This game is not the Sixers vs. Hornets. It’s really Sixers vs. Chris Paul. Tyson Chandler is sidelined with a sprained ankle and more importantly David West is a scratch with back spasms. Not to mention back up center Hilton Armstrong has been battling some knee tendinitis and may play but won’t be 100%. So the likely starting line up for New Orleans will be:
- Chris Paul
- Peja Stojakovic
- Rasual Butler
- Sean Marks
- Melvin Ely
I provided links to the front court players you may not know (Sean Marks?). You should know Philly’s own Rasual Butler.
I gotta be honest; I watched this Hornet’s team the last two games with this line up, and it’s not pretty. They are coming off a loss to the Timberwolves and a win over the Nets. Chris Paul was fantastic in both, but he can’t win by himself and right now he is playing with a beat up and weak supporting cast. Because of that I think the strategy is simple…
Take away Paul’s greatest attribute: creating easy shots for teammates and making them look much better than their talent suggests. Paul is going to have the rock 95% of the time he is on the floor; I would turn him into a scorer rather than distributor. Force him to shoot threes and make tough shots over our shot blockers.
Peja can shoot, but he needs Paul to get him open shots. He isn’t blowing by anyone and the Sixers have defenders who are long and athletic enough to handle him in the post where he likes to shoot over the top.
We have to be stuck like glue to Posey when he enters the game. He is playing nearly 30 minutes and shooting 43.4% from three. He is just another three point threat that thrives off all the attention being paid to Chris Paul.
They have absolutely no front court offense anywhere in their rotation when West isn’t playing. So the Sixers can’t play the porous perimeter defense they showed against the Knicks.
What will get the Sixers in trouble is if they don’t play with discipline, put all eyes on Paul and start losing shooters. This is the second best three point shooting team in the league at 39%.
We want to force Paul to be one-dimensional. We can’t have him doing his thing against our weak defending guards (Miller/Williams) as well as getting everyone else involved. Once the Hornets supporting players start getting a few open looks and knocking down a few shots confidence takes over and they become very tough to beat at home.
On the other side the Sixers need to run. New Orleans plays at the 2nd slowest pace in the NBA. Paul likes to have the ball in his hands, walk it up and be in full control of the offense every possession. They are 5th in offensive rating because he is so damn efficient running that team. Sixers need to force the pace and impose their style of play on the Hornets.
Defensively without Chandler manning the middle and weak defenders like Marks and Stojakovic, the Hornets aren’t very good. The Sixers should be able to penetrate and attack the rim at will. I fully expect to see the Sixers to have a lot of points in the paint and/or get to the foul line at a high rate.
Look for Dileo to use Thad offensively early and often against Marks.
I find it interesting that Accuscore has the Hornets as 62% favorites. I have to assume they don’t account for injuries. The books seem to think the game is even and the three point favorite they have the Hornets at is probably more representative of home court advantage than anything else.
Let’s keep it rollin’.
Sixers vs. Hornets Game Notes
Enjoying all the conversation in the comments. I had a championship game last night that we won so I missed the first half and part of the 3rd. Saw the rest at the bar afterwards.
Apparently that was the good half. Everything I said the Sixers couldn’t let happen, happened in the second half, and that’s how you lose by 15 after leading by 7 at the half.
They held the Hornets to 40 at half time. I don’t know what happened because I saw the ugly part of the game. Help me out, what worked so well in the first half for the Sixers that I didn’t see, that they didn’t continue doing in the second (besides forget Peja was playing and that he is an elite shooter)?
Paul played about as good a game as possible. Scored an efficient 27 points on 13 shots. Was all over the place with a triple-double and near quadruple-double.
Chris Paul is my favorite player right now. Not because he is the best point guard in the NBA. Not because he impacts the game on both ends of the court. But because he can take a bunch of crap and turn it to gold. And more importantly because he is a little pit bull. I’ve said this to Pete before, but that little dude is mean on the court. He has a competitiveness and unrelenting will to win that the Sixers are still searching for.
