Deep Sixer

Thank god for Reggie Evans, what a fantastic bench player! Marc, it's good that Willie is doing better but he is still too short to play the 2.

Marc,
Great summary. Concise, and to the point. This team has a fighting mentality, and thats hard to pinpoint in terms of that genesis, relative to another team lacking as much, but credit these Sixers.

Willie shot very well, and his stats are a pleasant surprise. As long as his teammates reinforce to him how well he played in a rounded fashion, expanding his role that is to dishing and hitting the boards as tonite ( and I understand stats are misleading on a one-off basis) then thats the key for Willie. The big reward.

As for the roadtrip? Hey, its the NBA. Just when you least expect it,.....anything can happen. Other than DET, on a 3 game Roadie as this one lays out, battle your butts off boys and win one as early as you can on this 3 game jaunt- you dunno these guys well, but they dunno you either. Compete, and you can steal one..hell, this team's been doing that all year very quietly, and when least expected.

Marc, I've one of the biggest Willie Green bashers throughout the year, but I will be the first to admit that he's playing better than I've ever seen him play before. The biggest difference in his game recently is that he's hitting his jump shot consistently (including a big one in the 4th quarter when the Magic were making their run). He's still below average defensively, but I can live with that if he's shooting well.

I'm sure the PSFs (Pessimistic Sixers Fans) will be out in force again saying this was another case of Fools' Gold, the Sixers are going nowhere, why didn't they trade Andre Miller, etc. But I for one am glad they didn't trade Miller, because he makes the Sixers worth watching. I love the final stats of this game, where he outscored the three Magic point guards single-handedly, 26-2, and two of them got hurt trying to guard him. (Or how about Miller and Green outscoring the Magic's starting guards, 52-2?)

Up next is the final West Coast trip of the year. It looks daunting on the surface, but the Warriors have played inconsistently lately (if the Bulls -- minus Gordon and Hinrich -- and the Hawks can go in there and win, why not the Sixers?), and the Suns have had some trouble adjusting to Shaq. Plus, the Sixers match up very well with the Clippers, who are just not a very good team. I don't think 2 of 3 is out of the question. Hey, somebody on this board has to be an optimist, right?
(By the way, how ironic would it be if the Sixers made the playoffs this year and Iverson's Nuggets didn't?)

On an unrelated topic hears by viewers watching on LEAGUE PASS, Guokas comes off each Sixer game ( prolly ea Bulls game too) by slamming Iguodala for rejecting contract terms, but the A Hole makes ZERO mention of Rashard Lewis Magic contract.

Guokas,
Can you possibly be more of a hypocrite than a blind squirrel in search of the acorn?

Thats 3 games of Guokas gobblygook. Course his partner egged him on too.
Crazy stuff. Guokas has a weird view of things, almost selectively envious. Awful for home or opposing viewer tho. Disingenuous on too many fronts.

OK, enuf off topic, but HAD to voice. Was too over the top.

Funny, isn't it, how there has been NO MENTION of the fact that the "dismal" Heat took the NUGGETS into OT a week prior to taking the Sixers there, to boot without the Matrix, AND without Shaq, then injured!!

Haha.

Give the Sixers credit. We all shudda bet the OVER on Wins for the year. Or, so it looks.

After all, didn't they finish last year 18-9? Course, that was due to most opponents tanking, the experts say. Lets see what the experts say tomorrow.

Better yet, lets see who is the first NATIONAL journalist on the Egghead Network, ESPN, that has the guts to at least give this team just a TAD BIT of credit.

Cuz it looks like somebody just may HAVE to...any day now. Ya know?

Don't know what to say, Willie Green has been playing like a man since December.

Great, great, great doubles on Howard tonight and trapping the pick and roll. Miller had perfect timing on one to start a break and Thad forced a turnover along the sideline and was a split second away from another one down on the block. As good as the offense was, especially in the first half, the defense was more impressive. Holding Superman to 14 and 16 is about the best any team can hope to do. Perhaps the bigger thing was that he never looked at all comfortable, worried about the double.

Cheers to Reggie Evans for continuing to play his heart out despite losing the starting spot. I really feel like his effort is contagious. If, as a smaller player, you see your PF out there leading the trap, busting his butt up and down the court, that's gotta make you put in that extra effort.

