Deep Sixer

i'd call it a successful season despite the last four games, and would be satisfied winning two games in the Detroit series... to me anything more would be overachieving.

Who cares about losing to the Bobcats! Momentum? If you can't get up for the playoffs.... than something is wrong.

Weird game, as it seemed Mo was torn between wanting to win the game and wanting to rest his regulars, so he wound up doing an incomplete job with both. If Iguodala was going to play the entire 4th quarter, it made no sense to play Amundson and sit Dalembert.

If the end of the 4th quarter showed anything, it was how valuable Dalembert is to the Sixers' defensive schemes. When the perimeter defense breaks down (as it often does), Dalembert covers many of their mistakes with his weakside help and intimidation. Amundson was a joke trying to play post defense and Smith, while earnest, was little better. Hopefully we'll see little or nothing of Amundson against Detroit. His touch around the basket makes Reggie Evans look like Larry Bird.

Hopefully the Sixers come out in Game 1 focusing on solid defense and taking the ball aggressively to the hole. Their biggest mistake would be to try to match jump shots with the Pistons early, because most of the Sixers will probably be nervous (and thus less likely to hit jumpers).

The Winning streak was nice and it did get every one's attention. However we now see that the Sixers are probably not a legit playoff team. If they win one game against Detroit consider it a good series. In the end there was some lessons to be learned.

First, it is clear Ed is learning on the job. We can only hope that he learns fast but I wouldn't set expectations too high. Second, now that we know Cheeks will be back, expect more of the same. In other words, watch a talented young team struggle through the early season only to figure it out a bit late. Then not have enough to make a real run at the championship.

The Sixers have money to spend but if Cheeks can't integrate a new player into his system quickly it may turn out badly. Igoudala is up for a contract and he will expect at least 60 mill. Unfortunately, it still is not certain he is worth max dollars but I expect Ed will sign him.

Miller will be in the final year of his contract and this will be Ed's next headache. Miller is too old to expect him to be around for a championship run but at the right price he could still be valuable and someone who can also provide leadership. On the other hand it could be another Webber situation and Ed will have to be careful.

The Sixers raised the bar and now we have to wait and see if Ed can make the next step happen. So far Ed hasn't impressed me but then the only opinion that matters is Ed Snider's.

lol@Statman's sarcaism..no comment you said it all...

They haved surprised me all year, why not some more. E.S. WILL LEARN MORE ABOUT HIS PLAYERS IN THE NEXT 7 GAMES THEN HE LEARNED ALL YEAR.Hope every young player on the team gets to have a good playoff moment or two. They have nothing to lose, nobody expects them to win. Morty, the games will be televised in Detroit, bodes well for Willie.

Don't worry about IGGY, Comcast has deep pockets. If the Sixers ratings are up, Comcast will sign him. Ed snider didn't fire Billy King, comcast did, his boss.

I hope the refs are on our side for this series. Everyone wants Boston to go to the finals, why not take Detroit out of the equation early?

I wouldn't be surprised if Rasheed gets thrown out of a game this series.

Last night's game showed me how important it is for Stefanski to get someone who can come off the bench and protect the rim when Dalembert sits down. I think Robin Lopez or Roy Hibbert will have to be strongly considered with the no. 16 pick.

Jason Smith just isn't tough enough down low nor do I think he wants to bump and grind on the blocks. Reggie Evans is plenty tough, but he's not a shot blocker.

When the 76ers were trying to make a comeback last night, it just turned into a dunk fest for Charlotte down low. Using the team's pick on a big to protect the rim wouldn't be a bad thing while using the cap space to go out and try to get your power forward.

Iggy will get his money. I'd gladly give him $60M, but it'd be over 5 years. I am also not in favor of giving A. Miller a contract extension this offseason.

Miller's expiring $10M contract is the best asset the 76ers have going into the offseason. I want to see what teams are willing to give up to get him. Time to get and groom your point guard of the future, and I don't think that will be Lou Williams. We'll see.

Suede, what do you think?

Other than Cleveland, I thought Detroit would be the best matchup for the Sixers.

You can't be unhappy about last night when it's apparent the Sixers weren't trying to win it. You don't go down by 20+ pts. and come back often.

