Seems like forever since the Sixers last played, right? We are riding a 4-game winning streak and the Blazers come in on a 3-game winning streak. Something has to give. I found it particularly interesting that Accuscore currently has the Sixers as the favorite in this one. Why is that?
The Blazers have Roy back from a hamstring injury and are playing well. They have a better record than the Sixers and are in a tougher conference. I guess a lot of weight is being placed on the Sixers current hot streak.
I have said in previous posts that we will get a really good idea if this 4-game streak is nothing more than a mini peak to be followed by an equal downturn. That of which has been the story for the Sixers all season. Win 2, lose 3 – win 3, lose 4. Tonight they set out for their first 5-game winning streak of the season and against a worthy opponent that is beat up like previous foes.
I really, really hope they step up. Especially at home. This team needs to show the city they are worth our support (emotionally and financially) like they did at the end of last year when people showed up to the Wachovia Center.
Here are the match ups:
- Miller vs. Blake
- Green vs. Roy
- Iguodala vs. Batum
- Young vs. Aldridge
- Dalembert vs. Oden
Personally I really want to see Roy and Iguodala matched up. We have been comparing the two lately and what a perfect opportunity to see the match up front and center. If it’s a close game late, I fully expect to see them guard each other and offensively the ball will be in their hands. Who will make the big plays down the stretch?
Another match up that worries me is actually the point guards. Miller will do his thing, but I worry about his losing Blake defensively for open three point shots. That could spell disaster with Blake shooting a blistering 43.5% from three on 5 attempts per game. Keep an eye on it.
I know Aldridge likes to face up and shoot jumpers. And I expect him to do that. But I also think he will try to bully Thad down low in the post as well. It won’t be good if the Sixers have to constantly double team him. The Blazers are 5th in the NBA in three point shooting at 39%. Limiting their open looks is crucial.
Keep an eye on the Sixers defensive rotations. Are they quick? Do they force their shooters off the line, into driving situations? Or do they stop just short giving up marginally contested shots?
And I really think the Sixers should use Thad to attack Aldridge on the other end of the floor. See if he can move his feet well enough and not foul Thad on drives. Removing Aldridge from the game would be nice as he is their only front court scorer.
How can you not be pumped for this game. Two young and developing teams who both are playing really well lately. I will be sitting in section 118, row 16 seat 1 to get my first look at Greg Oden, Brandon Roy and the much talked about Portland Trailblazers.
Sixers vs. Portland Game Notes
WHOA!! Now that’s what I am talking about. Every victory is satisfying, but this season there have been none more so than tonight. I was expected a tough hard fought game, and ended up watching our Sixers emphatically smack around (7 blocks) the Trailblazers. After last game I asked have the Sixers turned the corner. Winning tonight, and the way they won does a lot to answer that question for me. I will write something I have on my mind about this tomorrow.
About the game…
Domination is an accurate word. The defense in the first half and especially the first quarter was the best I’ve seen from this group maybe ever. They force 3 shot clock violations and a few other bad at the buzzer shots in that first quarter. For a short period of time they played equivalant to the Eagles defense. It was a pleasure to watch.
The only negative was that the were out-rebounded by 7 and 5 on the offensive boards.
47.8% from three on 23 attempts? Jesus that is ridiculous for this team. They have really bought into the “put it up” philosophy Dileo has set forth. I think it has created a comfort level shooting the three that has been more conducive to better performance doing so. Kudos to the the Dileo for bringing a D’Antoni-lite style of play that has energized this team and turned results around.
If they can play defense the way they did in the first quarter combined with his offensive strategy this team becomes dangerous.
Andre Iguodala is playing at the highest level of his career without question. I think it has a tiny bit to do with Brand being out and simply one less offensive player that needs the ball. More touches to gain a rhythm and get in a comfort zone. But more so because I think he has figured out the right mix for his game.
I think when he struggles its because he plays one dimensional and the defense recognizes it. He either shoots all jumpers or has no confidence in his jumper and only wants to drive. When the defense forces him to shoot it, his lack of confidence gives that shot little chance to go in. That player is easy to defend.
Now, he is mixing up his jumpers, mid post game, drives and facilitating very well. Because of it he is more versatile and there for much more difficult to defend. He can now read the defense for what they are playing him for and go against it. Simple basketball.
