Deep Sixer

All will be forgotten if they beat Cleveland. And I won't even panic if they lose to Cleveland as well, they are due for a slight correction.

But am I the only one thinking that, given the consistency he's seemingly developed, it's time to swap both Green and Carney's minutes and starter/ bench player roles?

It wouldn't have made a difference tonight, the team just didn't have it, but if Mo doesn't want to put Igoudala at SG, Carney seems like the next best combo of offense and defense for that spot.

Sammy D., career: 408 games, 8.4 pts., 7.0 rbs. (many token). Given every due consideration, when push comes to shove, he's a sorry excuse for a center.

i agree,green is killing this team with his poor shooting.

Morty, Not a big sum difference in Green or Carney. You obviously discount Green's contributions; I am similarly unimpressed with Carney's occasional speedy, skywalking spurts of productivity - his game's still too inconsistent and unaware.

Calm down and grab your inhalers. It's only one game and tonight Indiana beat NJ so there is still a significant gap between us and the ninth spot. We are up six with nine to go. It would take a Mets-like collapse not to be balling after the regular season ends.
Nobody wins them all and at this point in our growth this is simply a blip. The sad truth is that in the east we could lose more than half of our remaining games and probably still have a comfortable margin for making the playoffs. It's not as if the other teams in contention are not going to play anyone.
I'll admit Willie Green is in a bad funk but at this point in the season you can't play with his or anyone else's head.
One more thing before I sleep, Iggy had about his worse game of the year and you know he will bounce back. So I'll have no problem sleeping tonight.
GO SIXERS! BOUNCE BACK SOON! AS IN BEAT CLEVELAND!
Barton

Willie had a very good stretch of the season while the team was playing well. He has been horrific lately, but hopefully he'll pull out of it. I can see giving Carney some of Green's minutes, but you'll need Green to start playing better if the team wants to do anything in the playoffs.

I hope people don't get too carried away with a couple of defeats or even a first round play-off elimination. This team's a long term project and while recent results have been fantastic I think it's only natural that there may be a slight tailing off in performance. We are no where near the finished article and people need to remember how far we've come in such a short space of time. I would suggest we all just enjoy the ride at the moment and hope that sensible decisions are made in the summer to keep us moving in the right direction next year. As for the present.. Green may well be out-of-form at the moment but he's at least shown in the past he's capable of big performances and deserves a bit more breathing space IMO. Carney, although showing a lot of potential, has yet to produce anything consistently. If Green's slump goes on for three or four more games then it may well be time to throw Carney in as we'd have little else to lose.

Barton,

Loved your first line and the sentiment of your post!

Sixers are good, but when a team like the Suns play with real purpose AND the Sixers shoot poorly, they are going to lose.

Despite the ugly start, the REAL NEWS is that most of us felt the Sixers could come back and win...that is REAL PROGRESS!

As Morty said well, Sixers are ready for a slight correction.

I think Morty hit it on the head. This young team was due for a slight "correction."

Tough, tough loss. But not a bad game to watch. It got pretty physical out there. I really thought the sixers were going to comeback in the second half when they reduced the deficit to 12 or 13. Our guys fought hard. The big shots just didn't fall tonight...

You cannot win them all though. And that is a fact!

Jumin Johnny,

Usually enjoy your posts, but get off SAM'S back. We all know his limitations, but he is a TOP 10 center defensively in the league.

First game I didn!t watch this year, taped it and will watch it despite the score. Couple boxscore observations; 1] Carney got 24 min., Green got 19; 2] Sam only took 6 shots and had 15 reb.; Sam seems to be trying to do less on the offensive end, a good sign. Most things we mention that need to be done eventually do happen, give Mo some time. Seems like years since we played Cleveland, interesting matchup.

