Deep Sixer

I didn't see the game, I saw the box score. I was just wondering, Sammy D 3-6, how can the sixers win if Sammy D take only six shots. Sammy D should be taking 15-10 shots per game. Even if they are bricks. Let Reggie and thad get the put backs, it can't be no worse than Wille shooting 2-14. If Sammy don't score who will? Mo doesn't give smith enough minutes so he can find a rhythm. Moe doesn't use Booth, not even to use fouls. Reggie can't make a layup. If your not going to make a layup, dunk it, Get fouled. Reggie should be practicing 100 layup per practice, until layups become a science!

It was truly one of the ugliest games of the year offensively -- more on that later. If there is one thing this game proved, it is that Iguodala is the true MVP of this team. Andre Miller played his usual solid game, but after Iguodala got hurt, the Sixers had no one to cover Granger and their fastbreak got much less dangerous. AIG lost all explosiveness in the second half, and if he is not at full strength, that is much more damaging than the loss itself. That he put up 10 assists and 4 steals despite playing on one good leg is testament to his ever-improving all-around abilities.

As for Green and Carney, I don't know where to begin. I've ridden Green as hard as anyone all year, but this might have been his worst game of the year offensively, given that the game was relatively close. Prior to the meaningless last basket, he was an astoundingly bad 1-13 0-5 2-6 4. When the Sixers were making a last run at a miraculous comeback (minus the Andres), he actually had a three-point try to cut it to 6 with a minute left, but the shot was two feet short and one foot to the right, the culmination of a night where his shot was getting worse and worse over time. Worst of all, with his shot that far off, it's inexcusable that he tried 5 three-pointers.

On the other hand, there was Carney, who was even worse, playing his worst game of the 2nd half (at least Green got 9 rebounds and 3 steals). Carney reverted to the "shoot-only" Carney who missed all his jumpers and, worst of all, played no defense. Carney proved once and for all that he is NOT interchangeable with Iguodala on defense, constantly trailing his man (usually Granger in the 2nd half) or completely losing his man. Given how quick Carney is, I'm disappointed that he doesn't move his feet better on defense. Eventually, Cheeks probably lost all patience with both Carney and Green and put Ollie in (I would have done the same thing).

Put it this way: had Green and Carney been merely horrible instead of astoundingly bad (say, Green goes 4-14 and makes 4-6 free throws, and Carney goes 3-11), the Sixers would have won by 1. It's becoming clearer and clearer that shooting guard is a bigger hole to fill than power forward. Cheeks has to give the lineup of Young-Evans-Dalembert-Miller-Iguodala a chance sometime before the playoffs (or even Smith instead of Evans -- by the way, was Evans hurt tonight?).

Looking ahead, the Sixers have the all-important game against the Wizards tomorrow night. Wizards were badly beaten by the Pistons, who used the same strategy that lost to the Sixers this week. The main focus for the Sixers is to get Iguodala healthy, which is MUCH more important than their seeding. If Iguodala isn't healthy, they're getting swept by whoever they play. And it isn't worth risking his long-term health by rushing him back now (remember what happened to Grant Hill).

Marc does anyone after watching Willie Green these last few games truly believe this team can go anywhere with him as a 2 guard! Not me! Willie has had a ok season for him but not much when you look at other 2 guards stats. Marc his shooting sucks at best and he is a defensive libility most nights on larger off guards.
Marc 6'3 and 6'4 shooting guards just dont cut it in this league any more. The Dallas Mavricks tried that experiment with 6"3 Jet Terry guess where he's at on the bench after 3 years and now being a 6th man most nights.
Marc we tried it with the 6"0 Answer here in philly that bombed out as well with him and 6"3 Eric Snow in the back court.Finals and bust against the Lakers! Lets face it small shooting guards and small back courts in general are a thing of the past and have been for some time now. Marc you can have one of those 2 positional players be 6"0 to 6"3 but when you have two you have way to many size libilities and match up problems as we have see as of late. Marc this is a 6'5 to 6"11 league anymore. Almost all 2 guards in this league are 6'5 to 6'8 and are generally very athletic to boot and can really shoot and handle the ball as well. There are a few exceptions to the rule but not many not when your looking at the really good playoff teams anyway.
Marc,why dont we try and move Rodney Carney or A.I to the starting S.G so we dont look like a bunch of undersized miggets and have all these bad match up issues we have. We can still run the court like race horses but yet be somewhat bigger. Marc this starting team is very,very small by todays NBA standards.
Marc we have played very well since the trading deadline but we still have some very serious problems on this team like size issues,free throw shooting and just plain FG percentage as everyone knows. We have a very bad shooting guard that cant handle the ball or shoot either one in Willie Green not to mention the guy couldnt guard my yorkie dog most nights.
Marc everyone already knows the sixers have no real power forward and we cant fix that at the present time. But we do have other options at the S.G. position. Marc, L.Williams is great but he is undersized as well and needs to stay the 6th man and come off the bench or start at point guard somewhere down the road in the future that's a no brainer.
Marc we can fix the shooting guard problem if Mo Cheeks uses his head a little more we have several of the 6"8 to 6'6 players that are very adapt to playing other positions see T.Young,A.I and R.Carney they all can be moved around to give this team a larger starting line up and better scoring team as well plus we can still run on fast breaks.
Willie Green just cant get it done at the S.G. position! Marc just see real close some of the last few games where were starting to look like a very,very average team once again.
Willie Green's really poor play is starting to really stand out the last couple of weeks bad! Marc,I have noticed that when the other 3 or 4 starters play well or the bench comes threw for us you dont notice his poor play as much but when they dont he looks like the shooting guard from way,way Down Under!
Marc what is your opinion on this and do you agree about this team being very small at times and do you believe it's time to move Willie G. to the bench and go bigger.

