back in the days Barkley played here. He’s the one who wanted Shawn Bradley in the draft and pushed for it. Go figure. Ed needs to start over, even if it means starting slow again. At least we as fans can say there is a new direction coming and hope for the best. Ok, I’m done ranting.
Here are what folks from Beantown are saying:
http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=897832&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15
Also, in other news, Cleveland is resting a couple of players for tonight’s game:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4070466
That’s THE REAL ROB news!
Anyone catch Bill Simmons’ latest yet? The title is “Ranking the MVP Race” and I think there’s a more-than-usual amount of stuff that’s link-able to the Sixers:
450. Elton Brand
Dramatically edged out Gilbert Arenas and Tracy McGrady for the coveted LVP (“Least Valuable Player”) Award. Here’s what pushed it over the top: Not only did EB destroy Philly’s cap through 2035, he left the Clips with enough cap space that they reacted the same way looters react during a riot. They wanted to walk out of the store with something
… or in this case, Marcus Camby, Ricky Davis, Zach Randolph and a 27-inch Sharp LCD. In a floundering economy, should they have guarded that extra cap room and bided their time like The Team That Shall Not Be Named [Oklahoma City Thunder] did? OF COURSE!!!! OF COURSE!!!!! When you include Brand’s luring of Baron Davis to the Clippers, causing the Warriors to overreact with $66 million for Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf, you could argue that Brand murdered one franchise and gravely wounded two others. Sounds like an LVP to me.
Why pay Beno [Udrih] $33 million when you can pay a hungry D-leaguer one-tenth as much to give you roughly the same performance? What a stupid league. I can’t stand it. Insert “Lou Williams” for “Beno Udrih”.
The MVP of the 2009 B.S. All-Stars for “Guys I Like (In Some Cases, Inexplicably) With Potential To Become Quality Role Players For A Contender And/Or Overpaid By One Dumb GM.” The B.S. All-Stars for 2009: [Anthony] Morrow, Marcin Gortat, Courtney Lee, Josh Powell, Nic Batum, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, RODNEY CARNEY, Will Bynum, Renaldo Balkman, Steve Novak, Daequan Cook and “Comeback B.S. Player” Chris Andersen. Jason Smith will end up on this list some day.
104. Kyle Lowry
Savvy acquisition by Daryl “Stop Calling me Dork Elvis; It’s Starting to Catch on Around The Office” Morey. The Rockets are getting a combined 19-7-5 every night from the Lowry/Brooks combo. Not shabby. The lesson, as always: When in doubt, make a deal with Chris Wallace. Stefanski, remember this quote from the movie “Rounders”: “If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the [poker] table then YOU are the sucker.” Why the heck were you trying to deal with one of the league’s better GMs in Kevin Pritchard? You shoulda been dealing with the Chris Wallace’s of the world.
It’s officially a slash-and-kick league, and beyond that, everyone else finally emulated the Spurs and embraced the corner 3 as a tactical weapon. Except the Sixers. D’oh!
51. Raymond Felton
The guy I’d pursue this summer if I ran an NBA team. Ten weeks of trade rumors bounced off him and he never held a grudge. He has lottery pick pedigree (fifth overall in 2005), and if we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that many blue-chip point guards take awhile to “ferment” (for lack of a better word). He’s one of the five or six best people in the league by all accounts. I’ve never seen a Bobcats game where he didn’t play as hard as he could. The arc of his first four years looks exactly like Chauncey Billups, and like Chauncey, his game will open up once he starts making 3s. Just a lot to like. Someone will steal him this summer just like Detroit stole Billups in 2002. You watch. Is he Stefanski’s target for our point guard of the future?
“Wow, Vince is trying tonight.” And I thought to myself, “That one moment just summed up Vince’s entire career.” Sammy D, don’t let this happen to you, you still have time.
Meanwhile, check out the splits of the NBA’s six quickest point guards against Dallas this season: Tony Parker (31.3 ppg, 7.3 apg, 52 percent FG); Paul (33.3 ppg, 12.5 apg, 57 percent FG); Rondo (16.0 ppg, 14.0 apg, 62.5 percent FG); Harris (29.5 ppg, 10.0 apg); D. Williams (24.8 ppg, 11.5 apg); and D. Rose (19.0 ppg, 7.5 apg). Egads. The good news: Kidd and Nash tied for “Most Fun Teammate To Have” honors for something like the 10th straight year. Don’t forget about Andre Miller! Hey Harvey Pollak, how about those guys’ numbers against Andre Miller?
