The one good thing (for me at least) about the Sixers play is their unpredictability. The unexpected is a big thing for me when it comes to sports. It’s why I love college basketball and the NCAA tournament so much (Pete and I will be at the first two rounds in Philly this year). Ideally I would love for the Sixers to be consistently good. Going into every game as a favorite expected to win. Or at the very least be viewed as worthy adversary to the elite.
Sadly that is not the case. This team is as erratic as Louis Williams offensive game, Samuel Dalembert effort and Andre Iguodala’s three-point jump shot. You just can’t be sure what you will get from this team. And right now that is what keeps me watching. I don’t have an affinity for any one player on this roster like most people do so I certainly am not watching for a specific player. They aren’t a winner at this point either so that’s not holding my attention. Aside from the fact that they are my home team, I just like watching because I don’t know what I will get. If they were consistently bad like the Clippers, Wizards or Kings I probably wouldn’t waste my time. But every now and then they surprise you with an unlikely performance. The frustration is why they can’t bottle that up and pop it out night in and night out. The mark of a young, immature team lacking polished skill for the game.
So let’s keep this simple. Make some damn shots and get a win – PERIOD!
Previous Game Notes
Sixers vs. Nets Game Notes
4 loses in a row. I don’t want to hear about the clock starting a split second too late when Harris got it. Harris possibly traveling. I don’t want to hear the nonsense that the Sixers played well enough to win. They lost. They DIDN’T play well enough to win. And they are now back below .500.
Make free throws and you win the game – period. 15 missed free throws and critical misses down the stretch by your best players.
Vince Carter gets a wide open lay up to tie the game late. Terrible perimeter defense (besides Ivey).
Far too many wide open threes for the Nets who shot 12-25.
Lou Williams still stinks. Sure he was 4-6 from the field, but he was 2-5 from the line and had 3 turnovers.
Andre Miller had a couple dumb ass fouls on threes. Great job veteran point guard.
Next Game: Wednesday at Washington
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Exclamation point!
No but seriously… get a win
Nice first 1/4, for some reason I am not optimistic about the next 3
Bski and Morty, Brian over at depressed fan has a good article on all the free agents this summer, the other day you were interested.
wow….that hurts. free throws free throws free throws. we make them down the stretch and were not worried about harris’s miracle 3
duck. i really want to say something else. is that 8 damn buzzer beater losses? what the hell!
As much as I dont want to talk about this loss. Im going to for just a minute.
I plan on writing into NBATV Fan Night tomorrow with high hopes of them answering my question. My question pertains to these type of losses exactly. Do these tough losses make you a stronger team down the road? Will the Sixers be better off in the playoffs with most likely a tough matchup against a good team, having these games under their belt? Right now it’s tough to say. All I know is that im pissed and that Washington game can’t come soon enough. Duck
Starting to lose interest during the games, too much up and down play, no killer instinct at all.
Suede – Couldn’t agree more, I was watching family guy for most of the 2nd half till about 6 mins in the 4th quarter.
I was believing in this team before the All-Star break now they have me again always thinking the worst. I don’t ever expect them to win a close game, it doesn’t matter who they are playing.
Terrible free throw shooting again c’mon, this team is so inconsistent it is almost laughable. It is funny cause Iggy and A Miller really looked to be hustling giving effort, but than you do little dumb things that cause you to lose.
How can we expect to make the 4th or 5th seed we cant shoot free throws and we cant shoot three pointers.
I say start speights move thad to the 3 and iggy to the 2 see if they can play together for the rest of the season if not move one of them for a legit 2 guard in the off season we gotta know if that will work. That is the biggest question facing the team this year, besides Mr Brands health but we can’t know that till training camp next year. i dont care bout making the playoffs, we need to know if Iggy can play with Thad. That should #1 on the organizations mind.
Sixth buzzer-beating loss of season …
This is from my phillyburbs blog:
The 76ers planned to contact the league about the final 1.8 seconds of Monday’s heartbreaking 98-96 loss to the Nets at the IZOD Center. The Sixers contend the clock started after Devin Harris caught the inbound pass, which would’ve made his half-court shot no good instead of the game-winner the officials ruled it to be. It’s possible they could file an official protest.