Samuel Dalembert has quietly fell into the role we all want him to be in. No shooting, not getting in the way offensively calling for the ball in the post and focusing all his energy on the defense and the boards. Fact of the matter his minutes are going to be down with the emergence of Speights and the necessity to play our energy guy (Reggie). I also think it’s possible Dileo has been decreasing his minutes in preparation for Brands return. I think we could see more Speights-Brand line ups than we saw earlier in the season which would effecively decrease Dalembert’s minutes anyway. So Dileo is easing into now. Just a thought.
Roy try to bring Portland back by himself but couldn’t. They missed the engery and shooting of Fernandez tonight.
Tonight was by far Thad’s best post defense of his career. He made Aldridge look soft, and weak and probably told him to hit the weight room before he comes back here.
Oden = Non factor. Couldn’t even tell when he was in the game. I really wonder what Portland fans think about him so far. Personally I think he has been a busts given the hype. I think he will be productive in that he will rebound a bit, he will shot a high percentage on a low volume of shots and he will defend. But I am not convinced he will be the impact player that team needs to reach the next level.
Finally, the Sixers only had 9 turnovers. That is their second lowest output of the season. Win a lot of games when you don’t piss away your possessions.
I’ll have a short post tomorrow about this run.
Next Game: Friday at home against the Spurs
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{ 56 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m hyped, was going to go but money is tight. Got a couple of friends over and some beers. Better win.
I think it is a W in the books, but maybe I am just optimistic from the previous few games.
Gonna be a great game. Safe to say this is the most anticipated game of the season so far?
“I found it particularly interesting that Accuscore currently has the Sixers as the favorite in this one. Why is that?”
Dannie, I think a lot of these statistical player performance evaluators give positive or negative projections based on efficiency, and these Sixers have been very efficient of late. Combine that with these evaluators using some sort of moving average weighting (more weight is given to recent performances than earlier ones), and I’m not surprised that the system predicts a win. Portland may be regarded as more talented, but that talent isn’t translating into dominant winning stats.
BTW, I don’t like the way this Portland team is built. I’m sticking with my belief system here – “whole is greater than the sum of the parts” seems to always beat “sum of the parts is greater than the whole” in basketball.
Great 1st, hopefully it doesn’t turn into one of those games that falls to shit after the 1st
What a First Quarter!!!
Message to Andre Iguodala: Keep being aggresive as you were in the first quarter. But dont rely on your jumpshot the whole game. TAKE IT TO THE RIM!
We know the Blazers are going to make a run. Get the starters a quick rest and then get them back in. GO SIXERS!
Best defensive 1/2 of the year so far. Why didn!t McMillan post up Aldridge ? Iggy seems to have changed his form slightly, releasing it before he is at the top of his jump, or not extending his arms as high. Sammy was very good again.
Went first 6:27 of third quarter without a basket (0-for-6 with four TOs), but still ahead by double digits. Maybe they withstood the Blazers’ best shot.
I was on the fence when it came to Iggy!s contract and his play but he is winning me over. Jumpin, would like your opinion, does it look like he tinkered with his shooting form ?
suede
Iguodala has been silencing all critics with his recent play. He played identical to Brandon Roy except Roy had 4 turnovers. What a great game from everyone on the roster! Willie Green had an off game but he was pretty much the only one.
1] Do not bring Elton back till they lose a game. 2] Eventually try the Iggy at the 2 guard experiment again 3] Maybe this team can become better than the sum of its parts. 4] No trades if success continues other than adding a shooter over the summer 5] T. Deleo is possibly making a good case for the job next year.
GREAT WIN!!! I have been completely happy with this team the last week or so and it has been a long time since I’ve been able to say that.
Question: Is anyone else concerned with how they”ll play when EB gets back? I know I am, not taking anything away from the player he is, but does anyone else think it could throw off the teams rhythm?
Curious to see how it will play out, unfortunately I will miss the next few games because I’ll be in D.C starting Friday morning for the inauguration. My crackberry will keep me somewhat in touch, but it wont be the same as watching it play out.
Hopefully this upcoming week marks the turnaround for the Sixers season and the US of A.
I was impressed with the bench tonight. The Blazers really cut into the lead in the 3rd quarter and our 2nd unit pushed it back out during an extended run that went pretty deep into the 4th.
Blski, with the offense stalled I was begging for Marreese and L.Will. to be put in. Portland, and especially Aldridge, looked awfull soft tonight, you can see how Oden is needed with them.