Same goes to Thad. Even when he has an off scoring night by his recent standards he finds ways to contribute. Loved him laying out on the floor to save the ball to Iggy in the 3rd. What a beautiful and creative finisher around the rim too. I don't think he has the propensity towards huge dunks and ridiculous camera mugging that generally defines a superstar in this league, but I get more and more excited about his potential every game because he affects the game in so many ways.

Not much bad you can say about this one.

Yeah, agree re Reggie and Thad.

This team, tho nobody refers to it yet, has that Chemistry that any team needs to compete well.

Thad is a special kid, if only, and there's much more, but for a 19 y/o to consistently display such poise, while learning on the floor, is Special. Its an intangible that, simply put, bodes very well towards his future. Its hard to count players that young who display that immediate sense of belonging on the NBA Court, while a teenager. Amazing.

At least, thats how it comes across to me, regardless of any stats, etc

I've never felt that Green is as bad as people make him out to be. Not sure why people seem to prefer Carney, who has been absolutely awful this year.

The 76ers have the makings of a pretty good bench next year: Willie Green, Lou Will, Reggie Evans, Jason Smith, Rodney Carney, and the 2 rookies.

I'm thinking the starting 4 next year could be: Antwan Jamison (if you wanted to give him the whole $10M) or Ronny Turiaf from the Lakers and another player, such as C.J. Miles from the Jazz as your 3-point shooter.

I also believe that Stefanski will find a way to have Boston Nachbar, another 3-point shooter and athletic player that'll be a free agent from the Nets, on this team.

As far as the game, it was funny to see Dwight Howard and Calvin Booth talking back and forth. Truth be told, Calvin Booth and Reggie Evans plays Dwight Howard a whole lot better on defense than Dalembert.

I think Turiaf would be a great compliment to Sam because he can bang with the big boys down low, score with his back to the basket and hit that elbow jumper.

Guys, don't forget Mo in your praise. They play hard for the man and that is the highest praise a coach can receive!

I believe everything starts with Mo on this team. He has these guys playing really disciplined ball. They're really playing no nonsense ball in terms of celebrating after you just dunked the ball or blocked a shot. It's all about winning and i love it like that. I enjoy watching these guys more and more each night. Last year in the playoffs, there was an interview with Matt Barnes where he said Mo almost ruined his career in Philly. I've been skepticle of Mo since but recently hes earned my approval. He has these guys playing like the professionals they are and keeping them humble at the same time. As for Willie, he reminds me of john salmons a lot and he's definitly an asset to this team. He's not a starter on a contender but maybe 6th man. Reggie's a keeper and a guy i wouldn't mind walking through a dark alley with even though i wouldn't be able to see him.

In the last 4 games we have seen what it is like to have a legit scorer at the 2, [21 p.p.g.] not that I!m saying W.Green is the answer but we need a legit. threat and a 4 in the block; one of the 2 needs allowed us to beat a legit team last night and the other need is actually more important

It's good to see the positive responses on the blog today. I must say that I've been one of the bashers- mostly of Green, Carney, and Sammy. If Green starts to play more aggressively, we might have a fighting chance. If we can at least be a 6th seed in the East, I think the fan base will see that there is hope and attendance will go up. People go to games for a pick me up. I know I do. I don't want to see my team lose, but if they are playing well enough to give them a fighters' chance, I want to see them in person. Most people feel down after a blowout loss, then don't want to go back to see the team play. The majority of fans are not season ticket holders, they are average citizens of this city who take pride when their team represents them well by winning. I don't know of too many people going to a lousy party, but if they know that it's going to really be a good time, they'll go. Sports is entertainment, to the dismay of "serious fans". That term itself is an oxymoron. Marc, you were "calling out" fans? What is this, church? Are we having people come in for confessions as well? Maybe have can have people make decisions like in the Billy Graham meetings too. Seriously, people watch or go to games to get away from the crap they deal with in their jobs, homes, neighborhoods, etc. If they feel down after games many people don't want to go. Give them a decent exciting product, and the fringe will all go. Don't play the guilt card if you want to recruit more fans. I think the team's heading in the right direction, and the fans will follow.

What if the Sixers make the playoff does Andre Miller get any MVP chants? I know he would'nt get it but just a thought. Also I think the Sixers are starting to realize who they really are as a team I think because of the teams play as a whole, and the positive atmosphere created by coaches and managers (and money available) this will draw real time players to consider playing here again.

Great win last night against Orlando, but why was Thad on the bench so long? Reggie Evans is a 15-16 minute player. Reggie gives great effort, but he is a non-factor at the offensive end. Thad played 25 minutes, Evans played 26.