“That was a big issue,” said swingman Andre Iguodala. “That gave them a few tenths of a second. That pretty much decided it right there.”
Referee Violet Stafford initially waved off the shot, ruling it was released after the buzzer. Stafford, Pat Fraher and lead official Derrick Stafford huddled and watched replays for 2 1/2 minutes before determining the shot left Harris’ hand a fraction before the light on the scorers’ table went on.
“You have to have clear, conclusive information in order to overturn the call,” said Stafford, who claimed all three officials were in agreement that the shot was good.
This loss, like so many others, can be attributed to our inability to guard the perimeter. Marv Albert said sometime during the 4th quarter that the Nets were shooting over 40% from the 3-pt line.
Our defensive scheme is ridiculous, with all the switching and guys dropping off their man in order to, needlessly, clog up the middle, it just affords their shooters too many open looks.
And another thing, one question I’ve often ask is why don’t we have a shooting coach, most teams in this league do. Certainly, if any team needs a shooting coach it’s us!
Based on the overall performance of the past 5 games, to include the ugly Memphis win just prior to the break, what is happening? Are the Sixers having a run of bad luck? The fact that they’re a bad team finally come fully to the surface? They’ve quit? Or are they a decent team with several weak areas? I really don’t have an answer but I will say this team has gone beyond being frustrating to watch. This .500 ball for the past year plus is getting ridiculous. Where’s the heart of the team?
agreed with the losing interest point. Also, want to see Iggy & Thad in the starting lineup together. Let’s answer that question this year. In the long run this loss may be a good thing. The coaching staff has to get these guys attention. This is certainly an attention getter. Gotta do the little things. Must make your foulshots.
About Thad and Iggy at the 3 and 2, the fact is if Spieghts is put at the starting 4 we are actually improving our shooting in the starting lineup and D.Marshall next to Reggie off the bench would add shooting to that group so it makes perfect sense, no they will never do it !! Hey Greek, you must of goaded Sammy into that double/double. What were you yelling at him ?
Suede, It’s funny because he actually came out of the shoot playing so well I was actually yelling Sammy D, in mock celebration. This loss just sucked.
Now I am more sure then ever that we can’t resign Andre Miller. The lack of d at the point is the reason that our defense is so freakin bad. Miller couldn’t guard me or you. And that leads to all the open looks, plus fouls down low. Great job eddie
Suede: Thanks for the info on the upcoming free agents. I have the page bookmarked.
When Harris hit that shot, both of my sons were going nuts. My older son was screaming, “He walked!”, while my younger son was simultaneously screaming, “The clock ran out!” I looked at both of them and said, “It doesn’t matter. If we made our free throws, that shot means nothing.”
I knew Miller missed a bunch from the line, but I didn’t realize that we as a team missed as many as we did. (tough to completely focus on the game with two boys—and the wife—watching the game with you.)
Same old song, JJG: 3-point shooting (and not defending it well on the other end) and free throws…UGH!
wtf, yikes, sheesh. All would apply to the way the Sixers shot free throws and gave away that game. To me it appears the Nets got some home cooking on that game clock. Now way you catch dribble, fumble the ball and shoot with 1.8 seconds. I’m officially asking to fire this entire coaching staff. I’m just tired of them all. This team has not gotten better in the last 3 years. Its the same sad story can’t defend the perimeter, can’t shoot free throws, can’t hit jump shots. Let’s just start over. No one on that staff can coach what’s needed to win consistently.
Is anyone here a fan of this team, or is everyone a wannabe coach/NBA analyst? They got robbed. There are a lot of breaks within anygame that go either way and the last one that went the Nets way ultimately decided the game. You can’t rewind a game and play “what if” because there are too many little “what if” moments in a game. Many of which went the Sixers way. Bottom line: They had a chance to win, they lost on a bad call. We don’t have to be objective about this, we are not reporters, we can be Sixers fans…repeat FANS. Fans take their team’s side in a situation like this. BSKI’s kids had the right reaction.