The Sixers in terms of # of players had more talent last night. But the immense ability of Paul made up for it. Do you see why I keep saying we need a “great” player with elite talent? Last night is the perfect example of how that guy can impact the game in so many ways. Can you imagine if he had more talent around him?
Random Stuff
- Thad had a nice shooting game with 22 points on 68.8% from the field. But again, 16 shot attempts and zero free throws. That’s 33 shot attempts and no free throws in two games. Please don’t overlook this.
- Andre Miller had 6 turnovers? I see Paul had 7 steals. Was he just taking the rock from him?
- 21 total turnovers? Can someone break down for me the type of turnovers these were?
- I saw the 5 threes in a row for Peja. Many came on the break where Paul found him among other teammates. Just because it’s the break doesn’t mean that is an excuse for losing the Hornets’ best shooter and only real secondary scorer. Speaks to the lack of discipline I mentioned before the game.
- Only a 17-15 edge in fast break points. I said before the game the Sixers needed to impose their game. They did not.
Finally – Did Elton Brand play???????
Let’s move on from that one…
Next Game: Wednesday at the Houston Rockets
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{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
I expect to see Miller playing about 8 feet off of CP3 (or maybe WG or Ivey.) He has a good jumper, but he’s not going to single handedly kill you with the jumper (now watch him drop 50…)
If the Sixers try and help to much CP3 will burn you every time.
We need to pound these cats on the boards, they got dominated by an inferior Timberwolves team the other day on the glass. I just hope that Butler and Peja don’t drain 15 trey’s combined.
Gotta love Coach of the Year Tony Dileo{Yes I said it} running plays for Thad. Posting up Thad led to good times versus the Knicks. Iggy, I was wrong about you. You deserve every penny, now if we can just find someone else to give Willie G’s 20 minutes to.
You can approach this matchup in either two ways (especially without Chandler and West):
-Contain Chris Paul
-Contain the perimeter shooters and let Chris Paul do all the scoring.
I would take the second choice, because helping too much on CP3 will result in perimeter shooters making their shots. Peja is perhaps their best catch and shoot guy, while the others are great stand still shooters. We should approach defending Chris Paul, the same way we defended Tony Parker as a team in our victory against the Spurs. While, guarding him 1.5 as opposed to double teaming, we did a better job of containing the perimeter against the Spurs. For Chris Paul, we need him to be more of a scorer and more importantly a jump shooter.
We will throw a number of defenders on him (Miller, Iggy, Green, Ivey, Williams). I think Ivey will be the most successful of the lot!
GO SIXERS!! OH, WHEN THE SIX(ERS) GO MARCHING IN!!!
I anxious to see how many min Brand will get tonight, curious to see if DiLeo keeps him around to 15 minute mark. You have to think if he plays 20 or more he should have a dominate game.
This should be a W, and that’s what I am expecting, anything less than a 10 point win I will be unhappy.
Greek, Willie is a key player tonight, I expect him to start on C.Paul tonight defensively. We have to jump on them early and go to Thad and Iggy, two major mismatches. Again tonight no low post threats [Knicks?] so hopefully they man up and switch less.
Suede the great thing about this upcoming draft is that it is rich in pg’s. I was watching Calathes play for florida this past weekend and wow would he look great as a sixer. And Calathes isn’t even ranked as one of the top ten pg’s in this draft, can you believe that? This next draft is where we replace Willie’s minutes, and I can’t wait.
I expect to win tonight, actually the way that were playing I expect to win every night that doesn’t have us playing the Celtics.
The Greek, (and anyone else who is already scouting college PG’s and SG’s)
Someone to watch out for is Tyrese Rice from Boston College. Dannie could probably tell you being an ACC fan, that this kid can play. He has a great three point shot and can get to the rim.
My keys to the game is the same as everybody else’s.
Stop two of the P’s to stop the third.
Stop Posey and Peje and we can stop Paul.
Guest - I have watched Rice cut up UNC the last two years pretty good. Problem is he is a scoring guard in a point guard body (6-1). He will need to prove he can run an NBA team, be a distributor as well as a scorer and defend in order to play in the league. His scoring ability is unquestioned.
