Deep Sixer

I hated Allen Iverson. I love Rodney Carney and believe he can carry us for the next 5-10 seasons. Billy King was backed stabbed by upper managment but he had to get that scrub Iverson outta here. The rebuilding process is upon us fellas and we all ready got a few main pieces in place. Im gettin excited for the off-season and hope to bring in some instant help for my boy Carney. P.S.- I saw Calvin Booth at the Oasis the other night and he bought me a dance to go away!!

Marc, it's fool's gold to think that this team can win enough games to be in the playoffs. This team has NO low post threat whatsoever and can't shoot from the outside, so it is often very painful to watch this team play. Stefanski needs to sit down with Dalembert soon and tell him that he needs to work on his game.

I don't know if playing for Canada will help his game this summer or if he should be holed up in a gym somewhere trying to develop at least one dependable low post move.

He is making too much money to be as bad an offensive player and as inconsistent as he is. Sam also needs to get in the weight room. If he wants to get to the next level, he can't continue to let Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynums and other bigs abuse him like they do every time they meet up.

By the way, is there a way to improve a basketball player's hands? The Heat announcer said tonight that if Sam is catching a lob for a dunk, that he can't score down low. His passes and hands were really abysmal in the fourth quarter.

I would have felt better about the 76ers future if they would have traded for Artest or moved Miller. I just don't see how you can remake this team with just $10M of cap room and so many players that other teams don't want. I'd rather have the $20M and 4 no. 1 picks over the next two years, which you could have gotten by moving Miller.

The jury is still out on Stefanski in my book. He followed up the good Korver trade with doing nothing at the deadline, which puts him back at square one in my book. I

I look at a team like the Lakers and the moves that they made and I wonder if the 76ers will ever get back to that point where they have the assets and talent to be in position to do something like that. I get upset to see how far this team has fallen, kind of like a nice house at one time that people just let fall apart and rot from the inside out.

Oh well, it is what it is.

I meant to say in the prior post that the Miami announcer said that it seems if Dalembert isn't catching a lob for a dunk, that he can't score down low.

No low post move whatsoever for a center who is the highest paid player on your team and one that will make $34M over the next 3 years. UN-BE-LIEVABLE!!!!!!

The curse of BK lives on.

DaTruth - right on - Sammy was a mess all night. He is a stiff. He is a paycheck player and he has improved very little since coming into the league. That is partly the fault of the coaches but mostly his fault. I heard that he is taking computer classes - I wonder if they have a computer program that can show him how to put his back to the basket and draw a double team for once in his career. I just thought about it and I don't think Sammy has ever drawn a double team in his career. The curse of BK does indeed live on. Just imagine if we had given that money to Tyson Chandler instead of Sam - we would be in such better shape.

Going back to Zeru's last post from yesterday, Bogut had 20 rebounds tonight - he is averaging more points and what is this better talent that he is playing with. Redd is all they have. Yi has done nothing and Villanueva is a decent player. C'mon, stop making excuses for Sammy. He is not a good BASKETBALL player. He is athletic, but he has no instincts and no court awareness and no BASKETBALL IQ. He just about blew this game tonight with that no look pass to the other team with about 20 seconds to go. If Jason Williams made that shot at the end of regulation, it would have been Sammy who cost us the game. He was bailed out.

Also, lets not get excited about beating the Heat - they lost 11 in a row. I will probably have to hear about how great we are now, because we beat the Heat with no semblance of a Big Man and Sammy could still not do anything. Just like when we won 5 in a row before the break and everyone got excited and I had to hear about Sammy being good and all of this. We beat Washington without Arenas, LAC, Miami, a very banged up Dallas team and Memphis. One of these teams is legitimate and they were without 3 key players on the road.

Please, Cleveland would never trade Ilgauskas for Sammy. Ilgauskas can pass out of the post and can play with his back to the basket. He knows how to play the game. He is not athletic and has lost a step, but I guarantee they wouldn't want Sam over him. Take a poll and see who fans would rather have.