Fred – YOU don’t have to be objective if YOU don’t want to. Others choose to react in their own way and that is equally right. There are more than one type of fan.
For the record the refs got the call correct. Harris did get the ball out before the buzzer. The replay showed that at every angle.
The clock person started about a tenth to 2 tenths seconds to late. He or she is human that happens all the time. Nothing to cry about and certainly nothing to dwell on because that it doesn’t do anything to make you better for the next game and it’s out of your control. Good coaches and players make sure to focus on things they have control. Like free throw shooting.
They lost, it sucked everyone already acknowledged that. But shooting 60% from the line isn’t about “the breaks” of the game. That’s a skill and ability the Sixers have shown over the last couple years they don’t do well. And that’s a great way to put yourself in more close games than you need to be in and the perfect way to lose close games something the Sixers have done well this season.
I have no idea what their problem is at the line. Lack of concentration, poor form. Whatever it is the shots are uncontested at about 14 feet need to shoot a higher percentage if they want to win close games.
If not for missing 14 free throws (23-for-37) and being outscored 36-9 from the 3-point line, Harris’ shot wouldn’t have mattered. They left Dooling ridiculously open on the right baseline in the second quarter and he drained three straight 3s to get Jersey back in the game.
Just got off the phone with Stefanski. After reviewing the final 1.8 seconds frame-by-frame from Comcast, ESPN and other sources with the league, Stefanski and the Sixers concluded “the shot got off within the rules of human reaction time of the officials and timekeeper.”
“There’s no more we can do with the league,” he said. “It looks like the kid made a phenomenal shot.”
Great follow up with ES Tom. Wondering if the 36 points Harris had before that could have been better defended. A Miller was backing off him before he made a move. Guard play seems to be what kills the Sixers night in and night out defensively. T Parker, Deron Williams, CP3, D. Harris, TJ. Ford, C. Billups, J. Kidd.. The list goes on. Can someone on this team guard a guard? Maybe try putting iggy on the PG at the start of games. Anything. Tough being a Sixers fan this month.
Agree with Ed’s take. No reason to file a protest. If they did overturn a play like this because the timer started the clock 0.2 sec late, it would open a Pandora’s box of protests, and you would not know if you won a close game until 1 week later. Nobody wants that.
This game better be a turning point for the Sixers (and a good one at that). Hopefully the free throw emphasis will be there now!!
Aside from the Wizards game (which should hopefully be a victory), I hope we can get on a roll. Other teams are faltering here and there and the quest for the 4th or 5th seed is still there. Something has to SNAP in (and they better be free throws)!!
Losing close games to the Celtics, Spurs and Mavs was disappointing. heartbreaking.
Loosing in a flukey fashion to the Nets in a game where you don’t cover the 3 and miss so many FT’s is in a way deserved. Given VC’s lack of effort, the Nets didn’t deserve a win either, but that’s why these are both below .500 teams. How do you go 0-3 against the Nets if you see yourself as a good team?
BTW, good games by Sam and Iguodala.
As for Evans, lets just say I have a visceral distate to his game much like Dannie’s towards Lou.
Also, ironic how Harris had that late TO on a jump pass- just like Lou often does. I noticed harris often makes blind kump passes earlier in the game. I guess its as bad a decision for a great PG as it is for a non-PG like Lou.
Dannie, I didn’t intend to be preachy, though in rereading my comment that’s how it must have come off. My opinion is that the negativity sometimes outweighs what would seem to be the most common fan sentiments that could be discussed.
We can get game to game analysis in a number of places – COACH BETTER, SHOOT BETTER, DEFEND THE PERIMETER, MAKE FREE THROWS, DON”T TURN THE BALL OVER, NO STUPID FOULS. Are we breaking new ground here? We all know what great teams do and don’t do and it is like shooting fish in a barrell applying this analysis to the Sixers. They are not a great team.