Even with the Hornets being short-handed, the Sixers generally don’t take advantage of these situations. Remember the last time the Pacers came to Philly with two and maybe three players out with the flu? Yeah, they played down to the level of their opponent that night and lost.
Hey! These are the new Sixers who should step up tonight. That means they will have to “D” up tonight.
both teams are turning the ball over a ton
Lou seems to be trying his famous “lets try to outplay the opposing teams star gaurd” game. That needs to change. Iguodala and Thad need to continue scoring as much/shooting as much as they are. Iguodala might need to drive more if his jumpshot stops falling. Overall a pretty good half with the exception of the turnovers.
Were getting lucky that N.O. is missing a lot of layups. They are contested but still good attempts. But we cant leave their shooters so we are going to have to rely on contesting their shots in the paint.
Iggy is passing, shooting and flat out just playing better than even the end of last year.
Not bashing Iggy by any means. I know that when he dunks, he cant palm the ball so he cuffs it. Thats what causes him to miss. But in the miss in this game, could someone inform me what happened? I missed it.
ouch
ok. i know kobe bryant gets calls and all due respect to c.p3 but what the heck is up with the refs tonight. ever since halftime when paul was talking to the ref he’s gotten every call!!! we can’t even breath on this guy w/o them calling a foul. Elton Brand just bumped Armstrong and they called an offensive foul!!!
Maybe we need to start talking to the refs some more before the half because this is ridiculous!!!
Hey Dannie can you do me a favor and take a poll on who likes and does not like Bob Salmi as our color analyst?
Personally I can’t stand him. It always feels like he’s talking up the opponents start player.Just seeing if anyone else feels the same way. Thanks.
Paul totally controlled the game and the Sixers kept not being able to find Stojakovic in transition. Ball game.
21 turnovers
22 turnovers and 20 assists.
shot 53.7 percent, even with going 2-for-14 on 3s (means they hit 64.2 percent of 2-point tries).
outscored 42-6 on 3-pointers.
CJ glad someone else noticed Paul getting all the calls and even when he didn’t whining about it like a little b!@#h.
Couple things… why when the offense stalled did we not run any plays for Thad he had it going all game with his “unstoppable hook”.
I was not that annoyed by Peja blowing up since most of his open looks came on scrambling or broken plays.
Sam played well tonight which is a positive I also thought that Speights should have got some of Reggie’s mins tonight.
Again the game basically came down to turnovers and missed freethrows.
Back to under 500 ughhhhh
Ohh and also Salmi stinks, he is flat out terrible.
Paul affects a game defensively as much as anybody in the league. He is so quick from point A to point B.
All of these Sixers’ bugaboos were on display in tonight’s disappointing 101-86 loss to the Hornets. Disappointing mostly because these are correctable, albeit recurring issues.
1. Poor FT shooting. 12-20 won’t get it done in a close game.
2. Letting concerns over officiating effect their game. The Sixers depend on a game having flow. Refs with happy whistles break that flow, and the Sixers let themselves become more concerned about the refs then the opponent, leading to…
3. Open shots for 3pts. Some teams are lazy, this team just makes mistakes. Sometimes, the more they hustle, the more the over-commit, over-help and leave guys open. They need discipline. Sometimes you don’t help your teammate.
4. The 3rd quarter lull returned. Another game where the opponent turned the game around from the closing monets of the 1st half and the opening of the 3rd. A 6-3 run in the last minute of the half followed by a 10-0 run to open the 2nd half. The NBA is a game of runs, but the Sixers tend to let up the same time of the game many nights. Note that this is a the starters are in, and some of the sixers starters are poor.
5. Poor flow with Brand. This is expected and excusable, but it also was a recurring theme before his injury.
All 5 of these problems are correctable, and are holding back a team that does not lose for lack of talent or effort.
Sorry, did not mean for the whole post to be underlined like that… was just trying to link it. Did not mean to “scream.”
