Deep Sixer

That's the lineup I would use, except I would consider keeping Evans off the bench and giving Smith a taste of the starting lineup after yesterday's strong performance. Experimenting with Dre at SG and Thad at SF will be interesting to watch.

Wow what a blow. The one thing the Sixers have not had is a lot of serious injuries. Now people will see how important Willy is to this club.

Willie has been playing better lately, and you never wish for a guy to get hurt, but the silver lining is this forces Mo to shake up the starters. I'm totally fine with either Marc's or Morty's lineup - Im not concerned about whether JSmith starts, but he needs to get some extended work one way or the other and i'd love to see igoudala put in some work at two.

Thats what this season has always been about for me - lets see what different combos work in real game situations agains real teams. As i said yesterday, i love the defensive possibilities of starting Reggie, Sammy, thad, and dre. It should be interesting. Im actually hoping to see different combos on both nights.

KM:

That would make the most sense. Start Evans one night, and Smith the other unless one or the other is lights out against Detroit.

KM-

I agree with you that the defensive possibilities are excellent for the 4-some of Iggy, Thad, Reggie, and Sam.

But how the hell are they going to score? This is the problem...they're going to have to hold every opponent under 90 that's halfway decent to have a fighting chance. Iggy and Miller combine for about 35-40 ppg. Where are the other 50-55 ppg going to come from?

This is why the Korver trade was ridiculously bad. They have one outside threat (which is generous at best) when Willie Green is healthy. Now...they have no one that can consistently hit a 17 footer, let alone a 3 pointer. Every team is going to watch that tape from last night and pack it in against the Sixers. All you have to do to beat them is not turn the ball over and get back on defense. Agreed that the mediocre and bad teams usually can't accomplish this, and that's why they're bad teams. But the good ones? They'll beat us 4 out of 5 every time.

Moishe: You would start Jason Smith against McDyess or Rasheed (if he's not hurt)? Are you out of your mind? He will get KILLED. Reggie Evans needs to play no less than 30 great minutes against those two and Theo Ratliff in order for the Sixers to have a decent chance tomorrow night.

2 posts from Dean, and only 1 of them mentions Kyle Korver? It's a start, keep up the good work...

Dean, its a valid point, lets see if we can come up with those points. I'll estimate without Willie ...

Thaddeus - 13
Sammy - 10
Reggie - 6

There's 29 more from your starters. and now the bench:

Lou - 13
JSmith - 8 (assuming he gets extended play)
Carney - 6

Others - 4

So thats 50 more points...

Look, obviously we need shooting, and obviously teams like detroit and boston are going to take that advantage to us. This is a need we have to address. And I for one am going to give the new boss a chance to address it before i pass judgment. Its only fair and only rational. Not to play gotcha, but i remember not to long ago you wanted to trade away basically everyone on the team, and now you're worried we didn't keep one guy for a playoff run? Let's just be happy with the improvement shown and let the team we have find their way.

Of course, that post was really for the sake of argument. I don't think we'll beat Detroit, because they're a much better team in every respect (except maybe athleticism, but i'm not seeing us getting the break going on them). Obviously the roster needs upgrades, but just pointing out its theoretically possible to run a lineup like that in a game against an average team. I think questions of lineup against detroit are ultimately moot, because they pretty much outclass us however you slice it.

GERALD GREEN just got cut by the Rockets

Mr. Stefansky, please, please, please, please, please give the guy a shot! please, please, please... anything but Carney, and our own Green went down, the logic of doing this, my head's going to explode, it's so logical, please, please, please...

I think losing Green will hurt this team more then most think. Especially more now then if it happened earlier in the year. He has been playing his best ball as of late. I think he has finally gotten over that knee injury(mentally), and now this. Hope he comes back soon!

I don't think we should start Ja. Smith against Det. I don't think he's ready for that yet. He has just recently started playing better and appears to have broken thru that rookie wall. I would give him plenty of minutes at Det., then start him at Chi. Thats a better match up for him. Gooden is starting for them now at PF and I think Smith would give him a good game.