(Here’s how dumb coaches are: Just this season, we witnessed coaches playing Kevin Durant at shooting guard, slowing down Steve Nash, PLAYING SLOW-IT-UP WITH THE SIXERS, bringing Rip Hamilton off the bench, burying Anthony Randolph on a lottery team, playing Darius Songaila over JaVale McGee on a lottery team, …and doing everything that Mike Dunleavy did. There’s a reason 85 percent of these guys get canned within three years.)
“…there just isn’t a statistic to capture what Chauncey [Billups] did for that lunatic fringe of a Nuggets team.” There was something about the Sixers’ youth movement of last year that had that same intangible. For some reason, those young guys together really worked. And now it’s all gone…
Rob, Larry Brown he if the Kansas roots was responsible for us picking hughes over Pierce and Dirk. If I remember correctly Brown said that they didn’t expect Pierce to be there, they thought that he would go 1 or 2. King was the worst gm but he didn’t pull the trigger on that pick.
Zack – You do know for the most part those same “young guys” are the team we have watched for 2/3rds of the season and the last 6 (soon to be?) 7 losses in a row. Elton Brand injury means you actually got what you wanted: last year’s Sixers (minus Smith, plus Speights). The outcome? Same record (+1 maybe), same playoff result (-1 likely).
The guys on TNT, especially Kenny Smith in his “Kenny’s Pictures” segment, showed and mentioned how Thaddeus Young could be the difference in making a potential series with the Celtics a long one that could go 7 games.
It’s incredible though how much the guys on TNT enjoy Thaddeus Young. Reggie wanted to give him a hall pass. Marv Albert’s voice shrieked “Yes” after the first bucket by Young. Mike Fratello had some positive things to say. (Mike Fratello, if you are available for coaching, you are welcome to audition for the Sixers!)
Slowly, Thaddeus Young has become our go-to-guy on the offense. So far, teams have no answer for him. Just to play devil’s advocate, if you were an opponent, how would you defend Young? Next season with a little more motivation, consistency, and more specific goals, the Sixers will be interesting. One goal would be issuing the PERIMETER (offensively & defensively). If they can solve that issue, this team can go further. Possibly having Miller, Iggy, Young, and Brand in the lineup next season, things could get interesting and could possibly have a Fantastic 4 out there. For an opponent, how do you defend those guys with a balanced offense? Brand’s rebounding and defense will certainly help. He and Sammy can rebound, block shots, and handle their business in the paint.(and with Ratliff coming off the bench). With the interior defense in tact, perhaps the other three players (PG, SG, & SF can focus more on chasing away the perimeter shooters).
WILD CARD: If Sammy understands his role as a rebounder and a defender (without committing silly fouls and silly turnovers), this team can really go far!! Believe me, a year or two ago, he was showing progress there, but somehow he took a step down this season.
Also, who will have a better postseason, the Sixers or the Flyers? Both teams really missed out on opportunities to obtain higher seeds (and homeice for the Flyers) and have really dwindled down the stretch.
I will see tonight’s Sixers-Cavaliers game, which will be on CN8 not CSN, but will also watch Game 1 of the Flyers-Penguins game on CSN. CN8 now has a HD channel.
GO SIXERS!! BEAT THE CAVS HOME STREAK!! GO FLYERS!!!
Yes, Brown bypassed Pierce at No. 8 in favor of Hughes. Brown said the Sixers didn’t take Pierce because they already had Tim Thomas — though Thomas was traded in less than a year. What I think really happened was Brown didn’t think it would work with Iverson and Pierce.
J.A Adande has an interesting article on the Sixers-Celtics rivalry and for it to be a possible matchup, one that NBA fans should be excited about.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-090415
Also, you have to admit Pierce is quite a leader and player, tough as nails. TNT showed Pierce being very emotional in the 2nd half huddle that he was getting right into Gabe Pruit’s face about playing with more passion. I wish we had drafted him!
Anyway, GO SIXERS!!
Zack: GREAT find haha. I haven’t read BS’ latest yet. Going through his trifecta podcast this week (a double one with Marc Stein and Rick Bucher), and will hit up the MVP column next. That Lou Williams knock was priceless…and not many can argue his sound offs about how Brand affected the Clippers, Baron and G-State in one smooth blow.
Can someone help me out here. Why is this game so close?