Deep Sixer

I was just happy to see some productive minutes from Lou, Young and Smith.

I'd like to see the young five of Lou, Dala, Young, Smith and Sam get some more extended runs. Those are five of our future core of eight players that hopefully be part of our future ascension.

We need to add a star and twol other solid players to that mix, but we might as well get the five we have out their as much as possible to help them gel for the future.

I guess Carney or Green could be the eighth player of the core- but only if they improve and we add two other top flight players to the mix.

Mark,

A respected voice in basketball, a guy who played and coached the game at several levels, a guy who rarely pulls a punch and always calls it like he sees it -- Charley Rosen - says, and I quote, " Willie Green will turn out to be a better all-around player than Andre Iguodala."

is this an indictment of AI or an endorsement of Willie? Seems a little crazy, even for Charley Rosen. What impression do you get of Willie Green's profile among people who know a thing or two? Is he possibly not the black hole philly fans like to portray? Or is AI just a guy? I've seen enough AI. He's not just a guy. He's got everything you want in a complementary wing player. Put a good low post scorer on the floor with him and he turns into a major plus for any ballclub. So back to Willie Green. What do you make of this?

I have heard it all. A poster is quoting CHARLIE ROSEN as some kind of voice of knowledge?

There are times I cringe at the number of Philly fans, relative to other US city major market followers of pro sports teams, as to Philly's dominance in illiterate, lunatic fans. CHARLIE ROSEN? Are you nuts?

Maybe Iguodala deserves better than playing with this Gymboree like team- Sign and trade him so he can utilize all his talent on a winner, and the Sixers can accumulate more Cap room to create even more "HOPE".

He clearly wants out of Philly,(who doesn't?) so get what you can for him now, hope for ping pong heaven. Sixerfans, for the most part, sound like an Idiot-Savant club.

Marc, it is no secret that Detroit is a more talented team than the 76ers and that the 76ers just don't match up well against them. The Pistons have an advantage at every position in the starting five, as well as their bench.

What I did like about tonight is seeing the lineup of Lou Will, Iggy, Thad, J. Smith and Sam out on the floor. That is the core of this team going forward. If you add to that core $20M in cap room this offseason plus the young player or extra no. 1 pick you can get by trading A. Miller along with the 76ers own lottery pick this year, then you can talk about this team beginning to close the gap on a contender like the Pistons.

At least this team is on the way to matching up physically with a team like the Pistons. They just don't have the skill level yet. I hope Lou Will's experience with having Chauncey throw him around during the game will have him spending some time in the weight room this offseason. Tayshaun Prince has always been a 76ers killer. However, Thad could be a good matchup for him at the 3 in the future.

Marc, any updates on the latest with Herbert Hill and how his knee is responding? Also, I don't think losing 10 of 12 is such a terrible thing for this team. It lets Stefanski know that this team just doesn't have enough talent right now and that it still needs major work.

As for Iggy, I think we all need to appreciate him for what he is a good young, athletically explosive, all-around 2-guard. As for Charlie Rosen, he's old, bitter and sucks the big one. If Willie Green ends up being a better player than Iggy, then its time for all of us to find something else to do with our time instead of following the NBA and this team. Green being better than Iggy? PLLLEEAASSEEE!

I am disappointed that Iguodala has seemed to lose his fire. To be a leader, one must fight through the challenges. Andre seems to be hanging his head a bit. I hope someone can get through to him...that is a bad habit. I understand his frustration...it is a tough way to play the game...but he must show leadership. Say what you will about Iverson, but his heart was bigger than almost any NBA player.

It is time for Mo to shake up the rotation. The starters need to come out really hard to start the game...they are not.

There is a growing acceptance of defeat on this team. It is not that they aren't hustling...they just believe they can win so they play along with the other team.

I couldn't help but think that this team plus Joe Smith, Steven Hunter and Korver was 24-17. Then we let Joe Smith go, traded Hunter and Korver. Joe Smith was a big loss. Would have liked to see what that group plus Thad, Jason and Lou could have done.