Stop it!
Dannie you cant say its not creepin into the back of Dileo’s mind. Haha. But in all seriousness, we have to bring him back. Maybe not in the starting line up, but we have to play him. Even Elton said he wouldnt mine coming off the bench if it helps the team. But by watching him practice, they will know if hes ready or if he’s not.
Dannie, the longer he rests the shoulder the better, what is there to gain ?
In my opinion I surely can say it’s not creepin in the back of Dileo’s mind. For one, I think Dileo believes and wants to prove he can incorporate Brand effectively and make this team even better with him.
Also, the Sixers aren’t going to shoot 47% from three every game. But I do expect they will keep putting them up. Brand’s rebounding will support that philosophy (they were out rebounded again tonight). And that rebounding will also ignite the break as well. Instead of what was happening early in the season were guys would all crash the boards (Iguodala was rebounding more earlier in the season and less since Brand has been out) they are leaking out a bit more and quicker. And instead of pull it out to set up a half court play and wait for Brand they will just go on the attack like they have been. Wouldn’t you want Brand as the outlet guys instead of Sammy?
Dannie: totally agreed.
By the way, in the last six games Lou has 27 assists to only 8 turnovers. Progress?
The longer he sits on the sideline the longer it takes to fully integrate and the longer the evaluation period will be to determine if he is a fit or not. Right now is the perfect time to bring him back because they are winning. You now have a clear point of reference to compare results against.
He comes back and they are horrible that tells you something. He comes back and they play the same – THAT tells you something also. Ideally, he comes back and you get better. To what degree better is to be determined.
Dannie: That said, the idea of bringing Brand back slowly off the bench isn’t crazy.
The longer he sits the longer it takes to figure out whether he is a fit and that is costing the Sixers money and valuable time. I would rather them figure out if he is or isn’t and fit sooner rather than later and make a move accordingly.
Morty – Not at all. I am all for bringing him off the bench. But he needs to be back asap because it give you a better idea about this team long term. They aren’t winning a championship this year so they need to figure out what it will take to get to the level sooner rather than later.
Dannie, I think if you asked Elton he would say ” if it ain!t broke, don!t fix it”. Integrate him in practice and slowly into the games. Without surgery the longer he waits the stronger it should get and we can!t get more than one win per game.
Dannie,
As last week I predicted
“ I will be bold and make my prediction. I believe the sixers will have a winning record, 45-37 atleast.”
Said I would get back after the next 2 games. So far, so good.
Suede – You can keep thinking short term if you like. I won’t deter you.
I enjoy the victories as much as the next fan, but I can’t avoid the thought in my head that says as well as they are playing they still aren’t a contender. And we won’t know their ceiling until Brand is back on the court. The sooner we find out the better.
Dannie, did Iggy!s release look different tonight ?
Dean H – And I stick by the facts. In order to achieve that record the Sixers would have to maintain a .630 winning percentage.
I hope they do, don’t get me wrong. But I’ll believe it when I see it.
Dannie,
I know more than likely you are correct but can we agree to hope you are wrong and I am right? Thank you for doing such a good job in your detailed responses. Another question, do you believe we still need to get a 3 point shooter? I do not have an opinion.
Suede – I can’t say for sure. If he has it has been a very minor tweak that only close observation would uncover. What I can say is there is NO reluctance in his shot right now. His confidence is sky high. I think he really started to buy-in to the loud proclamation that he can’t shoot at all early in the season when he was struggling.
The other observation is that his pre-game workout shots are falling with more regularity as well. I watch this before every game I attend and if you remember I pointed out that for a professional player he missed considerably more than I was accustom to seeing even from top college basketball players. Now those shots are going in at a much higher rate.
Dean H – Agreed
Do we need another shooter? TBD based on larger sample size. Guys get hot and cold, see where it averages out in the end. I still say yes, but am not sure of at which position to fill that need. We still don’t have anyone shooting it at 38% or better. If someone on this team can reach that level consistently maybe not. Royal Ivey is currently 35.3% on 34 attempts (including tonight). He plays defense and point so he is a good role player candidate.
Dannie, it seemed he wasn!t extending his arms as much as usual , especially on the long wide open ones, maybe I am wrong but I!ll watch some on the replay tommorow. Agree about his decision making, he is really attacking with no hesitation.