I don't understand Ed Stefanski's thinking. He trades Korver for cap space because he was a luxury a bad team can't afford. He then cuts Giricek so he can sign with a "contender". ISN'T THIS TEAM CONTENDING? I'm not arguing his Korver trade. (At that time we were BAD!) And I understand Giricek wasn't getting many minutes. I don't have a problem with either move. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ED NOT ADDING ANYBODY! Almost every other team that is trying, has added somebody. We have the open roster spot. It would be for a minimum salary. I know the chances of finding anybody that might contribute are slim, but it at least gives the impression Ed is trying to help! Go sign the best 3-pt shooter available! Or the best PF in the D-league! DO SOMETHING ED! Show these guys you are at least trying to help!

KM:

Exactly. It's not like we match up well with Detroit any way you look at it. With Green, without Green, with Evans starting, with Smith starting, Detroit is still better. Don't get sucked into Dean's World, next thing you know you'll be arguing whether Korver was merely the greatest shooter in the league, or the messiah himself.

Sixerzguy:

I would take a flyer on Gerald Green. Why not.

It is a shame we won't have Willie as he was starting to put up some decent numbers. I like the idea of putting Igouala at the 2 spot and Thad at the 3. Because of Detroit's size, I'd like us to try Smith and Dalembert to see if we can bother them.

The only way Smith is going to learn is to play, and he'll learn a lot playing against Detroit's front line.

Detroit has a lot of balance, but they rely on their guards tremendously. Igoudala can put enormous pressure on Billups, we need Miller to step up on Hamilton. Miller can post Hamilton, and the Sixers should set him up to do that.

Thad should do fine with Prince, and again this is a great opportunity for him to get experience and hopefully some confidence.

This is actually a decent line-up to match up with Detroit. The difference is that they can execute in the half court, and their players are used to making shots.

As far as the outside shooting for the Sixers goes, it seems that both Igoudala and Williams have decent range, along with Jason Smith. There's no question they can get open outside shots, they simply need to make them.

Although I hope we will make the 6th seed, with the tough schedule it may not be possible. We could end up facing Detroit in the playoffs, and this game is important- as we have to figure out a way to compete with them. Specifically, find a way to score on them that the Sixers can count on.

E.S. on W.I.P. tonight

Actually, Ed on WIP said he's going to be looking for a 4 and Iggy would play the 2 with Young at the 3. It's nice to at least hear a definite direction he is going. I guess the signing of Iggy is the only question.

I guess that need is pretty obvious BUT he also said he wants an Andre(s) level 4 man. He doesn't think he needs a superstar.

sfw:

That is big news. What else did ES say?

Basic pts. from interveiw; 1] Miller not going anywhere;2] 4 of next years starters are here[ SAM,tHAD[3],IGGY[2],DRE];3]Going to use cap room on 4 pos.[ either free agent or disgruntled player [Brand,Jamison,Randolph,Oneal?] 4[Thad best low post player [Jamison may work with Thad posting up from 3]4] L.Will. is good combo guard [ guess he!s not our future pt.?] 5]m He!s leaving to scout the pac 10 tourney [mentioned how well U.C.L.A. GUARDS DEFENDED] 5] Said we will get same level player at 16 to 18 as 10 to 12; AND finally, said if Gasol situation had occured this summer they would be a major player. In other words to whom it may concern, they did not have the cap room to get it done then.Also sounded like he will part with draft picks to get that 3rd Dre level player.

Lots of good stuff to chew on there. Did he mention trading back for Korver?

Said going into this year they felt 3 of their players could start for other teams, now feels Thad is capable to do that in future. Praised A.Miller again [better than he expected]. Couldn!t mention names of 4!s [Eskin tried] but got the feeling the 4 won!t be aquired thru the draft.

sfw - thanks for taking one for the team and listening to WIP for us. The intel is appreciated. Its encouraging, too. I'm just wondering when we'll start to see it the change.

Im OK with taking a flyer on someone, but as exciting as a playoff run is, im still keeping focused on the objective of taking a good, hard look at who we have. I'd prefer to work within the system - bring up pittsnoggle and let him and JSmith battle for time. J would still get plenty of play between spelling sammy and taking maybe 10 or so per game at power forward. By the way, Mr. Randolf has been back lately, looks like he's healed but lost some weight. Anyone still wanna see him? now would be the time.

S.F.W., my dear brother, why you getting all the credit; I usually listen to J.Mac.