Zeru, I knew you would say that about Nazr and Haywood, but watch them next time they play against Sammy and see who has the better game.

Finally, why doesn't Mo ever put Iggy on the block and let them draw a double-team. Iggy is bigger than almost every guard in this league and could easily back the smaller guards down....this could be another huge dimension to his game....

Sam didn't have a good game tonight -- I was grimacing repeatedly after his ill-advised passes. But while he certainly isn't a star, he still is a solid center... and $10 million is the going rate for solid centers in the NBA these days.

Sam is a strong rebounder, defends the paint as one of the best shot-blockers in the game, and runs the court as well as any big man in the league. He's also improved quite a bit on his 15-to-18 foot outside shot (although he hasn't been shooting it as much recently) in addition to being a constant alley-oop threat underneath.

He certainly does have a hard time with widebodies like Bynum and Howard (but jeez, those guys are giving *everybody* fits these days), and I'm not sure what can be done to remedy those matchups. For the poster who suggested that Chandler would be a better fit; well, while Tyson has certainly played well since leaving Chicago, he has even less of an offensive game (and worse hands) than Sam does.

I would think that once the Sixers get a real power forward -- one who's much bigger than Reggie Evans -- they'd be able so slide Young down to the 3 and start Iggy at shooting guard. That should be the top priority. If you traded Sam, what would you get back? An upgrade at center? Not likely.

It's amazing to me how Sixers fans do nothing but complain about their team, even while they've won 9 of their past 13. I shudder to think what the comments would have been if they had lost this game.

While the Sixers were a little lucky that Pat Riley kept Jason Williams in the game instead of Marcus Banks (Williams was truly atrocious), this was a game that the Sixers could easily lost, and probably would have lost earlier in the year. The situation was even more grim than Marc described, as they were down 5 without the ball and under 2 minutes to go in OT. One could say they were one play (one mistake) away from a loss. Instead, they made all the plays down the stretch. And for all those who complain that Iguodala is not a #1 guy, his change-of-direction, weave-through-traffic, lefty floater to make it 100-96 looked to me like a play a go-to-guy would make. Though I agree that he's not a true #1 guy right now, I would point out that he's made his share of clutch baskets in end-of-game situations this year.

While the Sixers' schedule does get tougher from this point, it's not impossible. They have 25 games remaining, 12 of which come against sub-.500 teams. They've gone 19-12 this year against sub-.500 teams. 10 of their remaining games come against the teams immediately above and below them (Wiz, Nets, Bulls, Hawks, Pacers, Bucks, Bobcats). Do you know what all of those teams have in common with the Sixers? None of them have a strong low-post presence either! So, while it's a tough road ahead, I look forward to the rest of the regular season (and hope not to think about the draft or cap space or trades for a while). We'll get a good read on how legitimate the Sixers are when they get a return home game against the Magic next Wednesday, catching the Magic on the back end of a back-to-back.

Marc,

Please. You send Negadelphia here. The Sixers just gutted out an OT win on the 4th of 5 nite back to backs on the road, and you sound crazy negative,

Sure the Heat are terrible. They also have a revised roster, and, with a day's rest, a killer will to win. The Sixers AGAIN showed, down 5 in OT, the will to fight and overcome. Give the Andre Bros CREDIT.

Are the Suns trash cuz they twice lost to the T-Wolves?
C'mon. Marc- chill out. Or you'll start to sound Tom Moore like.

Keep it real

How about a shooter? Mike Miller type player. You can't start Thad and Iggy in my opinion. Thad has to be a sixth man. Lou Will the 7th. We need a shooter. If we are going to start both Iggy and Thad long term, we will never get over the hump. You need to be able to spread the floor. The only real possibility is to get a shooting PG. That or Andre has to improve his outside shot. He does look to be getting a bit better in general at knocking down open jumpers, so we'll see. Calderon would probably fill that role, so maybe there is a chance we land him in FA. We would have to move Miller or bring him off of the bench. Also, I would like to see us target DJ White in the draft. He is a David West type who can play on the low block. Him or Kevin Love would fit nice if we can get someone like Calderon given where we will probably be drafting (15 - 18).