Why not? Talent, mental toughness, both? Is that due to coaching, chemistry, players? Weren’t they mentally tougher at the end of last year? What are the solutions? Talking about bigger picture items is what we are uniquely able to do in this forum. I suppose that I wish there were more of that type of productive discussion.
Sixers’ three losses at the buzzer this season (Spurs, Mavs and Nets) tie the Pacers for most in the NBA. That doesn’t count Ray Allen’s 3-pointer with .5 seconds left and others …
Fred – I think you are pretty new to this blog but what you are asking for:
Happens day in and day out if you wander around different posts and the comment section.
I actually disagree with you on this:
How long have you been a Philly sports fan? Pretty negative group when their teams aren’t winning. At least that has been my experience over the last 15 or so years.
Furthermore I just think you have a different opinion of the play in question then me (many people?). I thought it was good all the way. And the human error of the timekeeper is “the breaks” and part of the game. As for the officiating I thought they got it right. Therefore I am not going to complain about it like I did here.
I tend not to be the bitch and moan type of fan when things go don’t work out or about officiating and stuff like that. I am more analytical and focus on the numbers, strategy and all the intricacies of the game as a whole. That’s what I like about the game as a player and what I like about the game as a fan.
And yes we talk big picture here all the time. More than most. Which is why my recap was so short. What big picture do you take from a half court buzzer beater loss?
The things that have been discussed (free throw shooting, perimeter defense, poor three point shooting) are big picture because have plagued this team not just a game here a game there, but for the last two seasons.
Sixers have lost six games in the final five seconds this season. Latest winning basket was 36 seconds to go (Iguodala at Houston). You start to wonder how many times they can bounce back from losses like this.
I must say this though, the peskiest nonplayoff teams in the East are the Indiana Pacers and the New Jersey Nets.
Even though a lot of teams have beaten them often, I’m sure the battles were not easy.
Devin Harris is unbelievable as a scorer. Vince, when motivated, makes the Nets an even tougher team with Harris clicking. But the weird thing is that on the road they have a better record than at home.
The Pacers are a helter skelter team where they have no script, kind of like the Golden State Warriors. Their defense is predictable, but their offense is highly unpredictable in a predictable sort of fashion.
What do people think of the Sixers, aside from Sixers fans? That is my curiousity. Which teams do we really urk the most?
Tom Moore– perhaps this is what can build character to a team. Maybe not this year, but next year. We forget that about a third of the active roster is young. They need maturity and poise. After Speights scored, our young guys as well as Speights were celebrating too prematurely!
We Must See Consistency From Both the Starters and the Bench if we are to establish great basketball! It is there potentially, but what about actually?
I can’t wait for a healthy Elton Brand and even Jason Smith for next season. Hopefully, we can get some shooters, a SG in the offseason like an Anthony Parker. Now defensively, if the team can understand defense as a form of accountability where a player is responsible for guarding another player. Then we could see progress.
When they double team too much, that is where they get into trouble. That is not really helping, that is more of a burden for the team as a whole.
Perhaps the message of playing consistent basketball must be preached heavily, especially to the young players and how they can play especially when they have offensive lulls.
I’ve been a Philly fan for 35 years. I moved to South Florida about 6 years ago but have remained a die hard. For 6 years straight, I have gotten NFL Sunday Ticket for Eagles games (still haven’t pulled the trigger on NBA Full Court for the Sixers, though I went to the game in Miami. I meant to post on my perspective but forgot to. One specific observation – Andre Iguoudala’s scowl/attitude impacts his play negatively during in-game situations. Example - He got beat back door right after a blown offensive set in the 3rd quarter (ironically, one that ended up as a Sixers basket). He was too busy being mad to stay focused on playing defense).
I chalk my comments up to the perspective that I have now that I am outside of Philly and the WIP fan mentality. The negative BS on this site seems to be irritating me more than the good solid content. I’m not denying there is much good here, and in fact do appreciate and enjoy the spirited discussion and debate generally.
