CHICAGO -- The 76ers had trouble defending Toronto’s offense and they will have no picnic facing the Chicago Bulls on Friday
Chicago is coming off a 112-103 overtime loss on Wednesday at New Jersey. The Bulls overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to send the game into overtime before falling short.
Now the Sixers have to meet their second straight quality Eastern Conference team in a home opener.
While the Bulls or any other NBA team would have trouble matching Toronto’s proficiency from the perimeter, Chicago can stretch a defense with its outside shooting.
The Sixers must be able to defend the jumper, especially when Ben Gordon is on the court.
Despite his lack of size, Gordon is able to get his shot off against virtually anybody.
So the Sixers must contest the shots by Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and company. And the Sixers also have to do a better job of stopping penetration. Toronto feasted on open jumpers and drives to the basket. Chicago has the ability to do the same if a team’s defense is passive.
“They have several perimeter guys in Gordon, Luol Deng, Hinrich, (Andres) Nocioni, several guys who can put the ball on the court,” Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said after Thursday's practice in Chicago. “We have to do a better job of keeping guys in front of us.”
With the return of Samuel Dalembert, the Sixers at times relaxed too much, realizing that he was back there to clean up their defensive mistakes.
Keep in mind that Dalembert is far from being in top condition after missing so much time due to soreness from the stress fracture in his left foot.
It’s likely to take him a few weeks to get back into condition, but the Sixers need whatever he can give them at this point.
No doubt the Sixers have their work cut out in what should be a noisy United Center on Friday.
If Chicago gets as many open looks and drives to the basket as Toronto, the result will be the same that the Sixers experienced north of the border on opening night.
Comments (4)
I was just reading on Espn.com that Al Thorton was ranked the number one rookie thus far, ahead of Durant. What was Billy King's plan again? To take Young in the hopes that in three years he'd be as good as Thorton? ...Thanks, Billy!
Posted by Oliver | November 2, 2007 1:24 PM
Posted on November 2, 2007 13:24
I agree with you Oliver.
I've never understood the league's fascination with picking players based purely on potential, while ignoring actual performance. GM's put way too much value on "length" and "athleticism" and not nearly enough on actual ability to play the game.
It's obvious to anyone who watches basketball that Thornton was the better player coming out of school, and not surprisingly still is just a few months later. Who knows who will be the better player in 5 years. And by then both players will be on their next contract and potientially free agents.
Look at Tracy McGrady. He was a classic "upside" draft pick by the Raptors. And he's the rare pick that actually realized his potential. But guess what, he signed with Orlando when he had a chance, then was traded to Houston. So what did Toronto get for those years spent waiting for T-Mac to realize his potential? Not much. And he's pretty much the best case scenario in terms of develoment as a player. Look at what Kwame Brown gave the Wizards as the number 1 pick.
Why not wait until a player has lived up to his potential before signing that player as a free agent?
Meanwhile, smarter GMs are picking international players who can contribute right now. Do the Sixers even scout anyone overseas?
Posted by Jake | November 2, 2007 2:36 PM
Posted on November 2, 2007 14:36
Switching the subject,I want to take this time to rip Iggy for a change.Any player who turns down a 5yr/57million dollar offer in my mind is an idiot.Iguodala clearly is'nt the type of player who can give you 20+ points a night.Average handle,no real jumper,and still suffers from the passive gene,and yet and still the Sixers were willing to offer him that fat contract.I hope this comes back to bite him in the a@@!!!!!
Posted by Southwest Philly | November 2, 2007 4:26 PM
Posted on November 2, 2007 16:26
I'm with you Southwest Philly. For once Billy didn't overpay for his guy. Not saying that Iguodala might not be a great player some day, but he isn't yet, and may never be. The Sixers should only pay that kind of money once he demonstrates that he IS that good of a player.
Now they have another year to figure it out, and if he's worth it, they can match an offer sheet if it comes to that. And it might turn out that the money's better spent on someone else. Now their hands aren't tied.
There's a reason that expriing contracts are valued in the league -- they give teams flexibility to make moves. By not signing Iguodala the Sixers gained flexibility. The worst case scenario is that Iguodala turn out to be really good, and his value shoots up. That's not that bad of a situation to be in for the Sixers since they can still sign him.
Billy King has made the same stupid mistake many times, at least he didn't repeat it again here.
Posted by Jake | November 2, 2007 5:41 PM
Posted on November 2, 2007 17:41