John, I was tempted to not answer, but I have to say, with Joe Smith, Hunter, and Korver, we were a .500 team. Adding the 3 young guys would mean they hardly EVER see the hardwood this year- meaning we would still be .500 or less. They had a small stretch at the end of last season when they played a little over .500. Remember that Kyle hasn't been shooting well this year. Hunter has ALWAYS been terrible, and Smith (getting old) is not a starter for most good teams. If you want a team that's a 8th seed in the playoffs for 1-2 year and then back in the lottery, great. What would be your long-term purpose in keeping these contract gluttons (except Korver) when we have young guys that need to be developed? They would have no chance of signing anyone after this season, because Smith wanted a much better contract after last season. We would be back in salary cap hell now. Are you sure you're not Billy King using John as an alias?:)

I think the best use of the remainder of the season is trying to decide who on this team is really a present/future NBA starter or at least major contributor. AI, Miller, Sam- we know are in this group. Carney, Booth, Ollie- I think we can clearly say are not. The rest of the guys- who knows? I think we see glimmers of potential from Thad, Jason- but I'm not convinced yet that either are definite top 7-8 guys on a good team, nor am I about Willie- and the rest of the guys we know even less about. If the team uses this season to figure who are pieces of a future winning team and who are not, and we begin to fill around these pieces next year, to me that's moving in the right direction.

xingxang,
Great post! Let's move on and let things roll. Good loss last night. competetive again but fell short to a much better team. Young guys are playing ample minutes. We just have to trust in Ed.

Watching last night game made me think Carney needs to spend every waking hour working on his defense and 3 point shot.

If he could master those two things his size, speed and athleticism will go that much further, and the Sixers would have themselves a valuable piece.

Right now, however, he couldn't shoot his way out of a paper bag.

Dear Sixers,

Please continue losing. You can only improve in the NBA thru the draft. We need a top 3 pick this year.

BK BIG FISH IN DA HOUSE!!!!

GO NUGGETS

The sixers are going nowhere, Iggy should come to the Nuggets and win a ring with Iverson and Melo!!!

Xing, understand your comments. Only rebuttal I would make is that Bulls gave Joe Smith 3 years instead of 2, and only $2mm more. I'd rather have him helping the young guys grow than Reggie Evans while winning a bit more. Players do not learn when constantly losing!

Draft picks are very overrated...just ask the Bulls!

John:

replace "draft picks are overrated...just ask the Bulls!"
with,
draft picks are overrated...just ask the Spurs (Duncan), Lakers (Kobe), Suns (Stoudemire, Marion), Cleveland (Lebron), Miami (Wade), Orlando (Howard), New Orleans (Paul) Phila. (Iverson).

etc. etc. etc.

Morty, my point is that the odds are againest any team when relying on draft picks for success. They are an ingredient but not the sole cure...that is what I was tying to say.

I also believe the Sixers need to look at foreign players who are playing an incresingly important role in the NBA. They generally know how to "play the right way", and have some experience in world tournaments and foreign leagues which act as a monir league experience.

Agree?

Sadly to say, Joe Smith would have this 76ers team in the playoffs this year. He was a closer for this team in the second half this past season in the fourth quarter, consistently nailing that 16 to 18-foot jumper that Iggy and A. Miller would give him in crunch time.

However, I don't mind him going to the Bulls because it allows Jason Smith and Thad to get more burn and hopefully Herbert Hill when he is healthy. This is painful to watch right now, but at least the team isn't getting hammered on the boards like they have been for the past 4 or 5 years. It just can't score right now.

If Stefanski can get the right deal for A. Miller, creating that $20M in cap room and a draft pick, as well as the 76ers own pick, I think this team can be competitive next year. It has a decent nucleus going forward -- Lou Will, Iggy, Thad, J. Smith, Dalembert, Carney, Herbert Hill. Add to that and let's see what we have. Of course, I am an optimist.

Big Ed, show us what you got!

Are people seriously still talking about Joe Smith? Really?

How delusional and completely wrong can you be to even mention him?

Morty - you're right on with the 10:22 post. John, there's certainly a good chance you'll get clunkers when drafting, but free agency and trading are not exactly silver bullets either. The advantage to drafting is mistakes dont leave you in salary cap hell.