O'Brien has our number, I guess. He exposed our two biggest weaknesses tonight. Our lack of perimeter defense and our inability to execute in half court sets. Does Cheeks even call plays? All I see is Sam coming out to set a screen and then rolling into a clogged lane. He has no intentions of catching a pass and Miller/Iggy/Lou have no intentions of passing the ball to him.

It was amazing to see how well they spread the floor and let Granger break down whoever was guarding him one on one. They made Sam a non-factor defensively. This is why he has to be able to score - you can't be the highest paid guy on the team and be that one dimensional.

Anonymous:

The reason why he doesn't get more shot attempts is because his offensive game is poorly developed, especially the times where he tries to hit the mid-range jumper. He doesn't have a post game to speak of and his hands aren't the greatest. With that said, the Sixers had an awful shooting night with the trifecta of Green, Carney, and Williams...I don't even want to say.

hugh:

Good point.

aaron:

I see where you're going with the undersized backcourt but I still hold my reservations about starting Carney. The only reason why I think that Green is still starting is that Cheeks doesn't want to ruin the balance on the team. But definitely, Thad Young should be a starter next year and look for him to average double digits and be a lockdown defender.

Statman:

I am prone to agreeing with you but if we lose to Washington and Cleveland (falling back to the seventh seed in the process probably) we're going to have to face the playoff version of the Pistons. I am just hoping that it isn't that serious. Props to Iggy for getting 10 dimes when his athleticism was compromised.

Question to everyone:

Do you think Iggy is worth max dollars?

The fact these bad offensive nights are few and far between makes me think this team has been overachieving offensively all year. When most of your scorers shoot terribly its hard to win. Guys, Sam has lately been doing exactly what we have wanted him to do,less,rather than things he is not capable of. I, for one don!t need more offensively from him.Thad and Iggy at the 3 and 2 is one of two things I!m disappionted in not seeing.The other is more time for J.Smith, especially when your playing a team that has a guy, T.Murphy, who he has no problem covering and we needed players on the court that could make shots.Iggy is a major concern, hope he is okay. As far as a max, not concerned, because there is no way they don!t resign him no matter what the cost.

In the last 11 games, Wild Willie is shooting a 28.6% and 9% from 3-point range. This is not adequate production from an NBA shooting guard let alone an NBA player. Slumps happen but 11 games is too long to tolerate this type of performance. Its hurting the team. Its exposing a serious weakness to the opponent at a critical time of the year. I love the job Mo has done this year but I am mystified as to why WG still has the green light to take a 3 let alone an outside shot. At a minimum, Mo should be riding Willie to drive the lane first, take the jumper second.

If we don't make a change before the playoffs, we don't stand a chance regardless of opponent.

Look on the bright side. Green's performance in last 11 games will surely convince our GM that he is not a starter for this team. He should be gone next year or on the bench. After last night, he deserves to sit now.

Chris E,

That is a really good question - at the beginning of the year, I did not think so. After his development this season - I think it would be hard to let him go at this point. He has shown significant improvement each year he has been in the league, and it is obvious that he works hard on his game. We have the money, and he won't be unmovable in a few years if he doesn't become the star that everyone is expecting him to become - so I think you have to match any offer he gets in the off-season.

Your question gets back to a post I made a week ago or so. When you draft a project (like Dalembert, Kwame Brown, Jermaine O'neal)and spend the 3 years developing him - you get in a situation where you have to make a decision on whether or not he is worth resigning when another year or 2 would help make that decision much easier. This is the fundamental problem with the rookie contract. Don't get me wrong - I like the idea of the rookie contract, but it should allow for team options for an extra year or something. Think about it - Kwame is making near $10M a year based solely on potential - which he never will realize. This is the main reason that I have been in favor of drafting someone who is more of a finished product.

Iggy is kind of a different case, because he has been playing since day 1 - so we have a pretty good sample of what he can do, but in general - the rule is causing many problems with the league and managing the cap. Think about it - next year is Carney's last on his rookie contract and this year is Lou's - have you seen enough of Lou yet?

I think the team is feeling the pressure and is playing tight. You have to believe they are playing hard out there (if not you don't know this team well)- but as individuals they are trying to do too much.

They are pulling the string on their jumpers (3's, FT's and all their shots.) They are no longer loose when on the break, and starting to make mistakes when running.