Way too many minutes for Reggie. Get Thad 35-36 minutes per game.

Without a low post threat, our worst shooting percentage by a starter is Iggy at 45%. Wonder how much Orlando!s % goes down without D.H oward!!! Been a Carney fan all along but Ihave to say if its between Carney and Green for a roster spot over the summer, Green is making a believer out of me. We constantly bring up A.Millers defense but how many p.g.!s other than Billups can handle him down the offensive end.

Case, alot of R.Evans minutes were at the 5 because of foul trouble on Sammy.

I can hardly believe that this is the same blog from a couple of weeks ago. Even worse, I bet that if this west coast trip doesn't produce a 2-1 result the blog will go back to what it has been most of the season.

The consistent mindset hopefully says that this team is able to play against a quality team when the team defense is clicking and a guard like Green, Carney or Williams produces. I think we know what we have in the 2 Andre's, and Sammy. Also the upside is very strong for Young. Mo is somehow getting better rotations on the floor at the right times. Playoffs or not, this team is going in the right direction and the success of the next couple of years is moreso in the hands of the G.M.

We have a chance to be this year's Golden State.

BTW, did Golden State already play us at home? I wanted to bring a derogatory Chris Webber sign to the game if we haven't played them yet.

Looking forward to the west coast trip to see what they can do against some of the big boys ... although they don't catch any breaks with the schedule. ( GS does not play until Friday and the Suns have off until Saturday )
Even so this team is playing hard .. and making some strides in the right direction.

I am also waiting on someone from ESPN or NBA network to make a positive comment about the way they play. Peter Vecsey is one of the only ones that mentions the young guys having some potential and he talks about Miller playing out of his mind.

Great game last night! It's time to admit that the trade with Denver was a good one and the Sixers are a better team with Andre Miller than they would be with AI. AI was an undeniable talent and thrilling to watch, but he was selfish and a lousy teammate. No one played harder during the game then him, but a truly great player-great teammate plays hard and works at being great all the time, including in practice. That's the time when he should be mentoring his teammates, teaching them how to play, and learning what their strengths and weaknesses are, so when it's crunch time in a game, he knows how to properly involve them (see Jordan with Paxson/Kerr; Magic with Rambis; Bird with Wedman et al)in order to win. AI didn't do that. He didn't have confidence in his teammates to give them the shots and put them in a position to win games because he didn't put the time in before the games to get it. As a result, his typical game consisted of 28-40 shots, at least 1/3 of them being forced, and ~39% shooting percentage. He's not and never was a bad guy, but he's always been an immature one. Less immature today than he was 10 years ago, but still not mature enough to be the top 1 or 2 guys on a team to win a championship, because he's not willing to put the time in to make his teammates better.

Credit where it is due:

Whatever Willie has done to up his FG% over the course of this year, it's working.

See, isn't it more fun to win?

The 'ol' college try' is evident in Sixers performances, reminiscent of last year's 3/4 turn rally. W accumulation - good for 76ers or bad for 76ers? I'm not sure but am inclined to think that tangible morale boosts for organization trump a variable draft pick.

Is this team really gelling or did they catch another squad with Jello legs? 52-2 differential in starting guards highly unusual.

What does it say when a 2 pt, 4 rb, -2 +/- performance gets a standout ovation? If Evans adds to team's nerve, OK. But kamikaze play, though entertaining to watch, will catch up to you, all things being equal. Strong guard play, heady ball movement shreds it.

Important facets of last night: Much improved 83.3% FT (25-30); Howard's FT clunkers (2-7) and Redick's 2 misses stalled any comeback hope, took air out of 'em.

Kudos to Andre Miller & Willie Green, and overall defensive effort.

If Carney isn't packaged in the off-season, something is wrong. There's absolutely no room for him on next year's team.

As for Willie, well... the guy's makin' it happen. I've said over and over that both Green and Carney should be traded, but perhaps I was wrong. Of course, I still don't think Willie's a starter on a great team, but if he can produce like this off the bench, he'll make a pretty decent sixth or seventh man. Time will tell, I guess.

I just want say If they had a 3 ball shooter. They would be a very,very,very"hard" team to beat now and in the playoffs!!!!!!

Loved the effort last night. Like I said in a previous post, the Sixers always play their best ball in the second half of the season. Funny how we are saying how much we "Love" Reggie since he moved to the bench. Not too long ago we had our torches and pitch forks ready to storm down to the Wachovia Center to go and get him! Very good off the bench is Reggie. I love his comment after the game that he wants to give the fans what they payed thier money to see, HARD WORK!