By the end of his career, Paul will have a quadruple double. Im convinced. There was a point where we could have cut it to 5. Lou gets the defensive board, proceeds to turn it over, then the assassin (Paul) knocked down a big jumpshot. Iguodala is annoying sometimes when he has great first halves and then completely sucks in the second half. I don’t know if its mental or what, but he needs to be in a groove to be effective. Brand is ineffective as far as im concerned. Right now he isn’t giving anymore production than Evans would give us in those minutes. But this step is important if we want Brand full strength by the end of the season.
I dont even feel like talking about this game. I just want to move on and hope we can rebound against the Rockets.
One more thing. Lou Williams-4 turnovers in 27 minutes. Yuck!
The tale of two halves, especially with officiating. However, we were careless with the ball and forgot that the Hornets, especially Chris Paul, plays those inbound lanes extremely well.
Now, we face an angry Rockets team in Houston after losing to the Knicks. Hopefully, we will be angrier, but not to the point where it costs us the game.
@CJ
I’m with you; Salmi is a dud. I don’t know where to start. It probably should be a separate (off-season) post. Is it the nice guy thing where no one wants to come down on him?
The fact that the Sixers can’t get over the .500 hump speaks a lot about the lack of focus and maturity of this team. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Sixers lack the ability to demonate a crippled team. By season’s end their situation will be very similar to last years team.
The third quarter is where we did not come out with that energy. In our surge, we would come out of the third quarter with plenty of energy and FOCUS!! This would shock me, coming from a Tony DiLeo team.
Andre Iguodala better regain his composure because teams will begin to hone in on him. Also, the officials are going to call games certain ways. A person as intelligent as Iggy is, has to adjust and fight through adversity. His next test of adversity will be huge with Ron Artest and the Rockets. And we know how irritating a guy like Artest can be defensively!!
In regards to Brand, sure he did not score, but defensively he remains constant there! He is still effective on double teams, making the inbound steals, and still alters or blocks shots. That is a plus! Now, hopefully, he can regain his offense! A game with Houston will be ugly. Hopefully, the Sixers can outrun the Rockets. GO SIXERS!!
Miller chilled by Paul from opening tap. Grade B meets Grade A.
Not a great shooter, but Paul’s rare quickness, anticipation, poise and fundamental soundness make him a treat to watch.
Iguodala corkscrewed himself out of effectiveness with worry about calls. Bad habit. Was mired in self-imposed voodoo.
Elton Brand played like Elton John.
Young, Hornet repellent. Nice offensive game in his hometown. Lookin’ like Wayman Tisdale around the hoop with that quick flip.
10 - 0 2nd half start, psychological fulcrum point.
With 2 bigs out, Sixers needed to take advantage inside – couldn’t, or didn’t. Speights underutilized tonight.
Even with Paul’s exceptional play, an unnecessary loss. Happens along the 82.
Greek: I too am on the Nick Calathes wagon. Love him. He’s benefited big time from Jai Lucas deciding to transfer, thus taking away any potential logjam or shared minutes at the PG spot. He’s just really flourishing this year, and I agree that he’s ridiculously under the radar as far as analysts/columnists go. (Being a St. Joe’s fan, I do feel compelled to add this his @!#$ing brother was one of the single most frustrating players to watch I’ve seen in the 00’s. What a p—y).
The one thing I’d asterisk though with your comment is that: A. Yes this is a PG rich draft but *B. It is not an NBA STARTING pg caliber rich draft. There are many talented PG’s in college right now (plus Brandon Jennings, who seems to be maturing rapidly personality-wise far more than he would have in college), but many are “good” but not great talents.
CJ Wither: No need to start a post about Bob Salmi. Why? Because I think at one point or another, everyone on this site has stated their loathesome disdain for how awful he is as a commentator. Granted, Steve Mix was no Marv Albert either…but Salmi is carrying the Steve Mix torch to new low levels. We feel your pain man…he really is crappy.
Dannie: Another high scoring night for Thad with FT attempts non-existent! (I still love Thad…he’s 20, all is forgiven, he will blossom in every conceivable way with patience).