I say we can beat Detroit, because they are not the team that won the Championship. Their front-line players are old and generally do not get their points in the paint.

The Pistons best players are their guards, Hamilton and Billups. But they aren't any better than Miller and Iguoudala for the Sixers. Prince provided matchup problems for every team, but the Sixers have Thad Young to match with him.

It will come down to energy and hard work, and the Sixers youth and athleticism will give them the edge over the Pistons experience.

From a psychological standpoint, the first game in Detroit is huge, if the Sixers can win the game. Until the Sixers take one, Detroit will play with confidence and be very difficult to beat, but as soon as they win one convincingly, Detroit will be lose that confidence.

It was a good season - we son some good games and showed a lot of heart.

Sam showed that he can focus and play like a starting center, although, he will always annoy me.

Mo has shown that he still and probably will never be a good Xs and Os guy, but he is a good motivator and is the ideal coach for younger players. Some coaches are good at working with young teams and some are better for veteran teams - Atlanta should have hired Mo a few years ago - they would be in better shape.

Miller was excellent and, in my opinion, the team MVP.

Iggy took great strides in all facets of his game.

Lou and Thad developed a ton and I think they have bright futures if they continue on the track they are on.

The team as a whole has a lot of holes. This offseason is the first in the post AI where we will have some flexibility and can determine the future direction of this team. It should be interesting. I am looking forward to the playoffs and the offseason.

Detroit in 5 is my prediction. And I agree that Wallace will get tossed from one game.

"Jason Smith just isn't tough enough down low nor do I think he wants to bump and grind on the blocks."

I couldn't have said it better... and, on a team like ours, that won't cut it. We need a true bull down low. Frankly, we could use two of them (a starting PF and a backup C). I wouldn't be surprised if they looked for someone to take Jason Smith off our hands in the offseason. He could be a decent player in this league... just not for the Sixers.

Good luck in the playoffs, Philly... stick it to Detroit!

Hugh:

Excellent sum up of this season, and what we've learned. Way to be magnanimous about Sammy.

I'd like to be more optimistic about the upcoming series, but the smart money will follow your lead.

There is not way that I would get rid of Jason Smith in the offseason. No freakin way dude. JS has skills all across the board. All he needs is time and experience. Naturally he will get stronger, and being that he is a hard worker I expect his low post game to be greatly improved comes next season.

ALso, the day we let Andre miller go this team will take 2 steps back. So be careful what you wish for.

I am much less optimistic about this series than I was a few days ago. The comeback last night was great, but I think pulling out with a win would have meant so much to a young team going into the playoffs. If Dalembert plays the last half of the fourth quarter, Sixers win easily. We could have won the last two games and been in much better shape psychologically.

That being said, I still think this team has some fight in them. Looking back at the season series between the two teams, the Sixers had the big win at Auburn Hills and the latest win in Philly versus mostly reserves. However, the first two games, when we were a much different team, were by no means blowouts. It's a given Billups will kill us. He is a Philly killer. Sheed presents some huge matchup problems. Who guards Prince?

However, Detroit's experience is too much to overcome. The late season swoon does matter and will be playing on their confidence.

Pistons in five. Prove me wrong, Sixers...

I wish there were as many delusional Sixers fans as Eagles and Phils fans. I got much love for Sixerville, but y'all can be too "realistic" for me sometimes.

Sixers sweep. As mentioned above Willie plays Detroit well, and he hasn't been forcing the issue as much, having suddenly discovered his good playmaking abililty. LouWill is going into the playoffs on fire in the 4th quarter. Sammy and Reggie are rested up, we're going to outrebound them every game. That Cavs game will carry over, we will be fierce! Andre Miller is sick of never having gotten out of the first round, he's shown more fire this year than he's ever displayed his whole career, a light bulb went off in the guy. Iggy is still out trying to prove he deserves max money.

Mo is a much better coach than Flip Saunders, while Flip has one thumb up his ass and he's using the other one to peruse through his 300-page playbook, Sheed takes and misses 10 threes, leading to beaucoup fastbreak dunks by Thad on the other end.

to be continued...

"Weird game, as it seemed Mo was torn between wanting to win the game and wanting to rest his regulars, so he wound up doing an incomplete job with both."