Suede – Not extending his arm seems counter-productive. That would imply he isn’t following through as much which isn’t really how they teach shooting. But I could be misinterpreting what you mean by “not extending.”
I!ts hard to explain but his form looked better and if you get a chance check it out on the highlights. I am feeling real good about his play and with him and L.Will. hopefully turning it over less we have a chance to become an efficient offense.
i heard the game on the radio at work but havent seen it yet. The sixers took one SMALL major step tonite; they held a lead albeit Portland helped them a bit. the old Sixers i knew would have coughed that lead as sooin as they got it down to 9, but they pulled away. i’m ecstatic but not getting carried away.
Suede: get it outta your head; they’re better WITH Brand. well we hope they should be.
Iguodala is officially HOT right now. His stroke looks better and everything he drops is swooshing in. I just think its the law of averages, like in baseball, when Iggy couldnt buy one in the earlier third of the season, you knew he was bound to break out. He is about average/above average NBA shooter. His stats for the season will reflect just that eventually.
Portland showed their youth. They may have fine players, but they have ways to go in learning to play together. or even good D. Roy was not as explosive today. I join Dannie in declaring that Oden will be a bust (think his coach saw the so-so effort and benched him); well that is compared to all they annointed him as – but then again big men take longer to blossom.
Love Tony DiLeo’s 3 philosophy. Its their biggest problem. why run away from it? it’ll be faster to learn to shoot the 3 manageably than to import and swap shooters to this team.
Sixers have officially made the Spurs game on Friday interesting. Pls. don’t let me down, even if you lose.
GO SIXERS!!
Dannie, a lower release point, that!s what it looks like to me. JayK., I never said we were better without him, I just think mentally for him and the team it wouldn!t be bad to go with the hot hand. You have to watch it,JayK., YOU!LL LOVE IT. Best defense all year in the first half. I, selfishly want him back now, by the way.
A few numbers:
*By making a season-best 11 3-pointers – on 23 attempts – the Sixers are 34-of-70 (48.6 percent) beyond the arc during the streak, compared to 30.5 percent going into the last five games. They’re also 189-for-369 (51.2 percent) from the field during that span.
*Iguodala has hit 9-of-14 3-pointers in the last three games after going 5-of-29 beyond the arc in the previous eight. He’s averaging 23.9 points, 6.5 assists, 2.1 steals and shooting 54.5 percent in the past eight.
*Sixers have scored 100 points 10 times in DiLeo’s 15 games as coach after doing so twice in the previous 13.
BTW, I’ll be on WIP with Big Daddy at 1:15 (in about 45 minutes) talking about the Sixers.
Hope I’m wrong, but from what I’ve seen, I don’t think Brand is an ideal fit for DiLeo’s preferred style of play. He can help by blocking a few shots and grabbing some boards, but he’s not as quick as Young, can’t create as many turnovers or run the floor as well. DiLeo says Brand’s an ideal trailer on the break, but I’d say Amare is much more “ideal.”
Don’t we have Amare? He wears number 16 (just joking). Speights (M-16) has a long way to go…
You can tell that this is Iguodala’s team right now. For better or worse, the team tends to go as he goes. When he goes off the team thrives. That does not mean he is a true #1 that can carry a team, but it gives an indication of what is needed when Brand returns.
As DiLeo has stated, Brand will need to integrate his game with what the team (and Iguodala) has been doing. Too much of the reverse was tried at the start of the season. Instead of running every set through Brand, they need to let Miller, Iguodala and Lou attack and let Brand, Speights and Thad take advantage when the defense collapses. No reason why Brand can’t get a ton of points off of uncontested short jumpers and easy put backs when the defense colapses on our drivers.
If we had the pick and roll PG to take advantage of Brand it might be different. Right now Lou and Speights have the pick and roll down (and hopefully for another 6-8 years), but Miller and Brand are not built to run it.
And for the record, we could not be getting Brand back at a better time. This crazy 3pt shooting can’t last forever. We got things cooking. Now its time to work in Brand while everyone is feeling good. That way when the shots inevitably stop falling they will have a more balanced offensive attack.
Also, they need to find out what they have quickly before the trade deadline.
I agree that Brand can help in the half-court offense by getting the ball at the foul-line area. On the other hand, Iguodala cannot return to playing second fiddle to Brand and must continue to get touches in different spots and consistently have his hands on the ball. My sense is Brand will come off the bench for at least one game when he returns (likely Saturday or Monday), thereby delaying the full integration a bit.