Guest: I’m with Dannie. I watch a lot of ACC games, and unfortunately, ESPN plays BC way too much. Tyrese Rice is a great college player, but he is just one of a multitude of 6′0 – 6′2 PG/SG’s that can get away with their game in college, that will not translate to the next level…as a starter, anyway. However…I LOVE those types of guys as backups, where they can be effective combo guard scorers (see: Brooks, Aaron…Williams, Lou…sometimes House, Eddie).
My worst fears are coming true: Been a while since I posted, so I haven’t seen a lot of comments from everyone, although I have been following Dannie’s game notes. But one of the HUGE concerns I had when we didn’t hire a new coach in mid – late January was that the Sixers would go on an inveitable win streak, and DiLeo would be overhyped and put in a position to possibly win the job at the end of the year.
While he’s done an admirable job, I was strongly in the camp of “The Sixers of last year are a .500 team at best…with Brand and playing properly, are a team capable of winning 47-49 wins in year one”. I felt that given the poor start, all that was needed was patience, injuries to hell, and time to get a better attitude and chemistry on the court. DiLeo is benefitting from some of these things…and in fact, while I had ALWAYS hated Mo since hiring him two+ years ago, felt that under Mo the Sixers would have gotten back to a plus-500 record, and just still not have been an ideal coaching candidate, because he doesnt have the makeup for it.
No idea what kind of talk has been going on here if anyone thinks DiLeo is a potential replacement…I’m just really hoping we are still gunning for Avery or EJ. I’d even half consider Paul Silas. I haven’t heard any whispers/rumors because I haven’t kept up with Sixers gossip of late…someone please console me…have whispers begun about DiLeo yet? Are they strong? *crossing fingers hoping he is still only an interim and that’s it*…
DaveT., I believe Dannie stated last week that a 5th seed opening round playoff victory would probably be the only way Deleo gets rehired. I have to agree with that because E.S. is probably itching to bring in HIS guy. Van Gundy doesn!t sound like an option, he came out a week ago and said he is happy where he is at. Avery turned down Memphis and probably would love to coach this team.
Chris Paul(mini Jordan) showed Iggy how a true star handles himself on the court and showed Lou Will how a tough point guard plays. Hopefully, they learn from that game.
The Hornets showed the Sixers staff what a true 3 pt offense is. A couple of those sets were a thing of beauty when they had Paul, Posy & Stoj on the court together moving that ball around looking for the best 3 pointer.
We have much more work ahead of us(coaching staff & players).
Dannie, For quick insight and nice pic of genuine jumpshooter:
http://www.nola.com/sports/
Sloppy game – 21 TOs (14 for Miller, Iggy & Williams); Paul controlled pace; Hornets made FTs, Sixers didn’t; Ryan Bowan gets 3 key assists (his first of season) in 7 short minutes on awareness of Peja and quick, no-frill delivery; Williams played like he just came off Bourbon St. – 0-5 from beyond arc. A game for the taking, but didn’t take … due lack of discipline, 2nd half focus, Paul pressure, white-hot Peja.
“We couldn’t get any breaks.” – Iguodala
“On another night, perhaps, Philadelphia might have come away with a victory, taking and making high-percentage shots, many inside of 8 feet, and scoring 56 points in the paint.
Yet Monday was one of those paradoxes of NBA play, when the Hornets used the long ball to put away the pesky Sixers”
- couldnt have put it better myself. Thats why I applaud DiLeo for making ‘em shoot more 3s. sometime the best gameplan on paper doesnt cut it. u just gotta play; whatever comes of that….
saw the NY game and the poor perimeter D, u could see this coming a mile away. I didnt expect it to be this bogus.
“Ouchhh” – that sums it up.
move on to the next game. no moping. Rockets do the right things (D, passing, limiting McGrady’s ball hogging) so why arent they better than the record suggests. looking at a loss to the all-of-a-sudden-scrappy Knicks, they may just be our mirror image, in underachieving that is.
I am disgusted.
The pick and roll, transition, and overall defense was horrible in the 2nd half, the offense the same.