One thing is certain - this team can't legitimately compete unless Dalembert improves drastically, which I don't see happening or he is moved.

Is there any chance that any team in this league wants Willie Green? He is second on my list behind Sammy. This team has too many guys who are playing in roles that don't suit them.

Statman,

Yeah the No. 1 Option nonsense. There is not 1 successful franchise who has a CEO that buys this crap. Every successful team needs a threesome, a Triad, who each can, when another is either trapped or doubled up, . or have a poor matchup, take that role. NO TEAM can just rely on one guy to score in crunch time; any savy Coach with a brain will TRY and remove that.

Repeat after me....Its DUNCAN, GINOBILLI, AND PARKER. ALL THREE are needed for the team to win, on any sustained basis. AMARE,NASH, and ...either HILL, BARBOSA, AND SHAQ,

This No.1 Option is a myth. Yes, there is a best, most versatile player...but he must be as adept at passing as scoring, not to mention DEFENDING.

The starting center on Miami tonight was Mark Blount. In nearly 45 minutes, Sam had 8 points? Are you serious? Blount had 14 in 30 minutes. At $10 mil, Sammy has to dominate these guys in games like this. He does rebound ok, but that is it. He is not the great shot blocker that everyone claims he is. He is slightly above average because his wingspan is like 17 ft, but his instincts are terrible. Trust me, if he was that good, some teams would have inquired about him at the deadline especially if he is such a good deal at $10 mil.

I will, however, grant you this.

Iguodala, the Olympic level athlete he is, has shown an uncanny ability to find gears in OT that other players cannot meet.

Anybody remember the 2 OT win v Cavs and LeBron last year? Yet, it was more his DECISION MAKING than his scoring that he deserves the credit for. Thats something the first AI lacked. Still does.

If Sam had a pair of hands, Iguodala would have had an easy triple double tonite.

Sam Scissorhand Dalembert.

Hugh,

Man, I'm tired of talking about Sam Dalembert with you...How do you learn how to play offensive basketball when Larry Brown drafted you for one...You aint never getting off the bench...Secondly he played with Allen Iverson his entire career...I wouldn't be used to catching passes or demanding the ball in post either...To be completely honest i'm just so proud they remember how to play basketball period...I dont know if you actually watch the games but Sam has come a long way...I'm not even going to address your list anymore...you lost enough NBA player knowledge cool points on that one...that told enough about you lol...I agree with Suede that once Sam gets some plays called for him he'll get used to handling the ball...But you know your list is ridculious too...

I agree with Kevin, Statman, and Joshua lets the positve in perspective too

I will say in response to statman that Iggy has developed quite a bit this year and has made some clutch shots. He has definitely shown a big improvement from last year. I do believe that he will continue to improve, but I would like to see him develop a low-post game. I really think he can take advantage of his size in the post. Just imagine the things that could be done with a center or PF that could knock down a 16 footer. Iggy in the post drawing double teams and kicking to the elbow for an open 16 footer by Sammy - clang. Great, now I want Bargnani.

Marc,

Does Iguodala get ANY CREDIT for literally making the Matrix invisible? lol

Have never seen Matrix so handcuffed; not even by Bowen.
EVER.

Iguodala is SO underappreciated by Sixer fans who think they are all MBA Wharton grads, with comprehension of $$ player value. lol. Hilarious. Sad though, if he flees, of course, cuz Snider shut the wallet for the one guy of em all that he needed to pay. Jerkass Ed. lol
Typical CEO screwup.
Never see Buss, Cuban, Sarver types screw themselves over, at least not more than once.

Ok Zeru - you keep on trucking with Samuel Dalembert - please do me a favor - show me your list of the 9 centers above him and I will see if I can find some obvious centers that are better. You don't back your arguments with anything. I want the list - I will stop posting about Sammy if you can prove me wrong - I promise.