The Bulls are an example of a team that made drafting mistakes, but thats not the whole story - they are also stuck with a certain center who was an allstar, but now could care less...and that was not a drafting mistake. Every so often someone posts the litany of Billy King's trading and free agent disasters - its quite a list. Forgive us if we dont want to go back down that road. The fact of the matter, as John points out, is most teams with true franchise players got them through the draft. Sure, every now and then there's a Kevin Garnett who just wants out that badly and finally gets his way, but for the most part teams just don't let guys like that go. And when they do, you need to be suspicious about why(are they running out of gas?). I do agree with you that they need to take a harder look at foreign talent - unfortunately American kids dont learn fundementals anymore, they just want to grow up and be on sportcenter with trick dunks and Iversonesque ball handling.

And i missed the game last night, but from what everyone is saying it seems the kids aquitted themselves well, all things considered. There is potential with that young group i think...at any rate they're alot more interesting to watch than the starting lineup. I worry that all the losing will be habit forming for them, but on the bright side we've got the seventh worst record in the league right now - there will be a good pick coming. To me, how we come out of the draft and the summer will be the true test of Ed's worth...

Charley Rosen is far and away the most interesting, honest and forthright columnist on any of the national websites. Maybe he got your pants in a bunch over what he said about Iverson? Hey man, honest opinions hurt when your team sucks.

KM, thanks.

Even the best foreign players (Ginobili, Parker, Scola, Nocioni, etc.) have come from the draft.

There is no quick fix to this Sixers team. Even after getting their core together, it took the Iverson-led team several years to get to championship level quality.

I like our chances moving forward, but it will probably take another year or two just to get to genuine win-a-round play-off quality status.

Charley Rosen is an astute observer of the NBA and a worthwhile read. He was on to Webber's act in Sacremento before Sixers fell prey to enticements. That he likes Green over Iguodala is pleasantly surprising as Willie is a good soul and still-developing 2 who is deserving of more credit (and patience) than he gets, especially considering his once-shredded knee. Iguodala, a fine, striving (to leave Philly?) athlete, is presently less than the sum of his parts (stat & rep accumulation) re winning contribution. Man-up D-prowess?: I saw him left out to dry 3 times last night.

Pistons: Now THAT is basketball.

I give Ed one season before we start posting how much he sucks.

Andre Iguodala at best would be the third best player on one of the championship teams of the last twenty years. How this team going to be a championship contender with him as their best player?

I don't think anyone (Ed Stefanski included)expects Iggy to be the franchise player on a Sixers championship team. A lot of changes will be made before this team can expect to go very far into the playoffs.

Marc

correct me if I'm wrong but Sixers scored ZERO POINTS ON FASTBREAK. I am sure that by halftime we were at zero (they even showed the stat) and I don't recall any play in transition in the second half either...

Is this a record for this year? And we all know how much we have always been struggling vs set defenses, so no wonder we scored 78 points again

BTW imagine Detroit with a decent, true center (Dalembert, say :-), they would sweep Boston in the ECF I think. Fantastic bball team

(throwback uniforms are damn cool, let's keep them !!!!)

Five words: JO-SE CAL-DUH-RON. Unrestricted FA at the end of the year, Raps are not going to have enough cash to sign him, given how much they've got committed to Bosh, Nesterovic, TJ Ford, etc...8.5A/1.6TO this season, plus just about as good scoring as Miller - THEN use Miller as trade bait to try and grab yourself a low-post guy, assuming you don't have a shot at a Beasley or somebody like that in the draft.

Got it? Good. Ed, get it done.

Second that on the throwback uniforms. I love the simplicity in them.

Thought we looked better defensively with Sam and J.Smith on the court together.I like how J.Smith jumps out to double,ala M.Geiger,prior to his knee issues.The perimeter defense should be better with two shot blockers on the court.Has R.Evans blocked a shot yet?

Pavlovic is out for two months with an injury.Yo ED,call up the CAVS,let them know W.Green is available[I.Newble?]