That second paragraph was my objectives for the rest of the year - seem out of context after reading what was posted since i started that one. obviously bigger moves in the offseason.

Wonder if luxury tax is an issue? 10 mill. cap space plus [Green or Carney?] seems a little light in salary, don!t you guys think.

Hmmm, so if its not a big man in the draft, and he's talking about defensive guards in the 1st round, that just leaves a shooter. Maybe that's where europe comes in, second round pick? Or did he mean trading this year's picks for a big man? interesting...

Sounded like cap space wasmore ammo than draft pick. I "LOVE" Weaver, a 6!5" defensive combo guard who looks like M.Cooper athleticly and plays in the PAC 10.

Suede:

I don't mind that we likely won't try to plug another young guy into the starting lineup at the PF. Given how bad the East is, we can be a contender with the right veteran. It's a shame Antwan Jamison isn't 2 years younger.

I would like to add a shooting guard in the draft, someone who can play D and shoot the three.

OK, last one for a while - the UCLA gaurds thing got me thinking. Checked into their site real quick, and it looks like that Darren Collison can shoot the heck out of the three - 50% on the season. I havent seen much of these guys though - any Love fans out there seen much of their games?

K.M., agree, think 2nd rounder brings in a role playing shooter. Seems our top 8 players will be set after 4 is aquired and we use our 1st rounder. E.S. seems the opposite of A.Reid, he is very open.

wESTBROOK is a top 12 pick, Collison is small,6!1" and skinny but an in your pants defender.All 5 starters on U.C.L.A. will get drafted, according to most sights.Watch all their T.V. games. Morty, look at it as the Phillies rotation, when Iggy moves to 2 it pushes Willie to his made for role and as K.M. said a 2nd rounder adds depth.For years Phillies tried to get by with 2!s and 3!s instead of pushing them back a notch to where they belong.

Suede:

No doubt. I've occasionally suggested a lineup with Dre at SG and Thad at SF in the past here. Given our players, it's for the best. Assuming you put another above average player at the four spot. The SG we draft could take Carney's minutes.

Suede, Touche!
Since you're usually posting my suggestions(except for your wacky trade ideas)!

I stumbled into the interview by accident while in the crapper.

Ed S is a master or deflecting bad situations. He waited til that tough loss to the Celts and laid out his plan(unless he's bluffing!) to take attention away from the loss. He also noted that Sammy is kind of flaky and that he has spoken to him about his comments. He said all is good with Sammy.

By the way, E.S. said he talked to L.Will. after the game and said how disappointed L.Will. felt that he didn!t hit more shots.E.S. seemed real high on L.Will., like he expects him to be something special as a scoring threat. Morty, maybe thats your answer.

And he went out of his way again to praise Sammy DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD for his defense and rebounding!

S.F.W, I!m eating dinner, now I have this picture in my brain, thanks. Seems he is an upfront kinda guy. Refreshing really.

Lou is a tough case, huh? He hasn't had good consistency since the first month or so. He is so young, so talented and this is his basically his first season playing, but I don't know if you can count on him, the jury is still out. I want him to succeed, he's like an un-selfish, poor man's, Iverson.

ES really did lay out his plan, didn't he?

Morty,
Yes he did. Very inciteful.

I compare Lou Wil to Sedale Threat. Kind of a combo who may develop into a point. Might still be 2 years away from being a point guard but contributes as a spark off the bench.

Assuming Thad, Jason and our new 4 [xxxx] add 25 pts. between them to next years team, I guess he doesn!t feel scoring is going to be an issue. A.Millers comments in the paper today suggested he thought they could do alot better in the 1/2 court with the pieces they already have. He should know being the veteren he is.

Collison is a tough defender, you say? I was hoping for that, what with the 50% from beyond. I like it very much. The size could be an issue, but if he's backing up dre and presumably playing with reggie and possibly smith on the second unit it shouldn't be too bad..

Williams comments are interesting too...I was wondering about him myself lately.

And i've got the impression that ed likes to keep an open mind too. Actually, these are by far the most definitive statements he's made all year, and they're still kind of cryptic. Not so different from andy when you think about it, eh?

K.M., go to N.B.A.DRAFT.NET, they give an overview and comparison to a player [ some are a reach]. hit players name and it comes up.