Right on, statman. That comment was on tip of my tounge before the game was even over. It was nice to see dre nailing those threes, but i would have preferred to see him get some rest for that bruise. He was definitely walking gingerly between plays.

Jumpin Johnny, this one is for you - Willie had a hell of a game last nite. Im actually more impressed by the 7 assists/1 TO than i am with the 27 pts. way to go willie. If he can keep that up thru the playoffs, i take back everything i've said about him all year...well, most of it anyway.

I would not rule out as many as 3 wins, just wouldn't put my money on it.

Detroit is not a bad match up in that they do not have a strong post up center, and can be a very streaky shooting team themselves. I expect the Sixers to have a shot at almost every game. Do they have enough to pull them out is the question.

Thad needs to guard Prince, and Dre guards Hamilton. Carney could guard either.

The Greek:

Agreed about Smith, He gets at least another year to prove himself. He averages 1.6 blocks per 36 minutes, compared to Sammy's 2.5, Dwight Howard's 2.1, Josh Smith's 2.8, Reggie Evans' 0.2 and Al Horford's 1.1. So Smith should be considered an above average shot blocker. He obviously needs to get stronger, smarter and quicker with his footwork. But those are all things a targeted and dedicated offseason can help.

KM:

Willie Green for President! To appease Jumpin', I will also note Willie G's excellent game. Will I hurt my case for fairness if I point out the 1 rebound in 36 minutes?

Datruth:

After all Andre Miller has accomplished this year and you're still talking about his expiring contract? Give it a rest, dude. Seriously. Now I do agree, we need to find our PG of the future ASAP, but not replace Miller next season, but instead to learn from him.

"JS [Jason Smith] has skills all across the board. All he needs is time and experience. Naturally he will get stronger, and being that he is a hard worker I expect his low post game to be greatly improved comes next season."

I simply don't have a similar expectation. I agree that he has skills across the board, but not the skills the Sixers need right now. As I say, he can do well in this league, but he isn't (nor will he be0 what the Sixers need at either the 4 or 5 spot. Right now, we have two hustlers (Sammy and Reggie)... and one of them has no offense whatsoever. We need a scorer and a bull. Smith is neither and never will be. Trade him now while he still has value to someone.

Marc

After watching the sixers the last couple of weeks and realizing that the legitmate playoff teams rise to the top this time of year!
Well we are going down and real fast when we play Detroit. Marc,its not that I really think they are that much better talent wise than us.Their just better at the right time they ended up 7-3 in their last 10 games.
We sucked our last 10 games and the schedule was fairly easy at that point!
Marc, yes we did split with Detroit in the season series at 2/2 but we have no shooting guard and no real power forward so these playoffs will be over very fast for this team!
The Detroit series will give this young team some experience in the playoffs.So if we get their again next year hopefully we can go further if we make some changes during the off season.
Sixer fans please forget Willie's 27 pts last night that was his 1 game of the year in which he showed up like a real shooting guard should!
Again I cant say this enough he is really an average shooting Guard at best most nights stat's show that.His defense sucks against bigger guards!How many Shots a game does this clown throw up as air balls!
It has been a very good season over all considering we have no true power forward and no real Shooting guard.
Sixer Fans if we could start a team with this line up next year life could be great for us sixer fans!
C- S Dalembert PF-E. Brand or A.Jamision SF- T. young SG-Iggy PG A.Miller or L.Williams
Does anyone disagree with that team!
Trade Willie and R.Evans this off season for a back up center to Sam as well! Lets keep R.Carney & Jason Smith! Jason has stunk alot this year but lets give him at least a couple more years to develope.He has some skills if he will stay away from the porn girls and strippers and keep his mind on the game of basketball!
Go Sixers
Have a geat playoff!
Aaron