The big picture items you mentioned are (for the remainder of this season) coaching /mental issues. Post-trade deadline it seems like there is generally less unique perspective the posters here can bring (though I liked the observation on the lack of a shooting coach).
Fred,
The negativity you see here is most due to the frustration of a 4 game losing streak. On this blog throughout the season we have seen the most positive discussions and the most negative discussions. This season has been a roller coaster with the winning and losing streaks, injuries, coaching change, game winners, etc. Overall, this is a relatively positive group compared to the stereotypical philly fans.
————————————–
Andre Miller
He has gotten some criticism after games like these where the other PG eats him up on the defensive end. I agree that, that is deserved. But all of our big problems have nothing to do with defense for the most part (except on the perimeter). Is getting a new PG really going to help our perimeter defense? I think a two guard is needed to improve most of our needs. If getting rid of Andre Miller doesnt get us a two guard then I want to keep Miller. Another thing. Andre Iguodala is not a two guard. He has not played two his whole career except for that little stretch. Its hard to tell exactly what made him improve his play the second part of the season this year. Was it the coaching change? Was it the injury to Elton Brand? Was it moving back to the three spot? Or was it simply a shooting slump?
It’s tough to say. But I want Thad to come off the bench and get starting minutes, more than I want Andre Iguodala to move to the two.
The lesson they hopefully would learn is to put bad teams away early so you don’t risk loosing on fluke shots.
Unfortunately, I don’t think this team is good or seasoned enough to do that yet. Many of their best offensive players (Thad, Speights, Lou) are too young to give them the type of consistent performance they need. On the bright side, those same players have at time really stepped up in 4th quarter situations (Lou more last year than recently.)
hahaha….i watched the game and i could see this coming a MILE AWAY. figure two improbable losses, there would be another. just the roll of the dice. thats what you get for keeping it too close.
all right for the record…New Jersey IS NOT a good team. Sixers should outplay them any night. but didnt. the Pacers ok but the Nets get a D in my book. uh well.
anyone advocating for starting Speights pls. note his defense in this game; between he and Reggie Evans they had at least 6 MORON-DEFENSIVE BREAKDOWNS!! i’m talking Sammy dumb. Unideal as it was to have him guarding Yi in a small lineup, there was no reason to leave him at the 3pt line and stand at the rim. For every wide open 3pt look Dooling got, there was Evans running at him in desperation and back-turned-Speights clueless. It made me so mad, I felt DiLeo should have benched him for the whole game. Fortunately enough Harris was too dumb to kick it out when he drove inside and was getting snuffed in the crowded paint area. Then a weak side block by Speights is considered a good play on what was a blown assignment and selfish play by Harris. Good for the stat sheet.
for what its worth Lou Williams is the only one on our team that can imitate what Harris brings to his team. I’m still waiting to judge.
They had Harris’ buzzer beater on ABC NEWS on National TV!! Hopefully, that will change the Sixers momentum!!
Dannie, watching Flor. and L.S.U., I really like Thornton, he rebounds, made some real nice passes and wants the ball. Calathes is a great passer but has trouble getting by people, I wonder if he can translate his game to the N.B.A.
In the aftermath of the Meadowlands’ after-math, I consider the reflexive “grousing” [today's DN headline term of a non-story] by Iguodala, Miller and DiLeo to be quite human and quite sour-grapish. From TV, saw quickly that Harris’ shot was good; Dannie’s summation, right on. A lot can transpire in 1.8, especially with home finger on clock, not to say that time frame was intentionally stretched or off by much. A punch-to-the-solar plexis loss. Main culprit from my viewpoint: Miller’s abominable sl0w-man defense; taken to cleaners by Devin all night long - - can’t pump fake that.
To spin things positively, the name side of Miller’s jersey was worn appropriately on his back. Also, the loss toughens team’s hide and advances their determination for what is bound to be a classic game tonight in our Nation’s Capitol. My Sammy ’tis of thee, sweet Brand of injury, of thee I sing. Land where the jump shot died, land of the runnin’-pride, from every endgame broadside let next year ring.
