I adjusted the themed title just a bit. While I think the Sixers players have contributed greatly to their losing ways, the coach has been worse.
The way Jordan has managed this team is laughable to say the least. His rotations and line-ups have put the team in a constant disadvantaged state. His defensive scheme and coaching is nonsensical. His offensive system doesn’t fit the roster’s strengths. And most importantly his stubborness to change, adapt or adjust his coaching has lead this team to the bottom of the NBA.
So it’s not the players going for 9 straight it’s the coach. Until he starts getting a clue and coaching basketball the way it’s suppose to be coached this team will continue to spiral downward.
This game is similar to the Thunder game. We are facing a team that relies on their defense (#2 in the NBA). And they do it all defensively. Teams don’t shoot well against them, they turn people over, they are a strong defensive rebounding club and they don’t foul too much. Man can Larry Brown get teams to play well defensively. Envious.
They are a poor shooting team (27th in the NBA). They have a team full of slashers and their defense drives their offense.
The Sixers need to pack in the paint, cut off driving lanes and secure defensive rebounds and this game should be a win.
Sadly that is likely the same game plan Larry Brown will be coaching his team to play tonight. And we all know which coach will do a better job of getting his players to execute.
Charlotte is tied for 8th in the East. So losing this game wouldn’t necessarily constitute a “bad” loss. But I think this is a breaking point for the Sixers. If they lose this game it’s 9 straight and last straw that triggers Eddie Jordan to be fired.
Game note: Jrue is a game time decision with a rotator cuff strain.
I will be banging some chips in Atlantic City tonight so I will miss the game. This is your game thread, looking forward to reading all of your takes in the comments when I get home.
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I loss to the Bobcats would be a bad loss in my eyes.
They lost to the Nets.
Jrue ruled out because of the Rotator Cuff injury you stated
The Bobcats are KILLING us on the glass! A 20 to 8 disparity after 1 quarter? WTF!
Raise your hand if you felt even 1% of the enthusiasm Zumoff screamed out when Willie Greene hit the three to end the quarter? *crickets* *crickets* *crickets*…
Scientific Law of Bill Green – If a team ever relies on Bill Green’s shooting to carry them through a quarter, the next quarter when he keeps firing up crappy shots, they will miss.
Andre Iguodala just took what I honestly think might have been in his hall of fame for worst 5 shots of the season in the 4th quarter. Upon entering whatever non-existent offense it is that we try to run, in the FIRST THREE SECONDS OF THE SHOT CLOCK:
Iguodala got the ball, wackily dribbled into the lane. Defense properly collapsed on him, forcing him to the midblock. Ignoring all teammates who hadn’t even touched the ball yet, Iguodala, back to the basket proceeded to pump fake a defender that didn’t bite, spin to face the basket and fake a drive where the defender didn’t bite, and then turned around and shot a turnaround, off balance, fadeaway 15 footer that clanked right off the rim.
I know Iguodala has mastered the anti-post game…but if anyone was watching the game, you’ll know the play I am talking about. It was really, really, really ugly and is an emblem for how little cohesion and ball movement we have on offense. Have we EVER made the extra pass? Like, even once this season? Jesus christ.
…although Iguodala gave his own last terrible shot a good contest when he just sat at the top of the 3 point line, dribbling down the shot clock for five seconds before jacking up a three. It went in, and he got fouled for a 4 point play…but again, just a terrible, terrible shot that no one should be attempting in the first place.
I am so sick of this fucking team it is unbelievable. AI…make this season fun. Please. We beg of you.
And the worst part is this: When Iggy makes a shot, he automatically thinks everything else he jacks up will go in. He seems to forget that he SUCKS! At least his jump shot does.
Elton Brand – Only watched the last quarter and a half of the game, but Brand looked really good. Hustling as usual, playing solid defense, and really busting his butt on rotations to get to the right spot. Also had some great flashes on help defense and double teams, and has been attacking the glass nicely.
Thad Young – Hath finally discovered what the term “rebound” means.
This game – Is so ugly it is unbelievable. We have no semblance of how to play with confidence, finish games…sloppy mistakes everywhere, crappy shots…ugh. After being up by 10 in the 4th quarter, letting the Bobcats slowly creep back in and making this a game down to the last possession? And in the last minute Iguodala selfishly just driving STRAIGHT INTO THREE PLAYERS and having the ball stripped?!?!?!?!?!
…and Thad Young popped out late, and too far on the offensive player at the 3 point corner line on the inbounds…allowing said player to easily drive past Thad Young and scoring an easy layup (the frontcourt rotation, of course, was late again). Bobcats up by 1, 17 seconds.
This team has god awful defensive “skills”. Please, for the love of God, FIRE EVERYONE!!!!!!!! This was the worst lost of the fucking season. And that’s saying something…. Allen, save us.
I really cannot believe what I am watching in the last minute of this game. This is fucking pathetic. Iguodala gets fouled and hits both free throws to put us up…13 seconds left and we allow Raymond Felton to just waltz right to the basket for a layup? HOW BAD IS OUR HELP DEFENSE? Teams in HIGH SCHOOL wouldn’t let that happen.