By the way, did you catch the little scuffle between Willie and Sammy after Sammy was fighting Willie for a rebound. I don't think I have ever seen a player of the same team do that before. Willie's face was so disgusted as if to say, "Get your head out of your a$$."

What we as sixers fans need to do is come to realize is our team may not be the most talented...But as a NBA LEAGUE PASS SUBSCRIBER...I have yet to see ONE team that makes the best of their talent and roster the way the Sixers do...And I'm a harsh fan myself but if you have watched their games this year how could you ever complain about effort or entertainment...Everytime you take something from them they just bite down and fight harder...Isn't that the Spirit of Philadelphia anyway? All we need is a stud at powerforward and Kyle back and We'd be a handful...

Zeru,

I agree 100 pct. And the ungrateful media can shove it for flat out ignoring this team, as it did lasy year as a tanking beneficiary only.

What the heck does the media know? Usually, not a whole helluva lot, my friend.

Ok Zeru - I give up - you are obviously a lost soul. If I was your guidance counselor, I would close the door to my office when you came to visit and pretend to be out to lunch.

Tonight's game was ugly. All of their games are ugly. This is why nobody is going down to watch them. This and the fact that they won't play the most exciting player on their roster (WIlliams). The draft expert (King) decided to draft Green, Iggy and Lou Will who play the same position. But lets give him some praise. I am going to bed - when I wake up, I would appreciate that list.

Beans,

Maybe Snider could use an MBA himself. Hopefully, its true that Luukko has already replaced him.

Question-

How come the Heat draw a full house, 20,000; for a Sixer game; while the LAZYass, or CHEAP? Philly crowd watches home games at home on TV and whines?

What is the Heat record now? 9 wins; -----losses. Hmm. Contradiction looming, here

Yeah I laughed at the Magic game where Green threw that elbow...guess it was some more of our brotherly love lol...

Yoa Ming
Dwight Howard
Pau Gasol
Andrew Bynum
Marcus Camby
Rasheed Wallace
Sam Dalembert
Illglaskus "Cleveland Center" lol
Tyson Chandler
Nick Collison

most of the guys you had up there weren't even Centers, playing out of position, injured or just plain ole didnt belong on the list at all...

Hugh,

LOL

Ok man..you are right they dont play the most beautiful game sometimes...but other times when you see those crisp passes and team work....its very entertaining...Remember that game when we played Atlanta recently...I know lost but that first quarter was like wow when everything was clicking on all cylinders...

Willie Green has a vision disability; its a version of tunnel vision. He thought Sammy was Dwight Howard when he threw the elbow. Note that he just dribbled upcourt still unaware that he nearly elbowed a teammate in the chest.

Its the same in the frontcourt. He never sees teammates. He sees 9 other players but he ONLY REALLY SEES the basket, so he thimkz. Willie Green will have a legacy as follows:

He, Willie, never made a pass to a teammate on purpose. Because he always intended to shoot the ball at that basket, which is all he saw. Any "assist" he was credited was not by design. Those 9 guys all looked the same. Better to just go to the hoop.

The Willy Green Story
paid $20 MM by Bill King, who had another, undisclosed, vision disorder TBD

Beans,

I agree with you that Iggy and Miller are unappreciated but shawn marion is overrated and unwise...He should have never voiced his displeasure with the Suns...Now the NBA will see him for what he is. A athletic guy who cant create his own offense in a half court set...He's only effective on the break with an unset defense...Look for his ugly jump shot to get punched as a member of the Heat

Dying laughing at Beans....Yooooooooo its true! Willie Green puts his head down focuses like he's about to buss threw the line of srimmage on a goal stand...Dude has a score or bust mentality...Emmitt Green..

Yeah he is

Dude is overrated and has a $18 Million Player Option
What a sick world. You are correct sir

Still, his first 2 Heat games he did put up his usual sick numbers. But why would we expect any Phila fans to even note Iguodala sticking like glue on his sorry aerss
lol

LMAO

Willie be blacking out

Willie "Carpal Tunnel" Green

lmao

Willie "Bull in China Shop" Green

Detroit Mercy

U see any mercy in dat game? I dont
Dont think I ever will. either

hah

Good night. Z.

cant stop lmao here

Me neither man, I'm still dying on the Willie Green story..LMAO That was crazy I got a headache now.. Be easy Beans lol.