Marc

After watching the sixers the last couple of weeks and realizing that the legitmate playoff teams rise to the top this time of year!
Well we are going down and real fast when we play Detroit. Marc,its not that I really think they are that much better talent wise than us.Their just better at the right time they ended up 7-3 in their last 10 games.
We sucked our last 10 games and the schedule was fairly easy at that point!
Marc, yes we did split with Detroit in the season series at 2/2 but we have no shooting guard and no real power forward so these playoffs will be over very fast for this team!
The Detroit series will give this young team some experience in the playoffs.So if we get their again next year hopefully we can go further if we make some changes during the off season.
Sixer fans please forget Willie's 27 pts last night that was his 1 game of the year in which he showed up like a real shooting guard should!
Again I cant say this enough he is really an average shooting Guard at best most nights stat's show that.His defense sucks against bigger guards!How many Shots a game does this clown throw up as air balls!
It has been a very good season over all considering we have no true power forward and no real Shooting guard.
Sixer Fans if we could start a team with this line up next year life could be great for us sixer fans!
C- S Dalembert PF-E. Brand or A.Jamision SF- T. young SG-Iggy PG A.Miller or L.Williams
Does anyone disagree with that team!
Trade Willie and R.Evans this off season for a back up center to Sam as well! Lets keep R.Carney & Jason Smith! Jason has stunk alot this year but lets give him at least a couple more years to develope.He has some skills if he will stay away from the porn girls and strippers and keep his mind on the game of basketball!
Go Sixers
Have a geat playoff!
Aaron

Dear Sixers,
Thank You for the entertaining regular season. You guys went from 12 games under 500, to finishing up 22-12. My friends in California asked me at the start of the season, "Who plays for the Sixers?" These same guys at the end of the year said the Sixers are the most exciting team in the Eastern Conference. Keep playing hard and remember to run the legs off of the Pistons at all costs. Press, Press, Full Court Press every second of every game to make them run with you. Disrupt that boring half court system that they have been playing in Detroit for years, at all costs. Remember, the time is now.
Jason-Los Angeles

Thanks, Morty.

I would like to be more optimistic, but I don't think I can be right now - I do think that most of the games will be close and when games are close, little things can swing them to one side or the other - it is just that Detroit does a lot of little things well.

I am really anxious to see how Mo uses Thad and Lou. Look for the bench of Detroit to be the x factor in this series.

I really hate the idea of having a "losing" season, especially since all we needed to do to avoid it was win 1-in-4. However, it is what it is. We're the 7th seed - more than I expected 2 months ago.

The best things the Sixers did this year was play the young guys which not only gave them experience and exposed their potential to ES and Mo, it exposed their potential to the rest of the league. For the first time in years we have bargaining chips going into the off-season. Between Carney, LouWill, and JSmith, we have good young talent that should interest more than a few teams (it goes w/o saying Thad is untouchable at this point). If we can package the 16th pick with Carney or JSmith in order to move up 7 or 8 places and grab KLove, beautiful! Our post-up 4 is problem is solved for the next 10-12 years.

Tormented, agreed. Except for the injury issues(Iggy/Sammy???) I don't understand the need for rest when they don't play until Sunday night.

This negative JSmith commentary bugs me because he has talent/skills and will be better prepared during his 2nd season. Unless he can be used as a chip in an offseason move, let's see what he does in his 2nd season. Don't want to make a mistake with young Big players.

I mean a chip in a major trade.

Jason in LA, right on bro! The Sixers can these guys. You need outside shooting to beat Philly, what they got?

sfw - I tend to agree with you on smith. Especially as a guy we spent a 1st round pick on, its tough to give up after just one season. 7 footers who can hit outside J's dont grow on trees, plus he sets good picks, can block a shot, and seems to have decent bball sense despite loosing focus from time to time. If he applies himself this summer - hits the weights, continues to works on his shot & footwork, there's no reason he can't be at least a solid role player. Of course, if we add a starting PF and keep reggie, his minutes would probably have to come behind sammy...its an interesting calculation, but one we can at least wait until the final ball has bounced to make.

On a general note, one stat kind of caught my eye now the the regular season is over - Andre Igoudala - 19.9ppg. So close. If i were him, that .1 would be in the back of my mind all summer, while i was in the gym working on my shot.

Hmmm... interesting notion just brought up - Jason Smith backing up Sammy. He's tall enough to be a Center... could almost be like a softer (i.e. less thug-like) Ilgauskas. Thoughts?

More proof of how good the Sixers have been against Detroit.