Luv Iggy’s #s Tom. I agree with DiLeo that Brand can be a good trailer, and he can hit that mid range J from the foul line, but we don’t have to push. Early in the season they were pushing to get him involved which I partly blame Mo. Thank God Dummy Bear(Sam) is starting to figure out what his real role is on this team. Maybe those minutes Theo got on the road were a wake up call.
Either way I like what we’re doing and Brand can only add to it.
I loved DiLeo’s quick double substitution of Lou and Speights when Portland made their run in the 3rd (even if I would have done it a few Blazers’ baskets earlier). That move got our offense un-tracked and halted the damage to the Sixers’ lead.
More good Lou numbers form last night’s game: he played the entire 4th quarter, and only had 1 FGA, while racking up 3 assists.
This is a Great Win, considering the Blazers record against the East prior to our game (12-2) including a wins against the Celtics and the Magic. They almost made a comeback similar to what we did last year against them.
Now, I am really excited and looking forward to the next game against the Spurs. We really had a chance to win that game over in San Antonio. The Spurs were very lucky to come out of that game alive (of course they dominated us in the 1st quarter, other than that, all Sixers). I think we will beat the Spurs this time around. We are at home, the fastbreak points are there, three point shooting is present at the right times, and the shotblocking has increased.
I am really looking forward to hopefully seeing some consistency from Samuel Dalembert on the defensive end. The last two games have been great for Sammy in the foul management, the defensive effort, as well as the rebounding department. If he can continue this consistency, we could be a much better team than people could possibly imagine. He is a Wild Card.
Dalembert can guard Duncan one-on-one, his teammates have to avoid overhelping or double-teaming too much and let him do his thing defensively. Also, I think Ratliff, Speights, and maybe Brand will be key as well!! What a luxury we have in the swat team. GO SIXERS!!
Now, they really have to limit the Spurs threes and I think DiLeo’s attention to detail will certainly have him bring up that concern. People should not look at how well the Sixers play without Brand, but look at how well the Sixers have played under Tony DiLeo!!!
An update: Elton Brand said he’ll determine if he’s going to play Friday night against the Spurs after participating in a pregame three-on-three session with teammates (Thursday’s practice was short and contained no scrimmaging). He said he’s in no rush to return because the Sixers are playing so well, but that he really wants to get back and could’ve seen himself logging 12 or 14 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Trail Blazers.
Thanks Tom. Good news. I’m thinking that having Brand gradually work his way back to full time status will be beneficial for all. He can get his legs under him, get his conditioning back, and get up to game speed, all while blending with the team. Hopefully this process is pretty quick and minimally disruptive.
Marc Zumoff has made some interesting points as to why Brand’s return would help the Sixers, including an interesting reference to the Showtime Lakers! Interestingly enough, the Suns were trying to do the same when they acquired Shaq. Shaq, this year, looks much better than last year. However, the Suns have been floating around in seeds 5-8. Luckily for the Sixers, they are in the Eastern Conference and they play like a Western Conference team. Perhaps that explains why we are 7-7 thus far against the West!
The point is that in the Playoffs, the tempo slows down considerably, especially in the second half of games! Rarely do up-tempo teams win championships by playing full court offense only!
“[about Iggy]…I think it has a tiny bit to do with Brand being out and simply one less offensive player that needs the ball. More touches to gain a rhythm and get in a comfort zone…”
Dannie, it seems like you’re trying to downplay that cause-and-effect, but I don’t think anyone should, I think this is one of the main reasons the Sixers are playing well. The Sixers are full of guys that need their field goal attempts to be effective, and as you put it, to gain a rythm.