I didn't hear the E.S. interview today, but from what I read here it was interesting. I hope he keeps an open mind as some have suggested he has. He could turn this team into a real contender next year with the right moves. A younger vet at the 4 position would be a nice start. (In other words, not PJ Brown!)

Suede- I love what I've seen(not a whole lot) and read about that Westbrook kid. I'd like to see Ed package Green, Carney, or Lou and our pick to move up and get him! He would only get better with Miller as his tutor.

Has anybody watched Speights from Florida this year? I seen him earlier this year and it looked like he had potential, I was just wondering how he's doing? Does it look like he will come out? Thanks for any info!

J.Doc, L.Will. can!t be traded, his contracts up at the end of the year.Carney and Green probably domn!t move you up unless they do well in playoffs. Future #1 would do more. E.S. may have went to Europe and saw a player that!s a year or 2 away.But with major upside, never know.Speights seems like a project. If you go to E.S.P.N..COM and hit on college basketball and go to teams you can hit Florida and hit on his name and all this years games come up. He seems inconsistant. And see what he did against top 20 teams.

suede- I forgot Lou's contract was up. Thanks for the site about Speights. I was just being lazy!

Iguodala, next year's designated shooting guard? Did ya see his left-side, all-rim foul shot last night? 5-14 overall in biggest contest of season (he can't blame that on his younger teammates). The "weakminded" 50-12 Celtics laid some team lumber on him - exactly as any smart, committed defense will do when he attempts to drive. More cockamamie Iggy contortions to come. Along with that beautific, textbook jumper. By the way, Morty, his 7 assists ratcheted his +/- from -31 to -17. I guess that's good.

Jumpin':

Hard to call that a good shooting performance, and I'm not about to call it one.

If we get an efficient 15-20 points per game PF next year, and Thad develops into the same type of player at SF, I think Dre could certainly be adequate at SG. Think about it like this: Dre at SG is an improvement over Green, Thad approaches Dre's numbers at SF, and PF X doubles the production at PF. That's a better team than the one we have now. At the same time, we draft a SG who can hit the 3 point shot and defend. Would that team be 10 wins better?

KM, go look up sedale threat so that you could talk about him you blog fluffer. Hey at 16 we will def. get a good player, maybe a high upside guy ala thad such as anthony randolph or the thomson kid out of rider. Or even Mcgee from nevada. High upside, just looking for some Thad magic.

I can see that scoring 4 that Stefanski is looking at could be Charlie V. from the Bucks. The guy is a straight up shooter and scorer, has good size at 6'11, 240 lbs and is only 23 years old.

I believe he can be had from Milaukee for this year's no. 1 pick, which is no. 16 to 18 in the draft. The Bucks are committed to Yi and Bogut and Charlie V. is on the outs with the club. He would be a 4 that could give this team 16 to 18 points a game with about 8 to 9 rebounds in our uptempo game.

His biggest weakness right now is defense. Like Jason Smith, he also needs to get stronger. However, he'd benefit from playing next to Sam, as Sam would benefit from him because he can hit the three, handle the ball, has good hands and can pass.

The great thing is that after trading for Charlie V., the team would still have the cap space to sign Ronny Turiaf from the Lakers. I think adding Turiaf and Charlie V. would be two good additions to add to this team.

As for that shooter, there will be several bargains, C.J. Miles, Boston Nachbar, my choice would be Roger Mason from the Wizards. He can play point guard or shooting guard.

Your thoughts?

There's no way I give up our first rounder this year for Charlie V., MAYBE I would give up the pick we got from Utah. I would rather give up Green or Carney but I just don't think he is the answer we are looking for.

I'd like to see them try to pry Carl Landry away from Houston. The Rockets already have Scola and Hayes so maybe they would be willing to make a deal. Maybe Carney and Utah's pick?

it sucks playing without Green (and I can't believe I'm writing this...), also he always had pretty good games vs Det, he loves the home atmoshpere... last year he had that (useless) 38 pt game if I recall well

I hope Iggy starts at the two and Thad at three, with Evans at PF. I don't want to see Carney start and getting abused by Rip and/or Tay Prince

swf, thanks for summing Stefanski's interview, VERY interesting !! I like his plan, he's no Billy King definitely, LOL

I don't want Villanueva, the only good thing is that he's cheap and can shot the three.