In their 4 games, the points per 100 possessions have been:

PHI - 102.28
DET - 101.10

DET normally gets 111 PPP, so the Sixers holding them down to 101.10 is a testament to how good the Sixers defense has been against them this year.

PHI normally gets 106, so DET does hold them down a bit at 102.28 PPP, but it's not as drastic as DET's drop.

sfw - Make no mistake I like JSmith and recognize his potential but in any trade you need to be able to give up something valuable to get something valuable (which of course you know). By playing him, we've demonstrated his potential. Personally I would be willing to give up JSmith (or Carney or even LouWill) and #16 for a shot at KLove. But that's just because I'm so enamored with KLove.
Insert your own top lottery pick or free agent here -->

tormented, agree. Seems like KLOVE is being projected in top 10. So, unfortunately, may not have what it takes. Don't want to dwell too much on the draft with playoffs coming. Something tells me in a week or so we'll have plenty of time to talk about the offseason. Let's enjoy a good playoff effort.

Beantown,
how about Willie Green and the 16th pick for K. Love or Darrell Arthur.
-B Frank

Anonymous,

I'm not saying trade away Jason Smith. The guy would be a senior in college this year, is only 22 years old, is a very athletic, 7-footer who has good basketball skills.

He just hasn't had anyone teach him a back to the basket game yet. He also needs to get with a shooting coach to teach him how to shoot the ball at his apex rather than shooting his normal shot on the way down (and get it stuffed). He can get away with that on the college level, but that ain't happening in the Pros.

In other words, guys, just think that we have an athletic, 7-foot piece of clay who can be as good as he wants to be. He has the physical skill. It's up to how great he wants to be.

He and Thad -- especially Thad -- has a lot of room to grow. Jason Smith has nowhere to go but up. I hope he can add a little edge to his game in the offseason, too.

Also, if you add a center like a Hibbert or a Robin Lopez to our bench, allowing Smith to play his more natural and comfortable PF, then all of a sudden you have the potential to be a big, deep team off the bench.

I was surprised that Smith actually posted up and called for the ball on the block last night. I wasn't surprised with the result thought, getting his shot stuffed, a wild shot off the backboard and another fade-away that wasn't close.

At least he did post up and call for it down low, rather than hanging out at the 3 point line like he usually does.

Herbert Hill absolutely knows what to do with it when he's around the rim. You'll see and be pleasantly surprised.

Another Herbert Hill reference. Haven't seen his game in months. Amazing that a guy who played 3 or 4 summer league games, somehow turned into a legend. :-)

Another Herbert Hill reference. Haven't seen his name in months. Amazing that a guy who played 3 or 4 summer league games, somehow turned into a legend. :-)

Another Herbert Hill reference. Haven't seen his name in months. Amazing that a guy who played 3 or 4 summer league games, somehow turned into a legend. :-)

I agree with Morty. The key to the Sixers having success in this series is to match up Iggy on Hamilton and Thad on Prince. That means starting a big lineup, sans Willie. Unfortunately, I think there are two chances of Mo tinkering with his lineup...

If Mo gets inspired, I think we could take Detroit to 7 games. If not, Pistons in 6.

LOL - Herb has become Bo Kimble from "Heaven is a playground"

Kevin Love? Are we back on that again? How in the hell does a fat boy with no athletic ability help this team. He struggled to get his shot off against average college players. What the hell is he going to do against Dwight Howard? Basketball I.Q?! If you are fat and cant run why in the hell would you sign with UCLA?! That wouldnt make you look too good or BRIGHT. I'ma take it to the next level. By a show of hands if Kevin Love was a black guy who would want him on this particular team? Yall cant be serious.. We already have a token white guy/mascot on our team that cant play. His name is Louis Amundson and he is terrible. If we need some overachieving guy who cant play at this level to cheer on everytime he gets the ball with 5 seconds left in the 4th quarter just to score a basket and feel good about whatever...Get him in the 2nd round of the draft. We are trying to improve not experiment. Lets be realistic here. Kevin Love is the white version of Oliver Miller with even less ability to run the floor.