John, Don't know about you, but I like my millionaires to catch the damn ball, and then, once accomplished, have a clue of what to do with it. Has his moments defensively but, in balance, as a player...how should I say this delicately?...Sam needs a "timeout"--even after all these years. Cheer him till your heart's content. I'm tired of watching his goofy game with a paucity of offensive skill get extended, incumbent minutes.

I thought last night was one of the worst Sixers games I have been to this season. That game wasn't even as close as the score would indicate. I know the Sixers are a good fast break team, but they have a terrible half court offense. Seems like every offensive set was just one guy trying to break down his defender and then settling for a jumper if he couldn't get to the hoop. Even my 12 year old son has this figured out. When I asked him what the Suns do that the Sixers don't do, he immediately answered "pass the ball".

By the way, I can't believe that game was sold out. There were tons of empty seats.

Seems like Sammy has done a good job against the smaller centers/PF's but has difficulty against big strong centers. He had 15 boards last night. I agree the 15 boards and less shots is a good thing. With his decent success against Duncan, Bosch and Garnett, we might just be able to put him out there with another center for limited minutes. If the Georgetown center is there when we draft could have 60 minutes of time for them to share(Sammy 36 min, Hibbert 24 min?). Could cause matchup problems for the other teams and provide post offense.

Vince, I was at the game last night and at the Spurs game. The announced attendance at both seemed much greater than the actual attendance. Don't get it. I did notice last night that after spending 10 minutes in a beer line during the 2nd qtr the place seemed 80% full when I returned to my seat but that was the max.

"Nobody wins them all," but I think that another person who didn't have it last night was Mo Cheeks and the coaching staff. Biggest mistake: putting Sammy on Shaq, when he should've been on Amare. Sammy's our best big guy defender. Shaq is a foul-drawing machine, but Amare isn't. And Amare takes a lot more shots than Shaq. So what you get is what happened last night - Sammy's ability to minimize a high-scoring frontcourt guy was not put to good use, and because of the fouls he got as a result of defending Shaq, he couldn't be out there more for us. I would rather have Reggie or Calvin Booth taking the fouls against Shaq. Sure, if Reggie and Calvin Booth take Shaq, he scores more, but Amare would've scored a lot less, and given the Sixers a better chance. Also, Jason Smith would've been great on Amare because of the way the Suns use him. I don't think Jason is a center in this league, he's definitely a power forward - don't think, "7-footer, must be center."

Speaking of guys who can shoot jumpers, one thing I hope the coaching staff learned from last night is that their motion offense isn't such a great thing if other teams have good interior defense, like the Suns suddenly have. He needs to have more faith in his guys' jumpers, and run some plays where guys can get more open shots. But again, this might be some sort of weakness of Cheeks', shown by how he used Korver and didn't use Giricek while they were here. I'd love to pick up Pat Calathes in the draft.

One thing that would help is asking Rodney to use his mid-range game some more, he has a pretty good non-3-pointer jumpshot, I wonder why he doesn't use it more.

Sixerz, good point about Carney. Seems to me that this staff is just waiting for consistency from Carney to begin providing greater responsibility for him in the offense. I think that will be coming real soon. With Willie struggling and Rodney having played well for I think 2 weeks now they will hopefully begin that process. It will make us better defensively and offensively.

Sixerz, I think Calathes must get much stronger to play in the NBA. I see him being 2 years away. Carney may be able to provide that shooting if his minutes are extended. Just about every shot he took last night was right there. He seems to be getting very confident.

sfw,

You don't think Calathes could come in right away and play small forward off the bench? Or power forward against a small lineup? Based on what I saw, he seems to have a better handle than Thad at this point, though I think Thad will get better!

He reminds me of Yi on the bucks(I guess his strength didn't show when he was working out against that manager). Very weak. Also, I think he still needs to define his position. I think he will be an NBA player but needs time to get stronger. Love his length. I also don't think he is as good a shooter as advertised. I think his length and handle are the best part of his game. Europe or NBA minor league for a year or 2 could help. Hopefully, I'm wrong about that.

