Pete and I are stuck at work today so we will likely only get to see some of the game when we take our lunch. So game notes will be short and come after I get off.
I am trying to get back into the Sixers swing of things now that I am back from my short hiatus reliving my college hoops (and drinking) days. Fun time kicking the crap out of the class that came in after my 2004 graduation class and shootin’ the shit with everyone.
I caught the Spurs blasting on Friday night but haven’t even seen a highlight from the win against New York so you guys will have to fill me in on what you saw. I’ve heard different things. They played well. They played poorly and still won.
1PM start time at the Wachovia center against the Mavericks who are only 5-5 in their last 10 and have lost 4 of the last 5 games they’ve played which includes losses to Memphis and Sacramento.
Conversely, our Sixers are playing the best basketball we’ve seen in a really long time, having won 7 straight. Even better than last year’s run in my opinion because I think the defense has been much better.
Last game the Sixers took a 66-64 lead into the fourth quarter and ended up losing that quarter by 12. Dirk (16), Terry (6) and Bass (7) scored 29 of the 32 fourth quarter points and sealed the game.
As you see Dirk alone almost scored as many points as the Sixers in that fourth quarter. The pick-and-roll between Terry and Dirk is a really tough match up. Both guys can shoot it, and switching gives Dirk a ridiculous mismatch in which he wastes little energy shooting that one-foot turnaround over little guys.
I have three keys for the game:
- RUN, RUN, RUN. Last game v. Dallas they only held a 15-14 edge in fast break points. That won’t get the job done. Need those easy buckets.
- Get to the line more and make your damn free throws. Last game they only had 16 attempts from the line (average nearly 25) and only converted 11 of them (68.8%). Looking at the shot chart from last game it looks like they took too many jumpers (playing right into the Mavericks’ style) and missed too many shots in the paint.
- Defend the pick and roll. This is tough, but it killed the Sixers last time against the Mavs. I almost think they should completely steer the guard away from the pick and force him to drive and attempt to take Dirk out of the play as the screener.
Key stats for the Sixers as always:
- Fast break points
- Points off turnovers
- Points in the paint
Last game they lost 60-56 in those areas.
No Elton Brand tonight (thanks, Tom), which is the right decision anyway.
Sixers vs. Dallas Game Notes
Tough loss today. I watched the first half at lunch and just finished watching the second half. Watching it didn’t tell me anything the gamecast and play-by-play didn’t. The Sixers played well in the first half, on the back of Lou’s hot shooting. Built a 12-point lead that shrunk to 4 going into the half.
The third quarter was a flat out disaster getting pounded 32-17 and that was the difference in the game. Just like last game against Dallas all it took was one bad quarter to loss the game. That is something the Sixers will continue to learn. In order to be a good team you have to play complete games and you have to bury teams when you have them down. You had to know Dirk wasn’t going to go all game missing shots he normally makes. And just like last game he got hot when they needed him too.
It looked like the Sixers picked their poison by letting Kidd shoot. They went under every screen and if they were going to leave someone open for a three out of their rotations it was going to be Kidd. Well he made them pay to the tune of 6-8 from beyond. He played a masterful game with 22 points, 12 boards and 6 dimes (only 2 turnovers).
Keys to the game
Run, run, run. Sixers didn’t push the ball much at all, not like they have been. And it certainly wasn’t like Dallas shot the lights (46%) out or pulled down a ton of offensive boards (6) that would limit their opportunities. When they are really running it doesn’t matter if its a make or a miss they push the ball up and look for early offense. Today they didn’t do that.
Free throws. 21 attempts – OK, but still below average. And missing 7 for 66.7% accuracy will lose a ton of close games.
I thought they did a pretty good job against the pick and roll. They forced Kidd to make jumpers and he did. They recovered well to Dirk and most of his shots were highly contested. They trapped it a few times with success as well.
Key stats
- Fast break points: 9 to 11
- Points off turnovers: 16 to 24
- Points in the paint: 34 to 26
Sum: Sixers lose 59-61. Lose the game by 2 as well.
Random stuff
- 16 turnovers, 9 from Miller (4) and Iguodala (5). Sixers just had a clunker, coming off a 7-game high.
- Louis Williams – 21 shot attempts in only 26 minutes. He tends to get carried away when he gets hot and ends up cooling himself off with his poor shot selection.
- Speights – 1 rebound in 17 minutes.