Anonymous and anyone else who wants to chime in, what do think of a Carney for J.J. Reddick trade, straight up? I always wanted him. He can shoot the three and the midrange game. He is burried on the bench in Orlando and only got a chance to play because Van Gundy was looking for a spark. I love Rodney's athletisism, but it does not traslate well on the court on most nights. He looks like he should have been a track star or football player or something.

George, they would still need a post up player to get that 3ball shooter the ball, that's why Korver is gone...

Great game by the Sixers defensively. Finally those double teams came when Howard wasn't looking instead of waiting for him to put it on the floor where he could survey the court and pass out of it. Great job by Mo changing that up and great job by that offside defender making that quick double before Howard knew what hit him. Early in the game it's what set off the break for us and the tone in general for them in the half court. You can't say enough about this COACHING adjustment. Well done.

Willie Green also deserves tons of credit in the last 30 games. I thought we were going to have another year of Green jacking up long jumpers, knowing when he got the ball in half court he was going to do something ill advised with it. But this year he's become aggressive going to the basket and it's setting a tone for the rest of his game. That little juke move on Turkoglu in the fourth that set up his 17 footer from the key was really nice.

Now the negatives. We're up 15 in the fourth and the game slows down. You know they are going to make a run and force you into to a half court game. And we ran NOTHING in the post to Dala or Thad. Even Miller. That's where we need a post presence more than any other time in the game.

And again, I've got a problem with Cheeks' decisions of when to pull players playing well. Lou Williams played well in the first half. And in the second Carney took his minutes painfully trying to guard on the perimeter and taking really awkward and bad shots. Would've like to see more of Lou when we were up 20 points.

"At least the Sixers (26-32) are heading to the west coast with some confidence that comes from beating one of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference, not to mention having won eight of their last 10 games."

Confidence is good.

I hope, too, the Sixers go out West with a whole lot of fire in their bellies...hungry and focused on solidifying their current playoff postion and even moving up a notch.

I'd be perfectly fine with the Carney for Reddick trade. Carney is completely expendable to us (and, frankly, not a very good basketball player), so why not trade him for an excellent shooter like Reddick who could potentially fill the void left by the Korver trade.

Relatedly, here's why Carney is so expendable. Next year, when we bring in a starting power forward (like Okafor or Brand), we'll be faced with the decision of moving Iggy to shooting guard (so we can start Thad at small forward) or finding a quality starting shooting guard (via draft or trade) so that Iggy can remain at small forward where he's best suited (based on his inconsistent jump shot). I'm hoping Ed will go with the latter. In this case, Thad would come in off the bench as a sixth or seventh man... something that would virtually negate the need for Carney to ever see the floor again in a Sixers uniform.

I couldn't watch the game cuz i'm out of town. How did they manage to keep Howard in check??

it's already the middle of the day and theres only 30 something posts?

Was there nothing to hate on last night or something?

I hope someone dunks on Webber on Friday.

bball,

Check out Theo's post above, excellent breakdown of the game.

Also blame Ron Jeremy's brain cramp, not getting Dwight Howard the ball enough, as Marc pointed out. He's not Shaquille O'Neal... yet.

Sixerzguy:

Thanks for putting your finger on a characterization of Stan Van Gundy that I've been trying to figure out. I was describing his fashion disaster of an outfit to my wife, and she said I had her at "mock turtleneck."

Theo:

Thad played some damn good help defense on Howard, didn't he? I know Thad is really a SF and Dre is not really a SG, but I love the idea of both of them on the court at the same time, defensively.

Last thing about the game...

Fully expect to see two different teams the rest of the way this season...the one we saws last night and the team we saw in Minn about a week ago. We are a young team...have to have patience.

Morty,

I think I'm one of the few that would like to see Dala at the 2 once we get a post presence. He's getting doubled now, but my goodness he can hit that open shot. 60% of the time, it falls every time.
And he does have trouble guarding bigger 3's in this league...like Josh Smith and Turk.

bball, Howard's a monster but not a monster scorer yet. Doesn't have a wide index of offensive moves to rely on. Banks on brute strength, athleticism and 'waters' parting at this point. Last night double team/weakside help arrived early and often when he touched ball. Sixers threw everbody and the kitchen sink at him; Iggy & Thad & Evans gambling. He didn't react all that well to pressure; rushed things a bit (easy enough to do under circumstances). Sixers learned from last Friday. Successful adjustments were made. Also, Magic looked like a team that had burned their resources from previous night comeback win over Nets.