Elton Brand played 18+ useless minutes and looked worse than Diop on the offensive end. He did absolutely NOTHING to help the team, 0-3 FG, 3RB, 1Stl, 1Blk and 2Tov. WTF. He looked as flat as he has all year, couldn’t even finish a shot over NO’s 2nd and 3rd string big men, WEAK. Just WEAK, that’s all I can say about his performance. Is it just coincidence that he logged most of his minutes in the 3rd and early 4th when the game was getting out of hand, or a trend? I don’t want to hear shit about “game legs” either, it was a shoulder injury, get on a treadmill, a bike or something. I’m not gonna call him C WEBB yet but I’m pretty damn close.
Our “Little 3″ played a decent game if you take away the Tov and missed FT’s, but thats not praise either.
Officiating – Ill never be the one to blame a game lost on this but it looked like Cp3 called up 3 of his life long buddies to call the game, he must of hooked them up with tickets to his annual charity bowling tournament, or sent them a fruit basket before the game, something.
On the other hand, all of our guys spent more time whining about the lack of calls then doing their jobs. I think there should be more emphasis on how players react with the refs. They should not be aloud to argue or get to know their mothers. When stars are aloud to bond with the refs they often do get favorable treatment, and when players bitch all day about calls it sets a bad example for every young aspiring player that watches the games, and helps their team lose the game. Lately it’s just getting out of hand, not just in this game, but in every game played int he NBA.
Bob Salmi – I could go on forever, but every time he disagrees with Zum in favor of the other team I want to run up to the Wach and kick his lanky ass. I guess I understand it, he has had jobs around the league, and that’s probably how he looks at it, just a job. While the god Zumoff is a life-longer with a true passion for the team.
Well that’s my rant for now, off to Comcast to get a new romote. It’s funny, sometime around 10 last night the damn thing just stopped working.
ohh spare time to gush bout CP3. like his name suggests he plays ball its a video game; NBA Street Live, dribble up around the whole half court and jack a fadeaway that drops. makes it look so easy, or better yet he makes ‘em look so bad. I was actually worried bout Miller’s ego taking a hit on Monday; guess the team took the bullet for him. freaking lobs to Sammy clone (w/ brains) Chandler from any point in the court. West rebounding and muscling down low. wonder how bad it would have been at full strength?
Ryan F: CP3 holds the ball longer than any guard or player in NBA. makes officiating tricky cos he moves so fluid. star treatment is always going to be there. gotta be prepared for it. remember our opponents faces when #3 would waltz into the lane and the whistle symphony would be orchestrated. smaller, quicker players…it just adds up that way.
bout Salmi – don’t bother, you are beating a VERY VERY VERY DEAD horse. Zoo is our equivalent of Merril Reese; the enthusiasm almost embarasses you.
Comcast remotes SUCK! the old black ones worked fine, now they got some smantschy-fancy toy that breaks down more frequently than McGrady.
We made a false assumption that guys like Speights and Brand would dominate the paint and take advantage of the Hornets depleted frontcourt. It happens to make that assumption. I do not understand why Speights played fewer minutes. His energy is just what the team needed, especially when they looked “sluggish” in the 2nd half. For Brand, he needs to regain his confidence on the offensive end and bang around a bit. Defensively, I think he looks fine.
For the Sixers, they had a tough time making inbound plays and simple passes, especially with the Hornets ability to make steals as a team. Chris Paul was vintage with 7 steals. I know that we can’t be stiff and have to make the extra passes, but it was difficult for them. That is why the Sixers need to learn to play a half-court offense, which is where Brand would play an important role, hopefully, when he gets his legs back, especially on the offensive end.
Andre Iguodala and the Sixers were clearly frustrated and looked confused out there in the 2nd half. Again, the Hornets playing the passing lanes well had a lot to do with it. But they were whining too much with the officals and that made them a step slow. Yes, there was a lot of contact and Chris Paul kept stating his case through all of halftime, but the Sixers team that was (or is) on a role, kept playing through the non-calls and showed adversity. We were complaining and the Hornets were hitting wide open threes with a 4 on 5 advantage. We did not show it, hence the double-digit loss. The Sixers will be seeing more games like this where the major superstars in this generation are going to get the calls by simply grunting and entertaining the national audience with their star appeal (Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Howard, Paul)–so they better get used to it and play through it. If Iggy wants to be an All-Star, he has to play with and against the other All-Stars without any fuss. Iggy clearly wanted that technical. Really, he should have had it when the game was within reach and that the officials would reconsider giving him certain calls. Technicals are simply ways of saying you will get certain calls, as long as you stop the bickering. I hope Iggy can bounce back and face the adversity because Battier and Artest are not going to make things easy for him when we face the Rockets.