Interesting enough today was a perfect example of why we signed Elton Brand. When shots aren’t falling from outside and the fast break isn’t in high octane that is where we would hope Brand makes us a better team to pull out games like this. Time will tell.
20-21 at the half way point. They are 4 games ahead of last years pace (16-25).
Next Game: Saturday at home against the Knicks
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Tough to follow a game on-line. I see we are winning 46-42 at the half. Nowitzki 1-10 and Dallas 1-6 from 3, nice. We are 5-12 from 3, also nice. I noticed that we are only 3-5 from the line so we must be shooting a lot of jumpers, but 12 assists on 19 made baskets is good.
Yikes! What a lousy 3rd quarter. At a quick glance I see poor shooting and a bunch of turnovers, leading to a 32-17 pasting.
Kidd 8-10 with six 3-pointers, wtf?
Oh, and 12 rebounds too, double wtf?
ugh, another buzzer beat loss. Will write up some thoughts around 5:30 when I get off.
Oh man! I checked back in to see that we tied it up at 93 only to have the page refresh and find out we lost 95-93. Looks like a gutsy comeback, but the win streak is over at 7. Nice while it lasted, now let’s start another one. We’re 20-21 at the halfway point. Time to get Brand back in there and make a run.
Now thats what you call disapointing. Reggie Evans gaurding Dirk? I dont know if I like that. With four seconds left he isnt going to beat anyone of the dribble. Why not put Speights on him and make it a tougher shot? Reggie did play pretty good D though, tough shot, tough loss. Iguodala didnt play well at all though. It came down to who got stops, and who made shots. They just made more than us I guess.
Tough Loss Sixers had many chances to win this game missed free throws and some gimme’s at the rim killed them. The comeback was insane 12 points in approx 1:40 of gametime but too little too late. Lou was hot in the first half but then took some terrible “heat check” shots one was almost at half court. Lou played well overall but missed a wide open dunk at one point than with a two one fast break at one point in the 3rd with him and Iggy they ended up turning the ball over.
Bottom line the sixers should have won just a shame they couldn’t get over 500.
they didn’t deserve to win this game. missed a lot of easy buckets and couldn’t come up with any loose balls.
The Sixers led by as many as 12 (46-34) in the second quarter, but didn’t defend Kidd (6-for-8 on 3s) and struggled again at the line (14-of-21). Nowitzki started 1-for-14, but finished 6-of-9.
As for Evans on Nowitzki, DiLeo said he wanted a guy who had guarded Nowitzki before on him at crunch time.
Only nine fast-break points and 17 assists to 16 turnovers doesn’t get it done.
What exactly happened in the second half? In the first half we shot 5-12 from 3 and had 12 assists on 19 made baskets. That means in the second half we shot 4-10 from 3 (which isn’t horrible) and had only 5 assists on 16 made baskets. Too much one on one? Too much stand still jump shooting? I see we got to the line 16 times in the second half (only making 11). Looking at that, it doesn’t seem as though we settled for jumpers too much. As far as turnovers, 16 isn’t good but we had 9 at the half, so that means we had 7 in the second half. Who the heck was supposed to be on Kidd, btw? Again, what happened?
Couldn’t get running and bogged down in the half-court on offense. On defense, they were especially slow to get out on Kidd, who was just lining them up in the third quarter. Nice comeback, but the Sixers never should have allowed themselves to be down by 12 with 2:20 to go.
Miller and Williams were on Kidd (mainly Miller).
Blski, They either shot right away or passed once and shot, they have to move the ball to beat good teams. Dallas didn!t have to work hard at all down the defensive end. That being said, Reggie was the reason they came back, and guest, I questioned S.F.W. on Spieghts guarding Dirk because of his length but he made a good point that Dirk wouldv!e taken advantage of him with ball fakes ,etc. . He isn!t ready for that yet. Deleo seems to have a good feel for letting the young guys grow into things, like going to Thad late in the game recently.
suede
That is a good point about speights, but with four seconds left Dirk wouldnt have very much time to do anything too fancy. I would have liked to see Speights on him even though he doesn’t have the experience. He’s long and athletic and not to mention, Dirk was lighting us up the whole second half. Couldn’t have been to hard to realize it was going to him. But like I said, Reggie still did a nice job, just Dirk hit a relatively tough shot.
Guest, when Spieghts improves defensively it is going to be REEEEAL hard to get him off the floor.