But as for our needings at that position (LOW post scoring + SOME outside shooting) I'd rather pick Zach Randolph (I can't believe I'm writing this - part II)

as far as I saw Villanueva has not such a complete set of back-to-the-basket moves, he loves to stay around the perimeter and face the rim

E.S. spoke highly of Thad!s post up game, but still think he wants low post 4. A face the basket 4 [Villanueva, Jamison] may deter Thad!s learning a small forward skillset.Datrulife, seemed E.S. wants to put all his eggs [cap space, future picks] in one basket by his comments yesterday. I think, skill wise, Z.R andolph, is a perfect fit. But as I have stated before, Mo coached him so he has an incite to how bad he really is. Oneal, for less money, and playing less minutes[24] might be an option if he opts. out. Like Brand I doubt he does but E.S. seemed to be targeting him, without saying his name.

Targeting Brand is who I meant.

I'd also like to see Iggy at the 2 tonight. Could be a glimpse of the future with Iggy at the 2 & TYoung at the 3.

everytime the Sixers lose, it's always "we shouldn't have traded Korver." Gimme a break. If we sign or trade for someone in the offseason as a result of that extra cap space, he won't even be mentioned anymore.

btw thx suede for the wip interview.

You can't deny that Korver was the only real shooter we had. Can you? He wasn't having his best year, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a threat. The other team always had to know where he was on the court and that says something.

It's too bad that green's injured right now, he usually plays great against Detroit, especially on the road. I'll admit I was one of those willie green bashers, but he has proved me wrong over the last month or so he really has been shooting well and not always depending on his jump shot to score lately. I still think he isn't a good enough defender to be a starter, but I think if we move iggy to the 2 and move thad at the 3 it would make our starting lineup look much better. I still see green as a good option on offense coming off the bench. If I was Stefanski I would draft Darren Collison with our first pick to be our future point guard and have him learn under miller for the next couple of years. He is a good passing guard,is quick, and works well in the transition game plus he is a good perimeter shooter. He is basically a much younger, quicker version of miller, but he is a much better outside shot than miller and is a much better defender than miller. I don't mind Kevin Love, but he is better in the half court game on offense because he is not that quick. He would be a good fit on this team if his role was just to start the break, defend, block shots, and rebound. If we depend on a player like him on offense it would be similar to what the Suns are doing with Shaq, they can't use their transition game as much. The only way Love would work on offense is if we had better shooters coming off the bench like a Kyle Korver type of player. If we get a Euro version of kyle korver in the second round or get a couple of good perimeter shooters to fill out our bench then it might work. If I was Stefanski though I would rather draft a young pg like collison over Kevin Love. I would rather see what's out in the free agent market for our power foward. I would go after Josh Smith because the Bibby trade increased our chances of getting him because now that Atlanta has bibby's huge contract, they will more likely sign childress over smith because he will demand less money.

To draft a true point guard like Collison makes sense because A. Miller could groom him and if he's a quick learner, A. Miller could have GREAT value at next year's trade dealine.

WAKE UP STEFANSKY! WAKE UP! GERALD GREEN IS AVAILABLE! PLEASE!

Seriously, Mo Cheeks + transition game + Gerald Green's athleticism + his ability to hit threes = match made in heaven!

Opportunity is slapping you in the face here, Ed, come on! I can take the not doing anything at the deadline, but to not take a shot at this kid, that would just be not doing your job, man! Please?!?

Glad Ya'll like the collison idea. It does see fit his point guard-centric vision of a team (assuming he has something to do with Kidd on the nets, and given his praise of Andre Miller). And from the numbers standpoint, he seems to be exactly what we need - a perimeter shooting point guard who can play some tough D. Kind of like Calderon but much cheaper. The size issue does worry me a bit, but scouting reports say he's got the long arms, so im reserving final judgement until we see how he shows in the tourney...