Hugh ,

I forgot about Kaman put him about five on my list its late should have done it later today and push Nick off the list

WILLIE..... be squinting his eyes ...but he gonna get to that hoop thru hell or high water....GREEN

Bur wait!! Whistle Blows...OFFENSIVE FOUL, 33.. On the Green team..

1st and 10...the other way!

I'm ok with Sammy as our C but wonder if a legit PF with his own low-post game wouldn't make Sammy look a whole lot better.

Also, I know the Sixers had Moses Malone specifically working on postmoves with Sam last year. Should Coach Cheeks be literally calling post plays for him. Start small: One designed play per quarter. Rinse and repeat.

I hope the Olympics experience further exposes him to the way the game SHOULD be played with respect to inside-outside crisp execution. The internationals do this so much better than us. Maybe it'll rub off on him-like thru osmosis or something.

One thing I do know is there is a whole lotta DRECK out there in the NBA at the C position.

Frank Beans' Willie Green 'EXPERIENCE' was very, very funny. It should be made into a music video. There'd certainly be ample footage to choose from.

A few things here...

1) For those of you who wanted to trade Iggy or not re-sign him, please stop. He's by far the best player on our team, he's an incredibly well-diversified player, and he will be one of the cornerstones of this franchise for the next 5-10 years. His game has improved by leaps and bounds every year, he's only 24 years old, and he's fast becoming one of the best players in the league. He consistently carries his team in the 4th qtr - the mark of a true winner. He averages 19.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.6 apg, and 2.1 spg. Please don't ever mention again that Andre Iguodala should be traded or not re-signed. Just plain moronic.

2) The shots at Willie Green are a bit unwarranted, especially lately. He's being asked to perform a specific role, which is to provide offense in the 1st and 3rd qtrs. Mo realizes that Iggy and Miller can't do everything on the offensive end, so he needs to split up the socring load. Willie's main deficiency until recently was his ridiculously inconsistent jump shot. The last 5 - 10 games, Willie has hit the outside shot with regularity; if he can continue to do so, it makes a world of difference on a nightly basis. That said, we still need to address this position in the off-season (not Lou Williams), as Willie seems more like a 20 mpg guy off the bench in the long run.

3) Dalembert. True, Sam is probably one of the most challeneged Cs in the game today offensively. I cringe every time he gets the ball with his back to the basket. His post-up game is totally non-existent, and his improved outside shooting from earlier in the season has regressed back to an inconsistent prayer every time he takes a shot. However, Sam is a force on the defensive end. Yes, his basketball IQ is questionable, but at the end of the day, he alters shots, averages a double double, and has gotten much better about staying out of foul trouble this year. With a stud PF (which really should be the primary goal going forward), I'm fine with Sam as our starting C.

Last thing...where are the bloggers who got all over me a month or two ago for not liking Jason Smith? Haven't heard a lot about him recently...want to know why?

Because he's got no heart. He's been brutal the last 20 games or so and doesn't even get time anymore. When he's on the court, he's expecting something bad to happen - watch his body language. His head is always down, he always looks exasperated. Do I want someone like that on my team - NO!! I want guys that can dig deep when the going ain't going so well. I want guys that can fight through a couple of bad games. When a player's back is against the wall, the mark of a winner is to come out swinging, not to wallow in self deprivation. The rookie wall?? I don't want to hear about it - look at Thad. Look at Iggy his first year in the league. Those guys are winners. Jason Smith is not.

Dean,

Thanks so much for your psychoanalysis and body language thesis on Jason Smith. His production is down and so are his minutes. But to categorize him as a loser with no heart is flat out insane. I wish you would take a bit of a break from posting on this blog.