I’m surprised no one has taken a pop at big boppin’, backwards-floppin’ Reggie Evans. I guess it’s on account of his being judicious with his bullying tactics. I have to give him credit (and referees debit) for gettin’ away with as much as he gets away with. Quite an actor and politician out there. What Salmi calls ”energy”, I call “pointed insanity.” Effective in spans, lives at the intersection of Dirty & Crying.
Speights would’ve been more likely to bite on the fake and commit a foul, not having seen much of Nowitzki. Blocking that shot is impossible, so DiLeo went with the more experienced guy.
On the other hand, youthful ignorance and enthusiasm sometimes gets blissful results. Speights is a lot longer. Blocking that shot is unlikely, less so with Evans, whose late attempt at faceguarding, after buckling into lane, went for naught.
The Sixers need to convert their free throws. They could not get a grip on the ball surprisingly. Sammy, know your limits, PLEASE!!!
correction: meant the opposite … delete “less so”, insert “moreso”
Jumpin, what!s your impression of the NEW Iggy and do you see a difference in his shooting form?
suede Been impressive. He’s come out of his early-season shell with Brand gone. Is takin’ the bull by the horns and twistin’ hard. What’ll happen in the arena next Saturday and beyond is anybody’s guess. Change one element, bound to be an interesting reaction in others, though sounds like EB re-entry will be cautious.
As for Iguodala’s hot hand, will naturally cool. Ridin’ a wave of confidence at present (see buzzer-beaters). Decisiveness more than changed form has improved his percentage. From TV, haven’t detected form or release difference.
Still gets caught up in dunkathon excitement once in awhile as in today’s muffed open-lane pass from Williams, rather than making the sound play – catch the ball, drop it in.
Positive Iguodala numbers:
*He has hit 20 3-pointers on 52.6 percent shooting in the last 10 games after having 18 3-pointers on 22 percent shooting in the season’s first 31 outings.
*He has already matched his double-double total of 2007-08 with eight.
There’s no denying Iguodala has been playing extremely well.
Why he’s made the huge jump in 3-point shooting is unclear. Must admit I tend to cringe each time he takes one. What happens when his shots change once Brand is fully re-integrated and he plays more shooting guard remains to be seen.
Tom – What does “He plays more shooting guard” acutally mean in your mind?
Dannie, I know that many NBA folks insist shooting guard and small forward are essentially interchangeable positions. That may be the case in fast-break situations, but I believe it makes a difference in half-court sets. Based on my observations, Iguodala tends to get more jumpers when he’s at the “two” spot and more shots closer to the rim as a “three”. I know Iguodala is shooting much better from the perimeter in the last 10 games than he was in the season’s first 31, but he’s typically more effective as a driver than stand-still shooter. I realize the presence or absence of Elton Brand greatly affects this dynamic, too.
Yesterdays loss was heart breaking. Even though Speights is my boy, I didn’t want him on Dirk at the end. But the name that no one has mentioned for covering Dirk on that play is Theo. Im not sure if he was active or not, but he should have been the man to cover Dirk in that situation.
Also, if anyone plays call of duty on xbox 360 let me know. Myself and Aronmckie for mvp have our own platoon. We talk sixers while shooting folks.
I wonder what would have happened had Brand played in that game. He would certainly be one of those people guarding Dirk and he knows his game from his days of battling out West. However, we probably did the right thing by having him wait another game and get some additional rest the next four days. Josh Howard returned from an injury and he looked completely rusty. But, hey, I feel as if this team can beat anyone and it would take teams the entire game to ever beat us. Hopefully, we will learn from our mistakes and react better in late game situations. But, who really thought that we could rally from a 12 point deficit with 2:00 minutes to play, with Reggie Evans in the lineup? Wow. You know, even the great teams lose games, but they don’t hang their heads though, they move on and start new winning streaks. Let’s do it!
Ideally, I would have wanted to see a double team on Dirk, but that is hard to do at the top of the key.
Overall, Thad is more athletic and longer than Evans, but the only player that could have effected that jumper is Sam (and no way Sam gets that assignment.)
As for Speights, I agree he could be a special player if his defense could ever catch up to his offense. Its not like he is missing the tools. Hopefully, playing alongside Brand, Evans and Theo rubs off.
guys you are getting too hung up bout that jumper. like iggy said the game was lost when Kidd made all those threes. they gambled on a statistically poor shooter (terrible IMO) and lost. ohh yeah and all those missed FTs. DiLeo should get em to shoot a million in practice. lately since Spurs game FT% has been dipping.