I think Iggy at the 2 is ideal and having Thad start at the 3 is also ideal. He is a skinny kid, quick, fast, and can play very good D. Most teams best scorers are in the 3 and 2 spots. We have the potential to shut most teams down with those two, a PF and Sam and Miller. Anyone notice how well Miller has been playing on D lately??!!?

Marc,

Any chance the Sixers could call up Kevin Pittsnogle from their NBDL affiliate (Albuquerque)? As long as the Sixers are running and gunning, why not take a shot on a 6-11 athletic guy who can run and shoot the three? In his 14 games with the Thunderbirds, he's averaging 14 points in 28 minutes and shooting 90% FTS. I think he could even help sell some tickets since he's got great charisma/personality. Thanks.

On days like this I miss Roger Kaiser and the Philadelphia Tapers.

Hey BB,

There's no doubt the addition of a good power forward will do wonders for this team (which is actually playing semi-decent ball right now). It'll actually do the most for Sammy, I imagine, and would almost definitely be a top five team in the East. However, I'm still a bit concerned about the fact that a starting line-up of Miller, Iggy, Thad, Power Forward, and Sammy wouldn't have a legimate outside shooter in it. Hopefully, as you pretty much suggest, that group's superior athleticism would make up for its shooting deficiencies.

Yeah, one of the reasons i've been real high on Calderon is that he would make up for the outside shooting deficiency of starting dala and thad at 3 and 4...yes, it would be a tough signing to pull off, but imagine the possibilities...

Nick, its an interesting suggestion. My first thought is why the heck not, give it a try...especially with J Smith's ankle issues, and with Herb and Shav never really healing up, we're short on big men. I really have no idea how the call up rules work, but if feasible this would be the perfect time to take a flyer on it.

oops - correction - "starting dala and thad at 3 and 4" obviously should have been "2 and 3", not "3 and 4"

Love the R.Jeremy reference, with a Giricek buyout possible, wouldn!t mind a young player audition but Fazekas was picked up already.Vissar wasn!t drafted last year and I!m sure there are other candidates if Shav and Herb are done for the year.

I check ESPN and TrueHoop everyday, not sure if anyone else here does, but two pieces on the Sixers... Hold on...

...
...

Sorry, some guy in a Willie Green jersey needed some help getting on the bandwagon.

Ok, here is one link:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=Storylines-080228b&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dhollinger_john%26page%3dStorylines-080228b

Now, check out #3 on their Daily Dime, last paragraph:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-080228

I live in Miami & don't get to see the Sixers much, but I wish I could watch this team every day. I read all the articles on philly.com & love this blog.

I am proud of this Sixers team & am very happy that Mo Cheeks is getting some recognition for the job he's done. I am as optomistic about the Sixers, no matter what happens this year, as I have been in 10 years.

Go Sixers!!

sdm

Marc,
I keep hearing that the Sixers have about 10 million under the salary cap to spend this offseason. They have expiring contracts of C-Webb, Aaron McKie, Giricek, Kevin Ollie, Shavlik Randolph, Amundson and Herbert Hill. Leaving the Sixers with 9 players under contract for next season with a combined salary of about $37 million dollars. The NBA salary cap for 2007-2008 is $55 million. Am I missing something? I know the Sixers need to work out contracts for Iggy and Williams, but shouldnt that happen after we go after a big name free agent? Why is my math not adding up?

Darth Edbo
Fredericksburg VA

Dalembert $10,520,000
Miller $9,999,999
Evans $4,640,000
Green $3,388,000
Iguodala $3,800,625
Young $1,968,120
Carney $1,655,760
Smith $1,326,360
Booth $1,141,838

John Hollinger, ESPN, with an interesting take on the 6ers:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=Storylines-080228b

Team is getting some national press. Now we just need some perimeter defense and some PT for Shav and Herb when he gets healthy.

Sorry sixerzguy, I missed that you already posted that.

At WVU, Pittsnogle consistently hit big shots and he also has a great attitude - a good fit for the 6ers if they're smart enough to give him a chance.

Darth,
You need to add in "Cap Holds" for Williams and Iguodala. Forget the numbers, but collective approx $12-13 MM.

Sixers craziness the door is open for the 6th seed
http://reclinergm.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/sixers-craziness-the-door-is-open-for-the-6th-seed/