Uh-oh, a Jason Smith hate-fest might start, lemme get my 2 cents in:

1. He's just a rookie, no judgment 'til post-All-Star break next year.

2. You can't ignore the things that he does that don't go up on the box score - high basketball IQ (wasn't so great at the beginning, much better now), great screens, makes great passes, rotates on defense a lot better than Reggie or Sammy

3. Again, the Sixers made their late run with him in the game, can't ignore that. Again, not highlight-reel stuff, but everybody wanted to use him for a screen, after he got that loose ball, I think he passed it to just the right guy afterwards.

Mo talks about playing the hot hand all the time, why didn't he reward Jason for helping to rally the team back by subbing Sammy for him?

BTW, loved the Willie "bull in a china shop" Green stuff above!

Steve - I'm sure you're still apologizing for Rodney Carney as well. And no, your wish will not come true. Dean

Narducci was so cynical here I was almost laughing. The Sixers have a weak team. The fact that they're in this race, winning these bad games, is still impressive to me.

The young guys have something to feel proud about, and then Benjamin the Donkey comes in here knowing too much. If you'd rather have them play down to what they actually are and get in the running for the lottery, write that instead. But tonight was not a bad thing, and yeah the last game was a really bad thing, but at least the team really believes that the next few might be good things, and the thing that impresses me more than anything is that everything which you'd expect to finally bury this thing down has been faced with a thing of true resilience, and that's the only thing I could ever hope for in a young thing like these Sixers.

I hope they upset somebody in the playoffs. With Iguodala coming up big like he did in OT last night, I bet they have a shot.

Dean,

I have never made a comment about Rodney Carney on this blog. But if I did, I would choose to comment on his performances and how they might be helping or hurting the team's ability to win. I would most certainly stay out of the psychoanalysis field as I don't have a degree in Body Language Analysis. I'm guessing your degree in that field is a B.S.

Hugh, anybody that says Haywood and Mohammed are better than Sam, I shouldn!t argue with ,but; Bogut was a #1 overall pick, has his team over or under achieved. Sam was a 28 pick who never played till his junoir year of high school and hardly played in college.If he doesn!t get better, in spite of his athletism I would blame the coaches over him.He never got the ball till A.I. left.Ithink E.S. would never trade Sam for Ilgauskas, an older player who doesn!t post up hardly at all.Sam!s shooting percentage is 4 points higher shooting jump shots.I told you last night I thought Biedrens was a push. He, like Sam is very raw offensively. Finally, if Sam has to be THE man than we won!t win with him but as a shot blocking role player with a true p.f. next to him I think we can.

As fun as it is to bash the team on a nightly basis, but please remember that this is a team of 2's and 3's that practice against each other all the time. Mo should get credit for finding a roll for most of the team but by now he realizes he needs more than just athletic players. The team needs natural position players at the 4 and one more natural point. All Sam has to practice against is Evans, Booth, and J. Smith and you wonder why is offensive game is not getting better. He probably looks like Kareem in practice and becomes Bradley in games. Just like in life "it all begins at home".

Anybody notice the 'Iggy shuffle' before he dropped key left-handed shot? I guess it goes for legit in NBA. Determined drive, but he walked. Has he been admitted to the 'MJ 3-step rule' club like Vince Carter? It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...Iguodala.

Against dregs, AI2's a muscle car. Against more, he's less.

Jason Williams was Sixers MVP last night.

The sixers play hard, I can't deny that. They even play hard on defense. Evans is possessed and, when motivated, Iggy is top 5 percent in the league. So WHY can't they defend the perimeter? Slow and/or smallish guards? Low BBall IQ not able to rotate? Or is it because they've never learned how to defend out there? If that's the case Mo takes the blame. I like Mo and like what's he's doing here, but you would think a defensive-minded point guard when he played would be able to translate. I don't get it. Watching that Magic game drove me insane. Maybe they're just making it too complicated. To me "switch" or "rotate" means leave your man wide open. How about you just stick your man like your life's depending on it. Next time you watch a college game, watch the perimeter defense. Guy's are in your junk on and off the ball. And if he beat's you you know exactly who to blame. Can some of you on this blog who have coached help me understand.