Practice update: The Sixers and Elton Brand said Wednesday that Brand will return from his dislocated right shoulder Saturday against the Knicks. He did some 2-on-2 scrimmaging during the optional workout, with the plan for him to participate in a full-court, full-contact 5-on-5 session Thursday. They want to continue playing the running style that helped them win seven of the last eight with Brand initially coming off the bench.
Just got back from D.C, sad to see the loss, saw just a few highlights the next day on sportscenter. I don’t know much about how it transpired, but ill take a buzzer beater loss from Dirk over a 10 point loss.
Thanks for the update, Tom. Good news. It just so happens that I will be going to the game on Saturday. Having Brand back gives me a little something extra to look forward to. I’m hoping to see Brand’s defense slow down David Lee, among others, on the inside and his rebounding limit their second chances. Hopefully that plus some smooth work on the offensive end will deliver a pasting of the Knicks.
Did you see what Chris Webber said on TNT’s Inside the NBA? He suggested Allen Iverson should come off the bench with the Pistons now that Rip Hamilton is back.
“Allen Iverson needs five robots to play with him,” Webber said. He pointed to the 2000-01 Sixers, who went to the NBA Finals with “five guys who couldn’t score — Aaron McKie, (Dikembe) Mutombo, (Eric) Snow (are) all defensive players.”
Iverson and Webber weren’t always on the same page in their 1 3/4 seasons as Sixers teammates, with Iverson setting the tone by saying on the day Webber was acquired that “I talked to Chris and he understands this is my team.”
It’s really kind of perfect the way circumstances have worked out for the Sixers in their 2nd attempt to integrate Brand. First, the team was winning so there was not pressure to rush him back, and thus he had almost the full 6 weeks to heal. Second, the winning streak ended just before he was to return, thus removing newspaper stories, and potential internal doubts, if the streak was to end in his first game back. And lastly, the team will have had almost a full week of practice time with Brand before his return which, incidentally, is against the Knicks, one of the few teams Brand has played very well against this year.
Also, I think Dileo’s plan to bring Brand off the bench, and in 4-6 minute spurts is perfect.
Agree completely, Morty. Now let’s hope we see what we thought we were going to see a few months ago.
Morty, once he is integrated,[2 to 3 weeks] it will be interesting to see where his 32 minutes come from. Do we see more of Thad at the 4 and Elton at the 5 or Marreese at the 5 and Elton at the 4. And will Sammy be okay with 5 less minutes a night or is he going to need another “Theo” lesson.
Suede: Consider me skeptical that Brand can be successful at the C position. From what I have seen so far, he struggles against players who have a significant height advantage on him. It is also worth noting that the lineup with Igoudala at SG and Young at SF is +63 points in 340 minutes this season. That said, I do expect to see Young continued to be used extensively at the PF position.
Good points. Agree for the most part, Morty. But the winning ledger (and a freeer team playing spirit) while Brand was out is known to all, and that ultimately increases pressure on Brand to assimilate better in a 2nd chance at the task. DiLeo’s seemingly positive, alert command should help this time around though.
Is it only a matter of comfortability and confidence that can be gained through time and trust, or one of an ill-fitting/wrench-in-the-works
player addition? Will better play of other principal parts recede? To be answered soon.
Morty, If we can be successful with Elton at the 5 we could try this running thing full throttle. He seems to have issues moreso down the offensive end against bigger players than defensively. If you look at the 5 position throughout the league he can play against 75 % of the centers defensively, against the rest Sam will definitely be needed. But if he gives us a double/double every night our offensive potential could actually blossom.Spieghts and Evans have been finishing a lot of games for us, when teams are tired and Elton could be an upgrade at both ends of the court on either of them, man I hope this works!!!
On the downside, scorching team outside shooting pace won’t continue. On the upside, misses mean more rebounding opportunities for Brand when he emerges. But we all know sinking 3s goes a long way towards winning.
Jumpin, with the emphasis on defensive accountability since our new coach took over, do you think it is possible we could become a lock down defensive team come playoff time ? With Ivey,Reggie and Theo[sparingly] the pieces are there, wouldn!t you say.