Lou Williams–do not let anyone get into your head, you have to play your game and let your game to the talking.
I was pretty shocked, when the Sixers came out of halftime “sluggish”. That is not what a Tony DiLeo team is all about. Hopefully, the Sixers will be more focused and detail oriented throughout and come out of halftime with more determination like we have been seeing the past 10 games.
In Chad Ford’s chat he is saying that his sources say Brand is being shopped and a EB and say Rush for Marion deal may be in the near future.
Just speculation but I figured I’d throw it out there.
What would you guys think? I think I would do it in a second after watching last night performance.
I dont want to get anyone’s head spinning with rumors so ill just paste the 3 questions he decided to respond to.
Patrick (Miami): Where does Marion end up Chad? Can the Heat get something better for him than O’Neal? Or do they hold on to him and then go after Boozer again this summer?
Chad Ford: (1:18 PM ET ) I think they have to see whether they can pry Boozer or Elton Brand for Marion. I think both are possible and both are better long term fits than O’Neal. The one positive for O’Neal is that he’s off the books in 2010. That gives the Heat LOTS of cap space in the summer of 2010. Of all the markets trying to clear cap … Miami is one of the most desirable for NBA free agents. The fact that Wade and Michael Beasley are there won’t hurt recruiting either.
Wannabe GM (Philly): C-Ford, considering how well the Sixers have played without Brand, both during their current 10-game stretch and towards the end of last year, do you think it may behove them to explore trading him either closer to the trade deadline or during the offseason? After hearing Tony DiLeo say that he does not plan to force feed EB the ball in the post and that he envisions him being a great trailer on the break, seems to me that they’ve committed A LOT of cap space for a “trailer”. Maybe the could get nice pick in this years draft (pick up Harden) or get an established SG from someone?
Chad Ford: (1:23 PM ET ) Yes … from what my sources around the league are saying, Brand is available. The question is, given how poorly he’s played this year and his huge contract, does anyone want him?
Chad Ford: (1:24 PM ET ) I’ve wondered about a Rasheed Wallace for Brand swap but doubt Joe D wants to invest that much money right now on Brand
Dick (NY): How about Brand returning to Chicago? Any chance?
Chad Ford: (1:30 PM ET ) Sure. If the Sixers would take back Larry Hughes as part of the deal. It would give them long term cap relief, but that would be a huge admission that they screwed up signing Brand. I’m sure Chicago would throw either Tyrus Thomas or Joakim Noah in the deal.
I just found it bizarre that he would take the time to mention Brand so much.
I didn’t know how many of you all had INSIDER so I figured I’d put this on here for you all to read.
Ryan – I read all that as well and actually planned to write a post or two about Brand this week since we really haven’t dedicated much to him at this point.
I am more optimistic about Brand than Pete is, but not so optimistic that I would completely ignore the possibility to trading him a deal made sense for the team.
oops sorry it’s not an insider chat but just in case you missed it
Yeah I get anxious when I see things like this, because just like you I want this team to succeed and given the current roster I’m not sure if theyre set up for more than a first round exit.
What do you think about this, I am not sure, but I don’t think I would hurt to try.
In an article I read that the heat were already thinking about trying to get Miller or Tinsley to pair Wade with a veteran playmaker in the backcourt and were willing to move Chalmers.
Yeah, I saw that too. It depends on how Shawn Marion is condition wise. I don’t think a trade of that sort would happen, but then again Ed Stefanski is a man known for making bold, applaudable moves. But I doubt anything like that would happen. Let’s see how the Sixers play the next eight (or seven if you just want to see the homestand) games prior to the All-Star Break. If the Sixers play consistently and do a better job of rotating on defense and do the things that game them that winning stretch, they could go 6-1 or 5-2 in that 7 game homestand. 7-0 is very doubtful with the Celtics in that homestand. If inconsistent, God forbid, they would be 4-3. I think the games against Miami and Phoenix will be wild cards!