I went to SJU and I don't think Calathes is ready for the NBA. He is not fast enough or strong enough and his handle is overrated. I have watched him play a lot, and I have flip flopped on whether he will get drafted. If I had to bet, I would say he probably doesn't. He is pretty good at a lot of things, but not great at anything and on top of that - he really isn't a very good defender. If he has a good summer, he could turn some heads because of his versatility - but even if he does get drafted, I don't think he would see serious minutes anywhere.

Calathes is a fellow greek, the snarfs would be at an alltime high.

I think that sam has built up his value enough for us to trade him in the offseason. Even willie green and his 3.6 million might have a chance to get moved. Opposing announcers always poor jesus juice all over willie's game.

Last night's game shows that teams are getting up to play the sixers, no more suprize wins !! doesn't matter that green is starting,the important thing is that he is not in at the end of the games, carney needs to stop taking yellow jackets before each game, SFW, Calathes couldn't play at scanlon let alone the NBA, attendance is based on tickets sold, and how can you afford a beer at a sixers game ?

Tuna, 4 molson on draft. $6.00 a pop. Tastes good but I'm poorer for it.

Teams getting up for the sixers? Novel thought! when did that last happen?

The Greek Snarf - I agree - unloading Sam may be a major possibility this off-season. I would love to pull that trigget.

Green or Carney will not be back. There is not enough minutes for Green, Williams and Carney.

Jumpin Johnny,

Great post about Sammy. He is getting a free pass for some reason, which I can not understand. He can take apart computers and put them back together - maybe we should extend his contract. He has 4 TOs last night and he hardly handles the ball. How is that possible?

Hugh, 15 rebounds. Can't we at least emphasize the positive. I agree that he's not a brain surgeon but he doesn't have to be.

SammyD was a soccer player, he still doesn't know that it's ok to catch the ball

2 days ago you guys were saying about letting this team grow together, they lose a game to a better team and now the mutiny starts !!!

Tuna, Suede's looking for you at his final four party. Big tourney games tonight. Look for JDuncan versus KLove and your boy Tyler against that athletic Louisville team. We will find out how good a pro Tyler H will be tonight.

TYLER H BABY !!!!!!!!!

His rebounding is so overrated - he is 7ft tall and stands under the basket all of the time - he is going to get rebounds. I will admit that he doesn't jump over backs and goaltend as much as he did, but stop giveing him so much credit. If there is anything that has impressed me, it is his ability to catch some high lobs and dunk them. He just seems to play every game like it is a pick up game.

Big game against Cleveland. Cleveland on a back to back. Doesn't it seem like we've gotten the benefit of back to backs this year? We have a great record when we've played them and seems like we've also benefited by playing a lot of teams who are on the back end of a back to back. Just seems like the schedule has been in our favor. Any thoughts? signing off. time for baseball.......

Hugh, Not giving him a lot of credit. Just acknowledging his obvious strengths. Yes, he also has obvious weaknesses. So, it's Sam's job to work on those. The coaches jobs to emphasize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses AND Ed's job to add talent to support him.

Dalembert, this season: 2,413 minutes; 39 assists. Career: 10,869 minutes; 189 assists.
(A bog, not a cog.)

Comparitively, Manute Bol, another career learner, assisted 171 times in 11,698 minutes.

At least Manute caught a lion, according to an old, suspect legend.

swf, to accentuate the positive: Sam's long arms enable much initial contact with the basketball. And his uniform is not worn inside-out, and shirt is usually tucked in.
(A residual of Billy King, who was a stickler for neatness.)

"It wasn't like we're suddenly the best defensive team in the league," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "The Sixers couldn't make shots, missed foul shots and flat-out started slow. When you have a hot 2 months like they have had, things like this happen. We were fortunate they were not hot, and hopefully we contributed a little to that, but that's the NBA."

That about sums it up. Also, our defense was way off. Last time we got lots of steals and really disrupted Phoenix's game, This time we just didn't have it.