Yall know I'm right too...At this point in time in our countries history more stuff brings us together than separates us. We are the same yall can see just like I can. If Love was a black guy He'd barely be a second round pick. It's just the truth man. I wouldnt root for a black playing hockey if he wasnt good for the Flyers. I wouldnt want no token black guy skating for my team if he wasnt at the same level as everybody else. If he sucks he sucks beat it. Shav Randolph is better than Kevin Love and I wish he had gotten more oportunity to play from Mo because he is good he just got hurt. Jason is better than Love. His game translates to our style better because he runs the floor so fluidly and he is on a pogo stick. He can block shots and the kid is tough he just isnt strong yet. He's a stud in the making. He has the tools to be a do it all player for our team. Scoring defense rebounding he's special. Kevin Love? What does he do that will make him valuable at the next level? Most sportscasters cant see it.

Zeru, up until the last game of the season Love dominated the college talent he played against. As I see it, questions regarding Love pertain to conditioning, athletism and true height. If DJWhite on Indiana produced as he did this year as a freshman he would be receiving similar accolades.
White vs black? Yes, there are many who probably rate him higher because of his race but his post offense and outlet passing make him standout among college players and draft prospects.
Oliver Miller wouldn't look bad on this roster. Also, take a look at these prospects after the first few picks and most are suspects not prospects including Love. Their are no guarantees. The hope is that with Love's fundamentals in the post and with better conditioning he could fill a pressing need on the sixers roster which is post offense. Sammy could also help cover for his defense defficiencies.

BFrank - if anyone is willing to let us move up 7-10 places for Willie Green, that would be an early Xmas present. But I don't think it will happen and will probably cost us one of our young studs.

sfw - agreed. For now, I'll enjoy the playoffs, for however long they last.

I'm interested in seeing how the kids play against the big, bad Pistons. Hopefully, it will cement in Stefanski's mind what he needs to do to get this team to championship caliber.

For those of you who say that Kevin Love isn't athletic, I disagree. There was one play against Memphis where a guard penetrated and Love pinned his shot against the backboard at the top of the square above the rim. That showed me that he can jump a little bit better than most people think.

Now, does he have Shawn Kemp athleticism? No, he doesn't. But I think he'll be a solid role player in the NBA and a good starter. I don't think he'll be around when the 76ers pick.

I would like to know a little more about Maurice Speights from Florida. Reports say he has a good back to the basket game and can score down low, which is what the 76ers need. I think the players that we are looking at with the no. 16 pick will be between Chase Budinger, Roy Hibbert, Robin Lopez, Darrell Arthur, Rush from Kansas and Serge Ibaka.

If Donnie Walsh calls about Zach Randolph, I think I would listen if I'm Stefanski.

Since Cheeks knows Zach Randolph, and Randolph actually says he liked playing for Cheeks, this is something to consider. However, Randolph does make $15M next year, so we would have to include at least $6M in salary, even with our cap space. The problem is finding the salary, a combo of Evans and Green would do it (total $8M), the problem is finding a combo that Donnie Walsh would buy into, without giving up the core of this team.
Personally, I like Evans. Yes, we need an upgrade at PF, but Evans is the kind of player you want in the locker room and coming off your bench.
Would you give up Miller for Randolph? I don't think I would.
Dalembert? That might do it, if Walsh is interested... and we'd still have about $5 M in cap room which might be enough to Diop.

Larry:

Slim and none?

Prince has 3 inches on Dre, only 1 on Thad. Hmailton has 4 inches on Green, only 1 on Dre. It just makes too much sense. By the way, I also like Lou matched up on Billups. I don't think Billups can handle Lou's quickness on offense, and while being vulnerable to Billups' post up game, Lou demonstrated back in March that he can D up Billups in the crunch.

As for trades in the off season, I would not like to part with Evans at all. He brings a lot to this team - toughness and energy most especially. However, if we can use Green's salary to make a trade work...

I wanted this question answered: have Detroit's Big Four declinced a lot in the playoffs over the past two years? I went to the stats for an answer, and unforunately, they haven't - their 2007 playoff stats are similar to their 2006 playoff stats.