Thanks Ryan. Interesting stuff.
It would be a huge hit on Ed’s reputation if he jettisoned Brand for cap relief just a 1/2 season after signing him. Maybe a move for Marion where they extend him long term could be seen as an option.
Although I’m not a huge fan of Marion, he is a better option now then last summer now that the Sixers have found a promising post player in Speights.
tk76 – no problem and agreed, but I think it would be a harder hit on his reputation if he does nothing and the signing turns out to be a horrible move, and it is looking more and more that way everyday. Brand is still putting up decent numbers but it doesn’t translate into wins on our team. I think he’s better suited around different players with different talents than the ones the 76ers have. I think you’ve had a long enough look at how this thing is going to pan out, take the hit and make a move while he can still blame it on team cohesion and chemistry and not the fact that EB is slowing down. I am all for taking the time to evaluate properly, but how long to you wait until so you see it is NOT working?
If what we’ve seen so far is EB’s best shot with this team (and I think it is, I’m not for waiting until next year to see if it gets better), there has to be a move made before the team is stuck.
I think ES hinted to this in that video that was posted recently, he said something along the lines of they couldn’t of predicted how Speights was going to turn out, and now they know and that could be their scapegoat for moving Brand.
Not saying he is better than EB right now, definitely not defensively but if we make it to the playoffs give him minutes and experience, we might already have a gem. If we have EB logging heavy minutes who knows how Speights might turn out.
I just want to win and I tend to hop on the trade bandwagon when things arent working, if I read something about someone else possibly being moved I’ll probably hop on that train too.
I am a bit intrigued by this and will extrapolate that out into a post tonight. Should spark a lot of conversation.
Ryan, I don’t agree with you on this. We’ve seen EB at his worst, and have yet to see him healthy and without rust. There might still be an issue if/when EB is recovered, but IMO its way to early to close the book on the EB experiment.
I see what you’re saying, but he has technically been “healthy” every game he has played, and that rust thing I don’t buy it. He is a vet, how many games does he need until this “rust” wears off? I am not judging him based on the last 2 games but it sure hasn’t helped his case. Doesn’t training camp and the first 18 games he played help to shake off rust? You may be right, but what if we wait and the EB experiment closes the book on us, for the next 5 years? It looks like that is more probable to me. I am not saying that he is a different player, or not a great player. I am just saying it doesn’t look like a great fit, and we’ may be better served with athleticism, energy, youth and defense.
When Dannie puts up the post we’ll all “duke it out”, I am sure a few other will help.
I did not know Sean Marks was white. He’s been on an NBA roster for 9 years and I never saw him play. Hard to believe Harry!
Regarding the new uniforms for next season: A source close to the situation told me they’ll be a “variation” of the 1982-83 unis, but not the same.
As for Brand, I said from the outset that I didn’t think he was an ideal fit if the Sixers want to play uptempo basketball. He can play some backup center, but cannot run the floor or be athletic enough to thrive the way the Sixers need a power forward to in this style.
After they trade Brand for Amare they will have a better fitting line-up… anyone got an dirt on Kerr, cause we will need it to get that deal done.
If Stefanski is convinced it won’t work with Brand, he’d be better off trying to make something happen before the Feb. 19 deadline, rather than letting Brand continue to struggle and allow his value to drop. You could trade him, but would probably have to take back another bad contract.
I still have faith that this will not devolve into another CWebb situation.
Ok, I won’t call it Brand Bashing this time… But I will say Josh Smith is looking much better everyday Brand pump fakes 3 times gets his shot blocked, rebounds the miss and puts it back in. WTH? I would have rather seen Josh swooping down the lane with a left-handed Tomahawk slam exciting the crowd. Brand wasn’t a good fit, and by the looks of other comments he won’t be missed all the much if he’s gone in the right deal. 18 minutes, 80 million how many jobs out there paying that? I want one.