I could see starting Brand at center, but it depends who is starting at PF. Next to Speights it would be a good combo, since Speights can play a bit of center as well (and more as he bulks up.) If Thad is the PF it probably puts too much of the burden on Brand.
jjg: Let’s hope that the 10-14 record with Brand was due to a team wide slump and bad coaching, and not due to Brand simply being the “ill fitting” wrench. As for 3 point shooting, the Sixers are obviously not as good as they have been recently, but neither are they as downright awful as they were earlier when Brand was active. DiLeo sure seems to have “coached up” the players, so here’s hpoing his magic touch continues.
tk76, I would tend to agree with you, but this whole mismatch thing [Thad at the 4] seems to entice this team to run more and ,to me, the most important thing is for every player to get on the same page about giving effort, regardless of minutes. Some nights Sammy should start and play 30 minutes, other nights we may benefit by going smaller. D. Nelson ,over does this , I believe, but in theory matching up differently may work, if everybody buys into it and winning would probably solve that issue.
Suede – Do you really think the Sixers can be a “lock down” defensive team with Miller and Williams logging significant minutes? I don’t. Certainly not with much consistently. We could see it in spurts best case.
suede The ones you mentioned and some remaining athletes are in place. “Gentleman, start your engines.” Miller, Williams, Young (especially inside) and Rush are weakest pieces on D. It’s highly unusual for any team to not have to “hide” somebody. Great defensively? I don’t foresee that. Good enough to win fairly regularly? Could happen with right mindset; have detected a change in that direction of late.
Dannie, you are right on point (no pun intended). Miller and Williams are poor on-the-ball defenders, which starts the Sixers’ half-court troubles at that end. Miller is lacking quickness, but I still don’t understand why Williams cannot stay in front of his guy. Teams with a quick point and good outside shooters are extremely difficult for the Sixers to handle (Orlando, Boston, Utah, etc.).
Morty, I think it was the Mr. Hyde of Iggy and L.Will. that we were seeing along with the coaching moreso than Elton. The Elton we were starting to see prior to his injury was more like what we hopefully are gonna get.I am excited and if Deleo pulls this off he may get himself a full time job.
Suede – I don’t agree with that at all. A revolving door of starters and inconsistent minutes in my mind leads to inconsistent play as well.
Guys should definitely be earning their minutes based on production and team success but constant shuffling especially game-to-game isn’t a good strategy in my mind.
In reality how many of your total players will truly buy into that anyway?
Dannie, if you look at the East, are Rondo, Nelson, M.Williams [maybe] the issue. If we have the guys to counter the big guns somewhat and force the secondary guys to score it could help us to succeed. Maybe lockdown was the wrong word. How about good enough to compete in a 7 game series against a top team.
Forgot Speights re D weakness … lotta learning/growing to do yet to consistently battle savvy, grunting bigs … his fearless competitiveness is to his advantage though.
Dannie, I think we are seeing it now with Sammyand Willie, for different reasons, [Sammy with matchups, Willie if he is hot or not] I am not saying starting different guys but I am saying players minutes varying according to how the team is playing and players not getting upset with it.
Rare is the team with happy bench players, especially when talent delineation isn’t clear cut.
… and when minutes are irregularly dispensed.
Tom Re #49, why Williams can’t stay in front of man: he’s a styler and naturalist, not a worker. Goes through motions, waves his arms in windmill fashion (ostensibly to block passing avenues), but he doesn’t drill a hole in his man’s midsection, is not stubbornly intent on preventing penetration, lacks concentration on task/true D fire … might also lack some lateral anticipatory quickness even though he’s got a nice first step offensively.
Even though the NBA trend is to put a role player in the starting lineup, I’d like to see the Iggy & thad show starting together when Brand is healthy with Willie off the bench.
Jumpin, lately Ivey has gotten limited minutes next to A.Miller; if these minutes grow a bit [Elton offensively] may allow it, maybe the message can be given. Theo!s courttime seems to have given Sam pause, and down the road Reggie may be used in similar fashion for Marreese so if Royel can keep hitting an occasional jumper his stints may grow also.
Morty From Cheeks to DiLeo … affable to cordial, slack to taut, confusion to clarity; direct to Ed.
suede Royal’s scrappy tough. They need his defensive work whether he’s strokin’ it or not. I hope his minutes continue too.
S.F.W., whether starting or not, I expect that to be the case often soon but it may still be more 3/4 than 2/3 because Ivey seems to be making his play for the backup one which means 25 of the 2 guard minutes are probably L.Will.!s. Hey Jumpin, you hear of big men coach!s, shooting coach!s etc., never a strictly defensive coach being used, even over the summer. I wonder if B.Howland or R.Barnes could be had for a 2 week period, their players all seem to come into the league with the proper technique AND mindset.