Great NBA draft evaluation piece.
sfw, Nice linkage. Excellent primer on Sixer possibilities. Wonder how much bull is in Finch’s synopses. Interesting that Christmas was assessed as not knowing how to play given that Dunphy, a good coach, has had him for 2 years.
JJG, Thanks. They appear pretty accurate to me for the players that I’ve seen. Christmas may not have been instructed well at the highschool level. May have been a big fish in small pond.
S.F.W., good stuff; Curry and Harongody, told ya!!! Interesting comments on Maynor, good news, 2nd rounder; bad news, won!t be in the league in 5 years. Is the 6′9″ center at North Catholic his brother ?
Dionte!s brother.
Probably related. Dionte is philly kid from the Pub. That answers the coaching question.
HIGH SCHOOL: Ranked among the Top 40 prep school players in the nation by Hoop Scoop’s Clark Francis…Averaged 18 points per game in his one year at Philadelphia Lutheran Christian Academy…An all-tournament selection at the 2005 National Prep Invitational held at the University of Rhode Island…Led his squad to a 35-3 record and a #5 ranking by theinsidershoops.com…One of nine Lutheran players that will be on NCAA Division I basketball rosters in 2005-06…Prior to his year at Lutheran, Christmas played four years at Samuel Fels High in Philadelphia…Earned first team all-Public League and third team all-City honors as a senior in 2003-04…Leading scorer in the City with a 26.5 scoring average that season…Averaged 17.7 points per game as a junior in 2002-03, earning honorable mention all-Public honors.
Much in this article of interest to basketball fans. I have a feeling none of this type of thought is being put into Sixers basketball.
Fred – I posted that link in a post not too long ago and I know Zack brought it up in the comments before.
One interesting thing about the whole thing is that they only give that detail player scouting report to Battier and not other guys (Artest, McGrady etc). Why not utilize that for multiple defenders? The way I read it is they only think Battier is sophisticated enough to understand it and execute an effective strategy during the game without forgetting, over thinking and getting confused.
Who on the Sixers do you think can actually do that? Royal Ivey, maybe?
You hear about this informally all the time from elite players that play against each other during the off-season (i.e. Paul Pierce and Kobe) or are avid NBA watchers when they aren’t playing (LeBron).
They have developed a “book” on a player and can instinctively execute a defensive strategy using it. Pierce did an admiral job of it in the playoffs last season and he brought up that he plays against Kobe all the time so he knows his game.
What the Rockets did was just add some concrete numbers to what guys have and should be doing already.
Not sure if the Sixers players have the mental capacity to handle all that. But at the very least the organization should have people in place compiling and analyzing the data like that.
I’ve heard of a few teams that enlist basketball analyst like Dean Oliver to give their team an advantage. (Read his book it is fantastic!)
NY Times’ article carries a pointy-head bias. Duke’s Battier is featured by Princeton art history major & London School Of Business man Lewis through Northwestern & MIT-educated Morey’s comments.
Artest, a former St. John’s University player and defender extrordinaire, is not of the same elegant university strata, and his successful internalized system of defending may not be as approachable or as appreciated in paragraph bouquets by the ’same page’ author and GM.
Battier’s a smart and fundamentally-sound player, but is only as good as the talent that’s surrounding him. If I want an end of game stop, I say “sic ‘em” to defender RonRon and point him to his “food.” If I want an end of game basket, Shane sets a pick or watches from a deluxe seat. My bias.
“Extraordinaire” for the spelling-inclined
Bill James is referenced as the father of this sabermetrics “movement”. It wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t go to college. He’s just a quant. Morey is too. I wouldn’t read too much into the Pointyhead bias – however, Lewis the storyteller does oversimplify things sometimes.
I think your comparisons of Artest and Battier don’t address the point of the article. No one would compare the athletic ability of Artest with Battier. No one would expect Battier to take a final shot. As an aside – one unique attribute of Artest (other than his penchant for punching fans in the face) is that his focus on defense is somewhat atypical for your standard NBA elite athlete. The best NBA athletes are typically offensively focused for a variety of reasons ($$$ being one).