And yet another fadeaway jumper that clangs off the rim by who else? Andre Iguodala. Sixers lose. Wow. @!#$@!$!@$@!$@!$!$@#!
@ Dave T – It’s not even worth wasting energy getting mad about these clowns. New season starts Monday night.
Didn’t catch the whole game. Lookin at the box score and kind of confused. Did Sammy get injured? Why’d he only play 17 Minutes, he only had 1 foul…God Awful +/- at -12, maybe that’s it?
Thunda_Chunky & Dave T: my sympathies be with you two for having witnessed that terrible game. what makes you think Monday will suddenly bring a new dawn to the Sixers? with respect to winning of course.
prediction: 10 straight on Monday. as usual Sixers ‘play hard’ and keep it ‘close’. are probably down big early in the 4th and make strong push with help from Iverson’s free throws and Iguodala’s steals only to lose in spectacular fashion. crowd eats it up as better days to come.
rationale: hey if we almost beat Denver then we can easily beat other teams.
3 weeks later: after 2 wins and who knows how many losses, everyone starts talking about John Wall.
good day for Willie Green fans and fantasy holders (if any).
yay the reunion starts in 48 hrs!
question: what happens when a team sorely in need of steady leadership, defensive consistency and team cohesion gets an aging legend with a history of fiery bursts of emotion, pepretual gambling on defense and an offensive mindset that can best be described as “me against the world”?
again I still think we are way better off with him.
It takes a “special” defense to allow 50%+ 3 pt shooting from a Bobcats team that normally shoots 29% from 3.
And 2 of the 3 best shooters from 3 for the Bobacats aren’t even still on the team (Bell and Radmanovich.) Only 1 player on their team shoots over 30% for the season (Felton) who shot <30% last year.
A “special” defense indeed. Gotta love the Princeton Defense.
BYW, one way or another Willie Green kills you. Usually its the Sixers, but tonight it was the oposition.
What a way to ruin Willie Green’s brilliance offensively tonight? This team fouled the Bobcats waay too much in the 4th. It might be offical: the 76ers are the GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS of the East! That is great offensively, but terrible on the defensive end!
Hopefully, Iverson will get this team to play with more heart and soul. Had our Sixers not taken a couple possessions off, they certainly would have won some more games!
Anyway, I hope the bleeding will end soon and with a couple of sold out crowds.
GO SIXERS!!
I actually thought that it was impossible to hire a GM more inept than Billy King, but, by God, we did it. After that debacle with Maurice Cheeks last year, our boy Eddie goes out and hires this offensive genius. Hell, I’ve seen enough, bring Tony back, or somebody/anybody! This offense is absolutely horrible, no ball movement, no player movement, no passing, strictly one-on-one. This is truly ugly basketball.
And let’s not forget the defense, so much switching, and trapping, which causes so many mismatches and open looks. In all my years of watching NBA basketball I’ve never seen a team defend the pick-an-roll so poorly, they switch every time, and it always ends up with a big on a small, 20 ft from the basket, it’s a sure 2. The idea of going above/below or through a pick is a foreign concept.
Times up, I’ve seen enough of Ed Stefanski, has got to go! We can’t let him continue to screw up year after year like we did with Billy King, this franchise will not survive. And, by the way, he can take Eddie Jordan with him on his way out.
JKAY
About Iverson’s “Me Against The World” attitude….Well the Vatican accepts 2Pac…Hopefully in some Deranged way this helps AI(Actual) and the Sixers.
When a (still) out of shape Boris Babacar Diaw-Riffiod is high man in the game witb points you have a problem. When he is 5/6 from three and his team is above 50% you really know something is wrong. It’s as if Eddie Jordan tells the team to disregard players standing round the 3pt line because it’s farthur away than a 2 pointed.
On another note one of the most explosive bench scorers in the NBA (and Philly native) Ron “Flip” Murray was held to a nice donut. The bizzare Sixers stats continue
Dannie, if Jrue is out Monday we may lose by 30; who guards Billups and your boy, Ty ? Plus the fact J.R. Smith will probably be left open all night!!
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/firejordan
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/firejordan>>
Yo Fabian. Be careful. This organization is such a mess they might actually become the first ever to actually make a move mandated by petition.
Now wouldn’t that be something.
A couple Philly coaching changes that come to mind tht were short term were the 6ers 9-73 squad canning the greatness of Roy Rubin at 4-47. That gem of a move resulted in Kevin Loughery taking over. Loughery, one of the biggest gunners in NBA history (certainly to that point) all of a sudden started preaching defense, and had the audacity to bench the ever popular Hal Greer. That was nice.
Also, although Eddie Sawyer was the Phils skipper before 1960, he did quit after Opening Game that year concluding he was 49 and wanted to live to be 50. If only Gene Mauch had felt that way at 34 about turning 35.
On the other side of the spectrum, Jerry Wolman, one of the 2 whackiest people to ever own the Iggles along with Tose, Leonard signed Coach Joe Kuharich to a 10 year deal. Its not coincidence that Kuharich and Kotite’s names both start with K’s as in he struck him out.