A head coach that hires an outside defensive consultant would be implicating himself to incompetence. It’s fundamental and the decisive half the game; if ya can’t coach it, ya don’t deserve a job.
I like your 2 mentions though. Barnes wins wherever he goes. Howland’s teams play buzzsaw D. How bout Chester’s Bo Ryan of Wisconson?
It just seems we are trying to do something that never has been done,[run off of defense and win] and if it hasn!t been done yet than E.S. has to think outside the box. That!s why an E.Jordan or such hire doesn!t seem like the right fit. That will be an interesting decision.
Is it out of the question that Dileo would be the coach next season with complementary new assistants?
Ed does have a track record to keeping on the interim coach (see Lawrence Frank) if results are strong.
Suede -
What do you mean never been done?
Fast breaking as a product of strong pressure defense and rebounding, at least from my experience, is a long held basketball principle and strategy.
The Bulls played that style for a long time when MJ, Grant and Pip were younger. They were one of (if not the only) team that I’ve watched in the pros actually do some pressing (after free throws typically).
What the Phoenix’s and Warriors’ of the world do is run no matter what. Defense isn’t a requirement. I argue that has never/rarely been done with ultimate success.
Dannie, Deleo with an assistant that will eventually take over would be perfect in my book, possibly a college assistant working under a Ryan,Howland or Barnes type of coach. Doing it without a star is more the description I guess. The showtime lakers ran, M.J.!s bulls ran, but to have it be THE primary ingredient is an interesting idea.
When Cheeks got fired I was calling for Jordan to take over, Eddie that is. But I have to admit that Dileo has done one heck of a job getting these guys to play for him. I mean even Sammy is playing harder!
Interesting point, I have never seen Sammy D. dive for a lose ball, NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Has anyone else? When he does lets all meet up at the Wachovia parking lot and throw a 10 keg party.
jjg….I understand where you’re coming from in #63. I mean having an outside consultant who only works with team periodically would be weird. However, I don’t know that I necessarily agree with this, “A head coach that hires an outside defensive consultant would be implicating himself to incompetence. It’s fundamental and the decisive half the game; if ya can’t coach it, ya don’t deserve a job.”
I agree that, ideally, everyone would like a head coach that is top notch in every area but, realistically, what coach in any sport is like that anymore? I don’t see it as incompetence. It’s simply being aware enough to realize your limitations, intelligent enough to realize that adding this guy to your staff could really help your team, and egoless enough to bring him on and let him do his thing.
First of all, why do we need a manager in baseball if we already have bench coaches, hitting instructors, pitching coaches, etc…? If the manager can’t coach it, why does he deserve a job? Same goes for football with it’s offensive and defensive coordinators, special teams coaches, and all the position-specific coaches who work under them. I understand basketball is different than these sports, but only to a degree.
Again, I understand your underlying premise. The thing is that almost every head coach or manager comes with expertise from one side of the ball or the other. If you are more well versed on one side I don’t see any problem with bringing in someone to handle the other side. As long as these guys are part of your staff, I don’t see a problem with a head coach being more of an overseer while allowing his assistants to focus on the specifics of the offense, defense, and the rest.
I think the discussion about college coaches is pretty pointless. At least with regard to the names mentioned. Top college coaches don’t go to the NBA to be an assistant. At least to my knowledge they don’t. Not willingly at least (Calvin Sampson). They work their way up the college ranks (Howland worked his way up to UCLA), get to an elite level then become head coaches in the league. I don’t see much benefit if I were them to leave a top program to be a nobody assistant in the NBA probably taking a pay cut and losing perks in the process. I think college coaches like being college coaches.
I think there is a clear distinction among coaches who want to college kids and coaches who want to coach professionals. Sure there is some overlap but we haven’t seen much of it lately have we?
bski Was referring to idea of outsourcing the job beyond hand-picked staff of trusty assistants. Basketball coaching is more centralized and immediate than baseball or football. A head coach (with help of staff)
better know how to coach up D, especially in crunch time (not much time for concept tossing there; soldier placement, reminders and encouragement is about it).
Dannie, that is a great point about Ed Stefanski and interim coaches. Tony DiLeo could be the Sixers’ Lawrence Frank and maybe more, since management is completely in control. (If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself!). If only the Sixers could have that November back, then we would have been as great as what we have predicted in the offseason! In fact, the Sixers could go as high as perhaps the 4th seed, if we continue this great pace. I think the 5th seed is what we will be closest to and a matchup with the Hawks would be a whole lot better than Boston, Cleveland, or Orlando.