Battier is a classsic overachiever whose results, while they don’t show in the box score, have significant value over the course of a season. Value that may not be appropriately ascribed to him by the market.
Too many Battier’s on a team will not yield a championship, but there can be an argument made that every team needs one or two of these “glue” guys and many of them may be hiding in plain sight.
Let’s get back to Sixers discussion. They need a win tonight. Another loss and the walls could come tumbling down.
Dangerous game for the Sixers. The players are just arriving here at the Verizon Center.
draft talk, eh? Ouch.
Speaking of draft talk: nbadraft.net is projecting Stephen Curry to the Sixers at 17. Is Curry really going to be available at 17?
jjg, I think it’s all relative with Andre Miller and this team. I think he’s the best player on the team when you add up individual pluses and minuses, and take into account both statistics and the fun-to-watch factor. I think his time here has been the best of his career, and has been a sublimely good sports story:
* He was supposed to be a traditional point guard who could lead the offense, but it turns out he was at his best in Mo Cheeks’ fastbreak attack and motion offense. Maybe he’s overrated as a point guard; he should’ve made Elton Brand and Carmelo Anthony better, but those two didn’t miss him at all, and I’m still waiting for him to “make his teammates better” here in Philly.
* Unlike you, I don’t think he’s done as badly in the NBA’s Runnin’ Rennaisance of the past decade. When we first got a good, up-close look at the guy, you could tell right away – in the NBA Serengeti, this ain’t the fastest cheetah out there, and we know what usually happens to those guys. But he’s survived, not by fending off those faster cheetahs, but when it’s his turn, he can do as much damage as they can. In my opinion, against Detroit (a small sample, but a very important sample), he was one of two players (Willie Green) whose survival instincts kicked in, who fought hard AND smart, and didn’t have that (last animal analogy) deer-in-the-headlights look.
I still wish we had done that Portland trade. Andre Miller is the present, and that present doesn’t include an NBA championship, so trade it for whatever value that has; there’s a reason Sergio Rodriguez’s potential was the best offer we got. Also, I think he doesn’t come back at the end of the year, and probably goes to the Lakers (Lamar Odom comes off the books). But he’s one of the few Sixers I’ve seen who actually got better when they got here; usually it’s the other way around. I’m going to enjoy watching him while he’s here. Here’s to a hard-fought first-round exit!
Morty, we have to get rid of Ig-Lou (it’s cold in here, know what I mean – ha ha ha…), there just wouldn’t be enough shots to go around. Not sure what Curry’s non-shooting skills are like, but Stephen Curry to the casual fan means insta-points, he’s gonna come off the bench gunnin’. Would like to keep depth chart like this: Ivey, Curry, journeyman PG (assuming Miller goes).
Zack: I’m not a big colege ball watcher, but Curry seems to have a lights out shot, and from what I casually read is handling the switch to PG quite well this year with good passing skills. By the way, I like Ivey, and he’s been a nice surprise, but no way should he be a starter. He’s a 10-20 minute player, tops, in my opinion.
Morty: …and Ig-Lou should be a starter? Should Bruce Bowen be a starter? If we start Ivey, doesn’t he neutralize the threat of the lightning-fast, high-scoring PG/SG? Ivey, Iguodala, Thad, Brand, D-Bere SHOULD be pretty good defensively. I think it was you who wanted Rodney Carney to develop into a Bruce Bowen-type player; good idea, wrong player. I think Ivey can develop into that.
Also, consider the financial environment in which player moves are gonna be made over the next couple of years. I just heard Ric Bucher on the radio talking about how the Boston Celtics are one of the 15 teams that needed financial help, and how this is the last year of their window, and that they’re going to start breaking the team down next year, so that’s why they go after Starbury this year. It would’ve been ludicrous thinking in the just-ended “Flip this House” era, but pretty sensible given what’s happening now.
Off topic: I like the “flip this house” era. I work in real estate, and knew that the proliferation of those type of shows were a very bad indicator.