I got my wish!!! 5-15 before the original AI makes his return tonight….PLEASE…AI….don’t screw this up….we NEED to be in the lottery this year….we NEED a new coach…..we NEED a complete new direction for this team. AI get your points but keep the losses coming for the Sixers. Yes, it will be a tough, tough time to watch this season for us fans. But in the end, this is what is needed for the Sixers to start fresh for the 2010-2011 team. AI, please don’t screw this up.
krazykevy – Not sure what your expectations are but the lottery as a whole is a crapshoot. The #1 sure, there usually is a game changer there every season. Sometimes the #2 and #3 picks. But we aren’t looking at a draft like 1984 or 1996 or 2003 that are deep with game changers and that is exactly what the Sixers need. Remember the Sixers “lottery” picks after Iverson are as follows:
And looking at those drafts I am not going to cry about picks other than the Hughes debacle. We could have had a wing core of Billups/Tmac, Iverson and Pierce/Dirk had the Sixers drafted differently. But whatever.
Point is the last three lottery picks, two are decent players but not stars, franchise players or even leaders.
Behind John Wall I don’t know if there are other stars or if their are just a bunch of Thad Young level players.
I can tell you this much for sure, I don’t want another Andre Iguodala or Thad Young unless we plan to trade the one’s we have for a star.
There is a good breakdown of past lottery success by pick at draft express (dome 4 years ago, but still interesting.)
http://www.82games.com/nbadraft2.htm
Some conclusions:
“Fans expecting a superstar should ice their expectations, especially if your pick is out of the top 5. Of the 180 picks from 6 – 14, only 7 turned into superstars (4%).”
“On the other side, 77 players selected from 6 – 14 turned into bench players or busts (43%).”
“Top Five Selections
Fans of a team with a top 5 selection have much more reason to be optimistic than those who fall in the 6 – 14 range.
Of the 23 superstars who have been selected in this 20 year range, 16 of them have been selected in the first 5 picks of the draft (70%). Conversely, the top 5 picks in the draft have yielded only 15 bench players or busts. Out of 100 total picks made in the 20 years analyzed, that is a pretty good rate of return for those teams landing in the top 5.
Of the 16 superstars selected, half of them have been selected first overall. Now, this should be good news for Raptors fans this year, but isn’t. Those 8 superstars were all can’t miss prospects. Very few number 1 picks have “surprised” their GM’s and fans by morphing into superstars.”
ESPN has this whole D.R.A.F.T. Initiative which does ridiculous analysis of the draft.
Dannie, do you get much out of Insider?
I think one of the reasons Brand hasn’t been on the floor as much is he is terrible in pick-n-roll situations. Bobcats continued to abuse him with it. His footwork is bad and he doesn’t recover quickly to shooters who pop after the pick. He’s so often 10 feet from his man on the perimeter which lately is so obvious after every play. Teams have gone small a lot against them. Take the last 2 games OKC and Bobcats the biggest player on either team was T Chandler and he didn’t play much. The oddity is the Sixers have all these swing men playing against other teams swing men yet they can’t defend or rebound against players of similar size.
Is that effort or system? I think its both. The guards don’t rebound well, your PF whether its Brand or Thad are pulled away from the basket often enough to make them useless on the boards. This team never traps full or half court. You would think trapping with all the speed on this team would create turnovers and easy baskets. No concept on Eddie Jordan’s team how to trap to get easy baskets.
Lastly, the Sixers lost 15 of their final 20 games including playoffs last season. They have lost 15 of their first 20 games this season. Now I know EJ wasn’t here last season but its the same ol story with this organization. Something just isn’t working coaching and playing. It all has to change.
TK76 – Yea I like their NBA draft coverage particularly. But when they put out insider articles and research it’s always very good.
Wow, did not realize they are 10-30 in their last 40 games. That makes you think they are really headed for a top 5 pick on merit…
But maybe its been these last 3 years, but I know they have a BS second half run in them. If they go .500 the rest of the way gets that nets them 36 wins… so I guess they will win 32. Just enough to push them outside of a legit shot at winning the lottery- but probably bad enough to let the franchise know they are in serious trouble. Although I fully expect the same BS about their late success and turning the corner…
TK76 -
I think the slow start to fast finish routine won’t happen this year, mainly because the slow starts they had were primarily due to offensive struggles, which got smoothed out over the year, especially once the defense would get turned up. The increased pressure D combined with their athleticism would combine to wear teams out and run them into the ground.
Right now, they lack the coaching staff to install the aggressive defensive mindset that this team has fed off of for those furious finishes. Jordan was already talking about using zone defenses to conserve AI’s legs. He is far too offensive oriented, which means any wins they get from here on out will be if they shoot the lights out and the other team just can’t keep up.
EJ envisions a AI/ Lou starting back court when Lou returns. Hilarious!
EJ also says he will only take out AI, when AI says he’s ready. Incredible! EJ really is a joke.