Something to throw out there: If the Sixers were a Western Conference Team,which they were as the Philadelphia Warriors, with the uptempo game that they play and Brand’s tenure out West, how would they fare? I think they could get the 7th or 8th seed and push either Phoenix or Dallas out of the picture. But nothing higher than that, unfortunately.
Have there been any recent trade rumors involving the Sixers? I think most of that has certainly died down since winning 7 of the last 10 games (including two heartbreaking losses).
If the Sixers can get a SG capable of playing starters minutes (as opposed to Green), a backup for Iggy, and a more sharper sharpshooter, then the Sixers can really take the competition to a greater level that will blow people’s minds, including Bill Walton in his days listening to Grateful Dead all day long!!
How many All-Stars would be willing to come off the bench after missing 16 games with an injury? That is how you get a guy to shake the rust off!
The Andres should be All-Star reserves this season. Since December, both have been on quite a tear, especially Andre Iguodala. The Sixers are ahead of last year’s pace. They got their 20th win in 50 games last season.
Dannie Names mentioned in reference to “pretty pointless” topic equal “pretty pointless” names. I humbly withdraw my nomination. suede, do you the second the motion, and withdraw your two?
Frank McGuire, Jack Ramsey, Rick Pitino, Pete Carril, John Bach, Dick Harter, P.J. Carlesimo – some pretty successful college head coaches that made to jump to NBA coaching.
Dannie, I agree that a college head coach would probably not leave but I wish E.S. could come up with a sleeper that hasn!t gotten to the point of being a hot head coaching candidate yet. Question, if Deleo gets retained next year does he, or E.S. pick his staff ?
Rob, the names that may fit,[A.Parker, McCants] are probably available next year as midlevel exception players; E.S. probably will play out his hand if the Elton experiment is a success.
… Jack McCloskey, Don Casey, Chuck Daly, Paul Westhead, John Calipari and scads more. Some college coaches like the idea of pro coaching. Given opportunity, some are successful at it, some not so.
Practice update: Brand ran with the second team and looked decent. Evans (illness) didn’t work out and probably won’t again tomorrow. Speights (knee tendinitis) missed most of the session.
Next years coach will be Tony Dileo, accept it and appreciate it!
Getting a “Pete Carril” type coach and basketball mind at the end of his coaching career like Sacramento did would be the ideal assistant coach to come in and implement an offense or defense. I buy that idea for sure. But very rarely do they come in as an assistant when they are still in the prime of their coaching career.
Not to be a wet blanket, but neither Andre will be or deserves to be an all-star. Look at the guards: Wade and Iverson will be the starters, leaving no more than three spots between Joe Johnson, Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson, Ray Allen and Derrick Rose. Miller doesn’t crack that group.
Iguodala is at forward, where the starters will be LeBron and Garnett (if Yi doesn’t sneak in there), leaving Bosh, Pierce, Turkoglu, Prince, Rashard Lewis, Granger and Josh Smith.
Tom, I like the “leave your ego” at the door locker room mantra and I don!t know if Iggy making the allstar team would be a good thing now, but after some team success hopefully it comes in the future. A.Miller seems to be opening up more this year and I think he likes his situation here. He seems to be a level below the all star types but not too far below. Dannie, after further thought, my question about our club defensively is could we get good enough to win against a good team when our offense sputters in the playoffs. A.Miller and L.Will. hurt us up front but E.House,R.Allen and P.Pierce, to a degree seem to give effort every night which helps even if you are a weak defender to start.
Eastern playoffs will be extremely tough: Boston, Cleveland and Orlando 1-3 (in some order), with Detroit, Atlanta and possibly Sixers (if all goes well) fighting for 4-5. Sixers must finished fifth to have a chance to win a round. Even if they’re playing very well, beating top 3 in seven-game series would be a bear.
deepsixersuede- Anthony Parker sounds great indeed and perhaps he would be more affordable in the offseason, even if we resign Andre Miller. The other guy I have in mind would be Mike James for the offseason.
Now, a backup for Iggy would be the next interesting piece for the Sixers to take the next step (along with a healthy Brand with a full season under his belt).
Look at Cleveland, last year after the trade, they looked okay. But with enough practice, patience, consistency, and of course stealing Mo Williams, they look great!!