BTW, suede, i checked out that site. Don't usually have time for stuff like that but kind of interesting. looks like they had Collison going one spot after us - i wasn't too far off, huh? Interestingly, they projected us using our second pick on some kid who's name i can't remember, but was also a 50+ percent three shooter, and was about 6'6". I was kind of thinking Ed would go european with the second pick, but that's the right sort of guys. Add two guys who can really hit the three, one of whom is reportedly some kind of defender, plus a solid PF and its a night and day different team...

Gerald Green! Please pick him up! This is the perfect style of ball for him to be playing and he would provide great security in case Iggy or Thad goes down in the future. If no one else wants him, I think he would fit in great with the sixers as a reserve.

About Dre: I wish we could keep this guy until his legs fell off! I am very tempted to think we should re-sign him. If that is not the plan then we NEED to get a backup to learn from him this summer. No PG has done such a good job in this city since Cheeks. If we don't have a strong PG presence this team fall apart; it's as simple as that.

I think the PF situation is not as drastic as everyone makes it out to be. I'd rather stand pat than pick up another injury-prone big with a huge contract (I'm looking at you Brand, Jamison, Okafor) who sends this team back to the ice age when they miss half the season. Thad, Evans, and Dalembert, with their differing talents, can handle most froncourt matchups defensively. Right now the only attractive options at the position look like Smith, Wilcox, and Collison. If we can't get any of them, or someone else who offers a balance of scoring with a reasonable contract, we need to pick up a bruiser in the draft for Evans to groom. A Landry or Big Baby type. There are worse things than holding onto Miller.

And we should also groom Willie Green to be the starting PG of the future.

A couple of comments.

1) While I love Iggy's game and want to re-sign him for whatever it takes, he should NOT be the SG of the future UNLESS we get a stud outside shooter at the 3 position like Mike Miller. Starting Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, and Thad Young at the 1, 2, and 3 spots is a terrible idea. Not one of those guys can consistently hit a 17 ft. jumpshot.

2) Thad is 19 years old. He doesn't need to start right away next year. As long as he gets 30 or so minutes a night and continues to develop, that's what we should be looking for. A starting 5 including Andre Miller, Iggy, a top notch outside shooter (either through FA or the draft), Brand / Villaneuva / Love / DJ White / etc. at the 4, and Sammy at the 5 with Thad Young, Reggie Evans, and Willie Green being your first three off the bench...that's a deep, talented, multi-faceted team that can play either a fast break or half-court style of basketball.

These should be the goals.

Dean, that's now two comments in a row that do not mention Kyle Korver. Good work, buddy!

Of course, you are dangerously to a Mike Miller reference, so my complement on avoiding your manias is preliminary.

Article about the Pac-10 tourney ES is off to scout.

It seems i've attracted an admirer...in case it wasn't obvious that silly comment about willie was a KM wannabe.

Moishe: You never responded to my comment on your terrible idea of starting Jason Smith against Rasheed or McDyess. Please state your reasons as to why you would start Jason Smith over Reggie Evans against either of those two players.

You also didn't respond to my comment on your horrendous thought (even worse than #1 since it spans a full season and not one game) of starting Dre, Dre, and Thad at the 1-2-3 spots next season. How would we consistently score any points outside of 16 feet?

Instead of you making the same tired joke that we've all come to expect from you, why don't you justify some of your brilliant comments as stated above?

I merely wanted to encourage you to post about other things. Call it a carrot.

If you read my comment about a starting lineup without Green, you would see that I said I would "consider ...giving Smith a taste of the starting lineup after yesterday's strong performance." Hope that answers your question. He could try to hold his own against McDyess. Only one way to learn by the way.

As for next year's lineup, again, it would help if you ever read what I write. I've long said that going forward I think the 3 point shooting should come from the PG spot. I would love to get Calderon in here as our PG.

Dre plays the game like a SG, not a SF. He needs to improve his jumper's consistency. Thad has the makings of a nice jumper, and does have 3 point range. He needs to work on it over the summer. Does improvement from Thad and Dre strike you as inconceivable?

I've also often written that either our free agent/ trade aqusition, or our draft pick should be a SG who can play strong D and shoot the three. So if you add that SG, a above average PF who can score inside, and improvement from Thad and Dre we should be OK. I think that team has a chance (a goal) to be 10 wins better than this year.

We both agree that the team needs to improve its collective jump shooting, the difference is that I think we should look for it from multi talented players, not one dimensional players.