Not a bad idea, sixerzguy, to have put Sammy on Amare rather than Shaq, but the way Shaq and Amare were playing I don't think we had anyone on the roster capable of handling the two of them together.

As far as Carney vs. Green, they don't have to switch starting and bench, but just minutes played, based upon how well each on is doing that night. If Carney is on and Green off, then Carney should play the 25 minutes and Green the 15. If Green is not shooting 50%, I don't see the additional things he adds to make up for it.

last night saw a glipse of how things could look in the playoffs.
Doesn't matter if Green or Carney starts or if Thad plays the 3 or 4 or if Sammy "Oven Mits" Dalembert can catch the ball... if the sixers are forced into a half-court game and they don't hit their shots and they don't pass the ball around and aren't able to run or get to the line they pretty much blow.

Looked like our guys were just plain intimidated to take drive the ball on Shaq...not that you could blame them. Between him and Amare they had the basket pretty well blockaded. Thaddeus picking up early fouls and staying in trouble was a factor too, his defense, ball disruptions, and put backs were missed. Is it just me, or did nobody seem to want to pass Willie the ball (again, not that i blame them)? Carney has definitely been more consistent lately, and more importantly he's been showing up for the big games. I think we'll see his minutes continue to increase. Igoudala was forcing it, even miller was struggling with the J. Sammy was good on the boards, but reggie quietly had 10 and 13 in 26 to sammy's 6 and 15 in 36...

We've had a few clunkers like that this year and usually bounced back. Like we did after GS, the last time we played phoenix. Cavs new lineup should be interesting, by the way...its not really the same team we played last time.

Nothing complicated about last nights loss: It was all about the first 7 minutes and first 14 missed shots.

If they shoot 50%, the game is close at the end. The fact that they could even get with 10 pts, represents just how resilient and how well this team can play against the best teams in the league.

This is not a 'bad' loss but again proves to me that they can run with anyone and beat them. Even though they lost.

11:14 post correction: sfw, not swf.

"hcatchings": Did you resign from Texas Tech this year?

Last night was the game that the 76ers could have used a true scoring no. 1 to get them a bucket at the beginning of the game. When Iggy doesn't play well and score, this team isn't going to win.

I still believe Ron Artest would be a big addition to this squad as a true no. 1 scoring option. It'd allow Iggy to be a more comfortable no. 2 scorer, and you'd have Thad and A. Miller as your no. 3 and 4 scorers.

The 76ers can keep this year's no. 1 pick and draft Robin Lopez from Stanford and use the second round pick on the best available shooter.

One good thing is that though the 76ers got blown out, they did win the battle of the boards, which is tremendous progress considering where this team was just a year ago. This team is there rebounding-wise and defensively. It just needs a low post option and more scoring. Artest gives you that plus defense.

I am an optimist that Artest would come in and be a good addition to what is now a .500 team.

If not Artest, then Ronny Turiaf and Chris V. as a combo. Turiaf would have done a better job banging with Shaq and Amare than Sam did or he ever does against big bodies.

Your thoughts?

As many have pointed out, it is not the end of the world for the Sixers to lose to Phoenix but it does show that there is work to be done. However this game also shows that Ed just might not be the man to make it happen. Why does a playoff team (Sixers)cut a legit three point threat (Girecik) when it doesn't have anyone else for that role? I have been unabashed in slamming Ed for the poor job he has done so far and last night we saw one more indication.

If you take Girecik's 7 points from the Suns and add it to the Sixers, surprise you have a tie score. Of course its never that easy but you at least have to question why Ed cut Girecik. If anything, why not just let him ride out his contract and heck maybe even use him occasionally. Like last night when your starters could hit the broad side of a barn in the first quarter? I'm not going to go over the Korver mess but Ed compounded this mistake by letting Girecik go.