Put Brand in there, you can’t just add his numbers to what the Sixers are producing now, him getting playing time means other guys will produce less. So if you’re DiLeo, whose numbers do you cut to accomodate Brand? What’s the mix here? What you’re looking for is for Brand’s playing time to replace another guy’s (or guys’) PT and give more production – but where is that sweet spot? It’s a very, very interesting dilemma. My gut answer is to just completely take away Reggie Evans’ minutes and give it all to Brand for now.
suede, on espn.go.com about point guards. Given this crop, you really don’t wanna take a shot at one? Let me ask you this: how many of these guys are gonna be future all-stars (Paul, Williams)? How many will be better than average (Andre Miller, Rondo [but what is an average point guard, hmmm)? Let’s say 2 future all-stars and 2 better than average, but all 4 will be future starters. Let’s say the Sixers are picking in the middle of the draft – you don’t think one of those 4 will be around when the Sixers pick? And if one of them is around, do you not trust Stefanski, with his scouting talents, to pick him up? Like every other draft, the future studs won’t all be drafted in the first round, a lot of ‘em go in the middle rounds, and in this case, those future studs are point guards, which is arguably the most important position in the NBA.
About you wanting a shooter – think about all the past really good rookie marksmen. Having a hard time, right? That’s because there aren’t any. If we want a shooter I think we’ll have to go the free agent route, or do a trade. Plus, we want it to be a multi-dimensional shooter, I think this has been argued before, and it was a great point (whoever brought it up, that was a great point!) I don’t want Kareem Rush II, or Kyle Korver II, for that matter; give me the Robert Horry’s and the James Posey’s of the world!
Zack – I will try to address your points in a post I plan to write as soon as I get home tonight.
Zack, I really like Collison,Lawson and in a way Maynor, but here is the problem; L.Will. if not a p.g. is a 25 to 30 min. 2 guard for us and none of the guys I mentioned can probably play next to him like Ivey can. If you read Lawsons bio he is perfect in our uptempo, ball pressure style and IF they start L.Will. than Lawson would be a great backup, I think he is a better version of K.Lowry. As far as a shooter, we need an athlete that can shoot and there aren!t many of them available in the league right now. Dannie hinted last night that he is not sure where we need the shooter, I totally agree because if Iggy can play the 2 with his improved shooting than a 3/2 could work but if he and Thad are our three!s than it has to be a two that is our shooter.
Zack – About the shooter, that was my comment that the player can’t be one dimensional because in order for him to be on the court enough to make an impact with his shooter he has to at the very least be a strong defender as well.
The Sixers drafted a pretty good young shooter named Daequan Cook with nice college experience playing at a big time program and in the NCAA tournament, but they valued Jason Smith more for some reason. Cook only shot 33.2% his rookie season (partly due to being forced into a bigger role and more shots because Wade was hurt). But this season he has settled into a nice role and shooting 43.3% and has been defending three positions.
You can get a young shooter, you just have to be diligent scouting and savvy with your pick.
suede
I think they call it a shooting gaurd for a reason. I agree with your points, but I don’t think Iguodala should be played at the two. I think Thad can easily come off the bench and make an impact by getting starters minutes. I say just get a shooter like you said that can run with us (sixers slogan haha) but shoot better than Willie. Cook would have done great here in my opinion. I wont give up on Jason yet, but Cook has really impressed me. Like Dannie said, good scouting and a little bit of luck, you can draft a good shooter. We need an Eric Gordon type player in this years draft I think.
Guest, If we have a chance to win against the Lakers [Koby] and Boston [Allen] it will be with defense first and shooting second. E.S. has a vision of an athletic, defensive running team and with the improved shooting of Iggy and Thad lately it may be able to work. Here is how I look at it. Iggy doesn!t have to change offensively at all , it is more like Thad getting the same looks Willie is getting lately and him and Iggy, with their length and quickness could really cause a lot of turnovers.
Guest, by the way, getting Elton acclimated is the first step, nothing else should change for a while. I!m just saying later on it may be doable.
According to CSN, Elton Brand will be a game-time decision Friday against the Spurs.
Iggy (when asked about his scoring w/o Brand): “What’s really funny is that I looked back at some tapes and the only difference between now and then is my shot selection and shots just weren’t going in. My assists were up, my rebounds were up, everything was up except for shooting percentage and the ball going in the hole.”
Iguodala on what’ll happen when Brand returns (from postgame Wednesday):
“When he comes back, we’ve just got to continue to go with the flow. He’s going to help us even more. When teams try to slow us down, we’ve got to continue to run and play our basketball.”
Yeah, it sure seems as though the question of how this team, as constituted, needs to play in order to be successful is settled. It is now time to see if Brand is going to be the right fit with this group and this style of play and, if so, how much we improve because of his addition. We need to see it all together in order to know exactly what we have and what we still need to get us to the level of a championship contender. I, for one, am anxious to see how it plays out.