Dean, agree about Green, he is what he is, no more no less.If we add a starting 2 and 4 and Thad becomes the 6th man we become a true contender over the summer.Jumpin Johnny, like Iggy as a 3 more than a 2, could he be Pippenisque, and if so who in the league do we get to be our Jordan.Our wins now take away from getting Rose or Gordon in the draft, what a shame.

Looks like they OVERSWITCH alot.Each player has to be responsible for HIS man.As much as his low poswt game has to improve, I also would put Sam in a gym and make him guard a quicker player one on one over the summer.

Suede, Agree, Iggy's a natural 3. As is Thad. As is Carney. Logjam at that position creates opportunity to move a true talent for a missing true talent. Just gotta decide for who, for what. I assume both AI & Thad would
elicit strong interest leaguewide.

some points.

How about Reggie taking out miami's frontline. So much for Shawn Marion's inflated value.

Also, I don't think Willie played at end of 4th qtr or in OT. I believe Lou Will played in his place? Lou Will played 29 min Green played 26 min.

Fun to watch 2 fast break teams go but doesn't translate against better teams who force the 1/2 court game.

Like to trade Iggy for Wade. No Chance. 1/2 court scorer really needed.

It is pretty bad that Sammy couldn't take advantage Miami's no 'D' center.

I hope they upset somebody in the playoffs. With Iguodala coming up big like he did in OT last night, I bet they have a shot.

Posted by Dave | February 24, 2008 9:3

Yea the only ones that they will be upsetting are the fans who think they are good enough to make it to the second round.

Ok, I slept long and hard and now that I have seen this list, I knew it would have holes. You conveniently missed Shaq. I would also put Okur, Bogut, Chandler and Biedrins on that list. Forget about Haywood even though I would take him over Sammy. Nazr may have been a reach - it was late and I was heated. If Eddy Curry wasn't such of a paycheck player and would lose some weight, he would easily be on this list. I would also put Bargnani on this list. But forget all that. You obviously are not going to be convinced. Keep on watching Sammy get overpowered by guys like Josh Smith and outsmarted by guys like Okur and Ilgauskas. You can jump up and down when he blocks an occasional shot right back to the other team for a layup and his stats are padded or also when he is the only guy under the basket on defense and he grabs the rebound over his own team.

Suede, you are right about him not getting the ball, but what the hell does he do in practice. If I was a $10M a year center in the NBA, I would work every day on my low post moves and 15 foot jump shot - maybe he can also work on how to set a screen (I learned this at the tender age of 8, but I can see where this could be hard for someone to learn). Seriously, he "practices" every day but he still can't shoot, dribble, pass, play on the low block, figure out where he is supposed to be on offense or defense, set screens, not goaltend, outlet pass, move without the ball well. C'mon guys - the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I think I have to organize an intervention for you Sammy lovers.

Upset someone in the playoffs? They beat the HEAT. The Heat lost 11 in a row. Detroit or Boston will smoke us in 5 (probably 4). C'mon cuz - wake up and smell the roses.

If Brand and Jamison are not options over the summer via trade , the best 2 guard options are J.Crawford, Redd, M.Miller[with Iggy guarding the 2!s],Arenas,D.Cook,F.Garcia,L.Head,J.R.Smith,B.Gordon and Bellinini.Don!t want V.Carter. Don!t think Foye, A.Parker,M.Ellis are an option. Mcgrady and Mobley, see V.Carter.When Atlanta added J.Johnson they felt they had enough lottery picks and it was time to add a major piece. Are we there yet? And which of these would you add? I hate to agree with Dean but a Carney and #1 or two for Miller and Lowry would not look bad along with a p.f. in the draft.

Hugh, not a Sammy lover, But what are the options. Utah almost traded for B.Wallace because Okur can!t guard his shadow. Bargnani doesn!t have a position yet. E. Curry is exactly what we need on offense but you have to play both ends.If Sam gets us a p.f. or 5 to 15 pick, I would do it in a heartbeat. But I don!t see that happening!!