Ed is getting lots of credit for telling Cheeks to play the kids but I see a different story. I see a GM who got lucky (the kid bagging my groceries thought Cheeks should play the kids) by telling his coach that with as bad as the Sixers are, he might as well play the kids. Of course Ed no more saw the potential than Cheeks so he made his first two personnel moves, neither of which was smart. When I hear Ed say that he traded Korver to free up minutes for Young I have to laugh. Young has had his success playing power forward a position Korver rarely played. However it did make Cheeks job easier as he had one less player in his rotation.

Of course Ed wasn't finished making bonehead moves and he extended Cheeks. A coach who couldn't get his team's potential to the surface until someone else shortening his rotation and does not know how to defend or use three point shooters. Sad is all I can say.

This team has talent but if you expect Ed to make it a legit contender you may have a long wait.

Robin Lopez? What is he going to do?

DJ White needs to be the target - or Kevin Love. Someone with a legit low post game and who can bang and also step out and hit a J, since Sammy is going to ever consistently score points.

My only concern is that this has happened twice recently, where the Sixers come out and cannot buy a bucket. When the team misses open shot after open shot, they start to have trouble in other areas of their game.

Most nights, Iggy or Andre get us going, but last night they weren't able to hit their shots, and the Suns were focused on making them give up the ball. This is where having a power forward with an inside game will help. When you need a bucket it helps to have a big man inside like and Amare or a Shaq!

It is no secret that the Sixers don't score as well in a half court environment, even though they have gotten much better in this area, they could use some more set plays to get open looks.

Fortunately, this team bounces back quickly and doesn't have two bad games in a row. We match up better with Cleveland than most teams, or at least we did before the trade.

The Cavaliers have been having problems lately, either the trade was a mistake or they simply haven't figured out how to play together yet.

It is critical for the Sixers to win this next game, and continue to play aggressive defense to close out the season. They still have a chance to catch Cleveland and get home-court advantage in a first-round match-up against them.

Beating the Celtics shows how good this team can be, loosing to the Suns shows that they're still not good enough to win them all.

Hugh, check out that Xavier-UCLA game tonight. Se how Love looks against the athletes on Xavier. Josh Duncan looks pretty good on Xavier too. So, that could be an interesting matchup.

It was a bit more difficult for us(Iggy, Lou Will, AndreM, TYoung) to get to the basket last night from the get go. See Shaq & Amare.
I think that may have been the difference in our 1/2 court offense. Again, shooting may never be a strenth as our team is constructed. We seem to have one maybe 2 OK shooters(No threats) on the court at any given time. While most teams have at least 2 quality shooters out there.

Jumpin, Sammy's a lover not a warrior(Nute). Just the fact that he was a soccer player kind of indicates that although he may not have had a choice of sports. Nute was unique. Loved when he tossed up those 3's.

Best solution going forward: Do not play any more games on Friday. It is by far our worst day to play. Here are the W-L stats for each day of the week through yesterday:

Sunday: 1W 3L
Monday: 5W 5L
Tuesday: 3W 4L
Wednesday: 10W 8L
Thursday: 1W 0L
FRIDAY: 7W 13L (Ugh)
Saturday: 10W 3L

So, as long as we do not play any more games on Friday, we should have a fighting chance. Additionally, if the league would cooperate, I move that all our games be played on Saturday, as it is by far our most productive day of the week.

Morty,

I don't think you should switch Carney and Green. I think you should simply take Green entirely out of the rotation, and divide his minutes between Young, Carney and Williams.

He is a below-average defender, and when his offensive game is not there, he gives even less effort on defense. Last night's game was just not fated to be-- everybody played poorly for the Sixers. But when the Sixers get buried early, it is an indictment of that ridiculous starting lineup. Evans should be the energy guy off the bench and should not be starting, and you know what I think of Green. It puts too much pressure on the Andres-- if they get off to a slow start, we are buried.You have to start Young every game, and for the 5th starter, you could go with Williams, Carney, or even Smith, depending on the matchups.