A positive you could take from this is that you've got lots of tape to study and that the Pistons are predictable, as opposed to the Pistons having no idea what the Sixers are gonna be like in the playoffs, and how Mo is gonna coach.

datruth4life,
If the Sixers are actually able to trade up, the guy I really like is DeAndre Jordan.
By the way, does anyone know anything about JaVale McGee?
In addition to your list, I would consider Collison, Roberts and possibly Hansbrough, but only after bringing him in for some serious workouts to see what kind of size he really has. If he is as small as most people think, you'd have to pass.

Morty, I agree on all accounts.
I'd start:
Sam
Evans
Thad
Iguodala
Miller

Bring Williams off the bench for serious minutes againt Billups. Use Carney to help out with Iguodala and Thad off the bench and Smith helps out with the bigs. That doesn't leave many minutes for Green, but you'll need him to score some points.

There's an inconsistency with people asking for the bigger lineup change - what about at the end of the game? Mo usually goes with LouWill, Miller, Iggy, Evans/Thad, and Sammy, and that lineup can usually get it done, and LouWill is shorter than Green.

I don't disagree with the bigger lineup to start the game, but just wanted to point out we usually end games with a short lineup. I think all this "big lineup" talk is just another way of saying "I HATE WILLIE GREEN". If LouWill's starting, do people say, "Let's make Detroit play our style!"

DaTruth, From what I've read only, Jevale McGee is a couple years from contributing in the NBA. Very Raw. See profile below.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/JaVale-McGee-1197/

Willie usually plays well versus his hometown team.

Sixerzguy:

It's not really about "I hate Willie Green," although I will not deny an element of that. It's about the fact that our best player, Dre, can be significantly neutralized by Prince, who he has a size disadvantage against, and also that Detroit's best player, Hamilton, has a tremendous size advantage on Green. I will also note that Lou has a much greater wingspan and jumping ability than Green, allowing him to play bigger than his height, which in any case is only about an inch shorter.

By the way, nice statistical digging yesterday about our effect on Detroit's offense and vice versa. That's a nice element of hope. If you take away the "experience" factor, which I know you can't, I like the Sixers potential matchups against Detroit. I certainly don't think it is the worst possible matchup, as John Smallwood argued this morning.

sfw:

We've definitely got that Detroit TV going for us!

Morty,

Good point, that thought about LouWill's athleticism hadn't crossed my mind, I wish that had been pointed out earlier, I would've watched more closely how he played shooting guards this season.

sfw,

I think I'm halfway between you and Zeru - the NBA's got big tough guys, wherever Kevin Love lands next year, you're gonna see an adjustment period similar to what Jason is experiencing this year. He played big in college, but in the NBA, I think he's gonna have to be like Sir Charles - does anyone else think of Barkley when they see Kevin Love? Am I off here? Can anyone out there do a good comparison of the two?

Morty, Dont let Smallwood get you down. I dont think i've ever seen him write a positive column. I was a little miffed too that no one in the press even discussed the posibility of shifting dre and thad over, though, especially since that's how we got our only "substantive" win against them this year, and it would so ovbiously address the matchup problems they're crying about.

Sixerzguy, I'd prefer lou to keep with the role he's played so well this year - come in fresh to play big minutes in the 2nd half and close out the game.

Flip Saunders can be beat. NOBODY wants the Sixers in the 1st round. Detroit knows they have to play at least 44-45 minutes to close out every game. Those starters will be run dry.

The following nba.com piece about the Sixers is great. One interesting tidbit - apparently Stefansky tried to trade Reggie Evans, but for who, he doesn't say.

http://www.nba.com/aroundtheassociation/regular_season_review_sixers.html

Sixerzguy - no way. Barkley was much more athletic - Love plays much more below the rim than Barkley did. People always want to draw comparisons - this one doesn't work.

Zeru,

Disagree completely on Love. Love is a 19 year old kid who plays the game like a crafty 10 year veteran - those athletic kids on Memphis only beat UCLA because they had 5 legitimate big guys and UCLA had 1. Love was constantly double teamed in that game.

Love is not a centerpiece type player, but you rarely get that at 16 or 17. He is a solid PF who can score, rebound and make great outlet passes to trigger the break, which is all this team wants to do. Black/White/Asian - it doesn't matter on the court.

Sixerz, I'm old. How about Dan Issel?