Boston–their success last year was incredible and unheard off. Many changes in the roster, including Garnett and Allen. They are giving up their averages to win a Championship. Pierce and Allen improved tremendously on the defensive end. Now, they are still at a great pace to win another Championship. I think they will get another one!Consistency!!
Orlando–Rashard Lewis is a lot better than last season after signing the giant deal with the Magic. This year, Jameer Nelson is having the best season in his career! Tony Battie is healthy, meaning a couple minutes here and there of rest for Howard. They are the best road team in the NBA under Stan. Consistency!!
LA Lakers–add a healtier Bynum and Ariza. A lot better mentally. They still give up a lot of points to great offensive teams, but they put the hammer early! They are the cream of the crop in the West and will be in the Finals! Consistency!!
Hopefully, the Sixers can follow a formula and a template like that of the Lakers, where the defense converts to offense where the active hands are active. We just need that SG. Unlike the Lakers, we have some guys off the bench with that mental toughness.
Suede – You are comparing Miller and Lou to Allen and Pierce? No contest defensively. I am sure you saw Pierce’s defense in the playoffs against the two best offensive players in basketball right? He is sound defensively and always has been. Same with Ray Allen. Last season desperation and career long losing drove their effort.
I don’t think the problem is effort with our guys. I just think they aren’t very good defensively. Lou stinks at it. He can get in the passing lanes sure, so could A.I. and everyone bitched and moaned about him defensively. Lou is no different. When asked to “stop your man” he is inadequate. Miller physically isn’t adequate enough and often lacks effort/concentration on the defensive end.
And BOTH guys lack discipline and tend to roam too much often losing track of their man for open jump shots or easy cuts to the basket for layups.
They aren’t the worse defenders by any means, but when faced with an offense and offensive players that puts pressure on you every possession like the top teams do and have, Miller and Lou haven’t proved good enough in my opinion.
Tom, it will be tough without the 5 seed at least. I wonder if Orlando can make it through the playoffs with such a weak bench, their players seem to log a lot of minutes. I still think Cleveland makes a move before the deadline. Rob, hopefully , by the end of the year our needs will be identified and with an upgraded backcourt through the draft and mid level exemption we may be a threat next year. I personally would like to draft a big euro p.g. that can stay overseas and develop with our 2nd rounder and take the best player on the board with our first pick but that is for another day. Orlando versus Boston tonight, we get to see where we want to be at.
jjg….regarding #71, I got it. I thought I understood what you meant in #63. I just kind of went off on a little jaunt. Sorry if I confused things.
Dannie, I was comparing L.Will. to House and A.Miller to Allen. Until last year none of the Celts were considered real good defensive players and Allen seemed to be average at best throughout his career. Pierce always seemed to give effort on that end but the system they put in along with adding K.G. seems as much the reason for their success as their individual defensive skills. L.Will., being a big time scorer in high school and not being coached in college seems to have no clue how to defend and until that happens will never be more than a spark off the bench, you would think he would recognize and improve his weaknesses. Question, if our roster was given the same coaching and system as the Celtics could we get close to their effectiveness or not ?
Don’t think so. There’s no dominant personality or great example for everybody to follow like Garnett here. That’s where it all starts in Boston.
deepsixersuede– Stefanski has to also look around overseas for some talent. There are some NBA players playing at Europe as of now. Or perhaps, we could sign someone for the minimum from somewhere in the world. I would LOVE to get an Argentinian or Spainard player with skill– those dudes play with passion and intensity. I know Philly would love to have those players on their team. There are many talented guys that would just sign for the minimum and be effective immediately. It is a matter of just looking carefully.
Tomorrow, the rosters for the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge will be announced. Speights and Young BETTER be on their respective rosters. Otherwise that would be as suprising as Robert Downey Jr being nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Tropic Thunder” (funny movie).
In other news, the Memphis Grizzlies fired Mike Iavaroni! The Sixers should add him as an assistant coach for the team. He is part of the Sixers family,after all, and knows a thing or two regarding the fastbreak offense being an assistant coach for Mike D’Antoni in Phoenix.
Also, surprisingly, the Grizzlies are looking at Mo Cheeks for the job or former Bucks assistant coach and former Sixer player Lionel Hollins. What a Sixers connection right there! Again, they should be ASSISTANT coaches and nothing but that. Anyway, if Mo gets the job, I wish him the best of luck. It will not be an easy task down there in Memphis.