Larry:

I'm with you. Green has been hoisting up 8 to 10 shots in the first quarter(and making 1 or 2) and he doesn't even play the whole 12 minutes. Cheeks has been yanking him after 8 minutes or so.

I heard Zumoff and Salmi talking about the importance of the first quarter and how a lot of people feel it's not that big of a deal to get off to a slow start. They said that 64% of the teams that win the first quarter go on to win the game. We can't let Green keep shooting us into a hole right from the start.

Larry:

Lol, I'm with you as well, but was trying to be diplomatic, because Willie does have his fans here. If he's not shooting 50% I don't have much use for him.

rebcale:

Korver actually played quite a few minutes at PF in Mo's small ball lineups. Just ask Datruth.

Green has always been one to try to get his - he is a gunner and always has been - he became popular by not being afraid to jack up a few shots when Allen was here and he was decent in spot duty then. He is a decent energy guy off the bench for a good team - he is not a starter on any team.

Sorry, Hugh, but he is not even a decent anything. He is a below-average defender, he does not rebound, he does not pass the ball. When he drives to the basket, instead of trying to draw the foul, he twist and turns every which way to AVOID contact, and ends up taking a circus shot. I admit that when he was shooting well, he went from being a HUGH negative on-the-court to only a small one.

For the more statistically-inclined, on the Wages of Wins website, Willie Green is so bad that he and Kobe would be an AVERAGE backcourt. I'm sorry, but you can have the anti-Kobe all to yourself.

http://dberri.wordpress.com/2007/10/07/the-left-tail-of-the-talent-distribution-in-the-nba/

Here is the link to the Wages of Wins article on the worst players in the NBA.

Jumpin,

Challenge - name me 10 better defensive CENTERS (not PFs) than SAM!

Take JDuncan off the list of players to watch in the 2nd round. I hate guys who start to make baskets after the game has already been decided.
KLove WOW! What a player!
Where did Hansbrough learn that throw shot that he does? Don't think that will translate to the NBA BUT I do love his intensity!

Psycho T! Look out! Came through in the clutch but NBA? I don't know.............

Hate to say it, but a Phycho T vs. K.Love matchup would be intriging.

John, Why would I engage in such an exercise? One, such a list formulation is entirely subjective. Two, with limited purview of subjects, it's relatively baseless. Three, player value is determined by every aspect of performance, including intangibles - but always, the biases, propensities and perspectives of the judge decides. You like Sammy as a player. I don't.

I will offer the following: "I've always thought you play the game of basketball against yourself as much as against any opponent. Every situation on the court has its own natural logic, a feel and rhythm. At the highest level of the game, you are playing your best and are up against opponents who are every bit as good as you, opponents who can do many of the things you can do, and some things you can't. That game is mental as much as physical. Your thoughts are embodied in your instinctive physical reactions. I used to finger basketballs for hours at a time; I couldn't explain why exactly. Rolling a ball just gave me a feeling that I could handle it. To truly comprehend the game, you must achieve that sense of control with a basketball, but you must also master the game itself. When you do, you know there's no challenge you don't have the skills to answer, nothing they can throw at you that you don't instinctively know how to counter." - Oscar Robertson, "The Big O - My Life, My Times, My Game" (2003)

Reb,

I respectfully disagree with your assessment of Ed's performance thus far.

How can you evaluate the Korver trade poorly when it helped create the circumstances that have allowed this team to jump over .500?

Giricek was an expiring contract to this team, a guy who just like Joe Smith last year could have given quality minutes but who would not have been in the team's long-term plans. So why even play him? Cutting him loose was a classy move, saved a little money but was just as much about giving Giricek an opportunity to play somewhere.

Perhaps Ed's best move was to not move Andre Miller. He could have come in and said this wasn't the team he wanted and set about deconstructing it. Instead he watched them develop and shrewdly held onto the guy who is clearly the team MVP now.