Just a couple thoughts:

I've been saying for weeks that Sammy has to go! They should have gotten rid of him before the deadline. His stock has never been higher. Don't be surprised if Sammy is the one trade in a sign-n-trade this summer.( I hope for Josh Smith from Atl but wouldn't mind Beidrins from GS. Just examples!)

I agree that Green is like a "black hole". How many assists does he have this year? I wouldn't be surprised if he was in the bottom of the league in that stat. At least for guards! I don't understand why Ed didn't unload him at the deadline. If your gonna trade Korver for cap space, why not Green! He's nothing more than back up guard. But I'm sure he could have helped some team making a push.

Dean- "The rookie wall?? I don't want to hear about it". Exactly how many seasons did you play in the NBA? How the hell would you know about the rookie wall? I never played in the NBA either, so I think I'll take the word of almost every other player and accept that there is a bit of a wall. Some players hit the wall a little harder than others.

I could have seen this team POSSIBLY upsetting somebody if they would have gotten help at the deadline(Artest). But this team "as is" is not going anywhere. They'll be lucky not to get swept IF they make it!

Hugh, I coach youth basketball and Iget frustrated when Sam and Reggie roll before the player even uses their screen.Plus when E.S. states Carney has to learn how to get lower in his defensive stance!!! He played at a div. 1 school [Calipari]. E.S.P.N. and A.A.U. ball is killing the sport.[fundamentals] Every big man should be forced to watch footage of Walton at U,C,L.A. and Portland.Europe has the right idea, they run all theyr!e players, big and small, through all the drills, that way they become better fundamentally. Sammy frustrates me every night!!

Suede,

I could not agree more with you in regards to ESPN - I actually had the same conversation with a friend a few days ago.

Look, the team sucks. Forget the nonsense about us having "a core of young talent." Iggy passed up $10 million last summer. If you think he deserves that much or more, you're nuts. His go-to move is a dunk and his other offensive skills are average, which means in a few years he'll be a weak 4th option on offense. Sammy is horrible and, given how many years he's been in the league now, it's safe to say his IQ won't get any better, nor will his low-post moves. Thad Young? Where again was his presence in the Rookie all-star game? Yes, he's another Iggy in the making: an average, undersized forward with no real jump shot. What's left? Green? Please! Lou Williams? He's okay, but stack him against any guard out west and he looks like a chump. Why did they win as many games as they did so far? At least part of the reason is that most teams come in and don't care much about playing Philly! Honestly! We get surprise wins. Not a single player on our team with a killer instinct and not a single player that gives opposing teams any anxiety whatsoever! Think about it--nobody on our roster demands a double-team EVER!! And, no, we're really not at the front of the pack in "rebuilding" either. Look to Seatle for that. They lost enough last year to land Durant and they've been stockpiling 1st round picks. They're the players in the draft and in free-agency in the next three years. Us? We'll we'll have $10 million this summer and maybe next summer, which should land us more mid-range talent so that we too can look like the Bulls.

Hobbes - love the bashing of this dreck. I honestly don't understand the posters who are so in favor of this team making a run - by the way - I gurantee that over the next 20 games, we will, at most, 7 games. The scary part - that might be good enough for a playoff spot.

Here are the Sixers wins this year. Let me know where the quality wins are. None of the West teams (except a banged up DAL team) are in the playoffs and the only East teams that are in the race are Cleveland, Washington and Toronto. This proves that we are on the right track and could not benefit from a lottery pick as we have an abundance of talent already. A solid PF will make Sammy look like Robert Parrish. PLEASE - we need HELP.

Chicago
Charlotte (2)
Portland
Milwaukee (2) - Redd DNP in the blowout game
Washington (2) - No Arenas
New York (3)
Houston (2) - T-Mac didn't play in one and was limited in the other
Minnesota
Cleveland
Memphis (2)
Miami (3)
Sacramento - Artest DNP
Seattle
Toronto
LAC
Dallas - Howard and Harris essentially DNP

if sixers keep winning they should eye kevin love or anthony randolph in draft! approx #16 slot