Mo should have gotten at least a two year extension, but I think that's coming. The one year was a quick move to send the message that Mo will be back, and reduce the anxiety on all sides this summer when they can sit down and discuss terms for a longer deal.

On your criticisms of him, I just have to ask that you reserve some judgment until the playoffs. He may not be the best strategist on the sidelines, but his overall value will come through when the Sixers get in a seven game series with a more accomplished opponent, whoever it turns out to be.

I like what I'm reading from the bulk of the posters these days. It's great that the general mood is a recognition that the future will not be the almost uninterrupted success of the last two months.

It's a testament to the Sixers' developing reputation that the Suns came out focused and stayed that way. Teams are done discounting them, especially the ones that have been on the receiving end of the recent winning ways.

Jumpin,

You wax poetically but it seems to come down to you wanting to focus on what Sam cannot do versus what he can do.

That's OK, but could be done with every player alive or dead including the sweet O. It could even be done with you and I.

I just choose to focus on the positive of what a player brings rather than wishing Sam was something he'll never be.

I too wish the game was played at the highest level by all, but sadly it is not since the days of Bob Petit, Oscar, Cousy, Russell, West, etc.

Also you have referred to "millionaires"...that holds no water in these discussions...they all receive millions to play a game we used to shovel snow so we could play in the winter.

Time marches on Jumpin.

Respectfully,

John

Sam is junk - thanks jumpin'

I sat next to O'Brien's nephew at the Pacers game on MLK day and he said that O'Brien hated Sammy because he never wanted to work on anything. He was/is uncoachable.

For the "not fans of Sam club" please give possible options to resolve the problem.First, who takes him in a trade and then who replaces him, the first part is the tough part. [10 mill. per ]. Question: How far from #16 does J.Smith,our pick, and the Utah pick move us up.

What do you mean, who takes him? He is the best defensive "center" in the league. Who wouldn't take him?

Suede, I think that puts you right after the major players in this draft. probably, 9-10th position in the draft.

Hugh, not sure about the best but I agree, if he stays healthy through this year and we continue winning there would be a solid market for Sammy D. Based upon the style Ed wants us to play I don't see another Sam style/salaried center out there currently in the NBA who is better. I repeat my comments. Just need players to supplement his style. If we get more offense from the 4 and better shooting Sam's weaknesses will be less obvious.

See article on Hansbrough/Klove. Could Psycho T be a Bobby Jones(The original) type player?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/grant_wahl/03/30/five.thoughts/index.html?eref=T1

John,

I set my clocks to 2008 this morning. Thanks for the reminder.

Poetry: "The best words in their best order" (Frost)--I can't lay claim.

To basketball, I'm not talking strengths and weaknesses, I'm talking the repugnancy of Dalembert's casual approach to his profession. He disgraces the game and disserves teammates and fans by it. Call me old-fashioned, but I favor serious craftsmen as opposed to finger-snappin' "artists" on the court. Of course, every era carries it's good, bad and middling players. The Robertson quote wasn't a nostalgic cry but rather an underscoring of the mental aspects and preparation requirements of the game.

And defensive prowess and its staunchest effects is not sensational for the most part; it's focused, prolonged hard work - in tandem with others. Relative to the whole meal, blocks are a pastry stat, one often mentioned in support of Sam's play. How consistently does a player prevent opponents' from scoring, individually and collectively, is the baseline question? I acknowledged that Sam has his moments in this area but his defensive play is overpraised, just my opinion. Do you think his concentration lapses occur only on the offensive end? Watch closely. And true big men - Shaq, Howard, Bynum, Duncan, Yao - often make mincemeat of him, with some games of exceptions.

As for the big money angle, the water it holds, today and always, is the responsibilty of the willing contractor to perform seriously and with skill for the paying public (assuming preparation). If you choose to cede to an easier standard, that's your right.

Enough of SD. From me, at least.