They played like it was them against the world fighting to make the playoffs- but then all of the sudden tightened up and started looking like the young team they are.

The Sixers have still been winning about half their games- but that free spirited attacking style has been gone for the last 2 weeks- and they need to loosen up and find it in the next 3 games.

Keep in mind, 10 'dimes' aren't what they used to be. Today's NBA: Throw the ball in some manner to a teammate, if he scores within 5 seconds from somewhere in the same hemisphere - bingo! - another assist. The underappreciated (no HOF induction) Guy Rodgers might've averaged 20 by current ledger standards. Iggy's of last night might've been legit, though I doubt it. It's a watered-down stat.

Is Andre Iguodala worth max dollars?
Practically speaking, no.
Philosophically speaking, Hell no!
He has shown progress this year in reducing turnovers, improving outside shooting, going stronger to hole, assuming bigger leadership role. Still, a 'good plus' versatile player, not a premier one. In other words, he is important but replaceable.

Well, i had a certain player in mind that i was very disappointed with last night, but it seems others are all over that so i won't pile on too.

On a positive note, Thad, Miller, Dalembert and Dre(4 out of next yrs starting 5?) had good games, all things considered. All they needed was one other guy to make a few shots and who knows what could have happened? Suede, i tend to agree with you that as long as sammy is pulling down north of 12 boards a game, and getting a couple blocks, hes doing ok. I'd rather him shooting less, and a more efficient percentage, than have him try to force offense. I will say though, that he's been doing pretty well with that little turnaround jumper down low lately. Would have liked to see a litte more of that. just a little.

Chris E & hugh - its tough to give up that kind of money, but its tough to give up that kind of player also. Especially once you consider that if we don't make him happy its entirely possible that we loose him and miller in one fell swoop at the end of 09, it really makes for a sticky negotiation. Personally, Im more and more inclined to pay the man. Miller is the brains behind the operation right now, but dre is the heart and soul.

Well, one game in a season is nothing to get upset over, but I don't mind using this one as an impetus for making a playoff prediction: we'll get housed! The team has had a wonderful run since the All-Star break, with an emphasis on "run." In the postseason, the game slows down, and teams who advance have more than just "athletes": they have born-and-bred post players and "born-and-bred" shooters. We have neither of those. And before fellow bloggers start screaming about how wonderful our players are (and I have been impressed by their ability to play well together and play hard), we do not have shooters of the calibre of Nash, Pierce, Allen, Bryant, Manu, etc, whom you find on every team that regularly gets into and advances in the playoffs. And, contrary to the opinion of many bloggers here (often heard saying "AI will 'grow' into a premier player, will grow into a 3-point shooter, will grow into a....), you don't become a shooter when you get to the NBA. Premier shooters in the NBA were premier shooters in college and high school. We do have guys who get hot, who can exploit a bad matchup. But we do not have a go-to shooter that can kill an opposing team's rally or who can get us points quick, night in and night out. And low post players. Forget it. Sammy will block some shots and work hard. Evans will fight and motivate. But, we're surely all in agreement that we have no inside game. So, fans, celebrate the nice run, speculate about whether we'll win a game or maybe two, but make no mistake. We're not a serious contender. We're a team whose bread-and-butter is running and outhustling tired teams. Figuring out which of those running and hustling players really must be part of our, ahem, "core," well, that's no easy call--because without some pure shooters and without offensive post players, running doesn't get you to the championship games. Ask Phoenix (and they had more talented teams in the last few years than we do now).

hugh:

I do think that we can't let Iguodala go as he has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he can be that go-to player that we need. As far as Lou Williams is concerned, I always saw his full potential as a Jason Terry or Leandro Barbosa type. Which goes hand in hand with what you're saying now because it would be a sizable risk to pay him Barbosa money and for him to not fit in well with the new system. I personally only see when Philly plays against New York and New Jersey so I'm not as well versed on his playing style as many of the people here. I think we can both agree that he's going to be worth more than the $800,000 that he's getting paid now. How much, it's up to personal opinion and how huge people think his upside really is.

Despite Carney's stellar play over the last part of the season, we have a year to study more how he fits in with the chemistry of the team. It smells like a huge off-season so I'll refrain from saying anything else until everything is set into place for next season.

And to cross my fingers for the fifth seed (since getting the fourth seed would require Cleveland losing their remaining three games - one against Miami). Bleh.

AAron Amen on willie green.

Willie Green, friend of the Philly Media. Great for the locker room, terrible for the hardwood. Just a god awful player.

The first 11 minutes with him on the floor were just gut renching, he is such a liability. The only thing that he does above average is his shots per minute, and that is a negative. The NY media would have lynched this guy a long time ago, I guess the philly media are a bunch of nice people.

jumpin':

Well, I see your point. In a league where Stephon Marbury can get eight assists in a game, the definition of an assist has to be increasingly broad.

As for being able to let Iguodala go, he has made himself an integral piece of the puzzle. I stated about a month ago about the example of Al Jefferson taking less than the max (when he could have very easily demanded it) as an example of humility that I'm sure surprised a lot of people. Crossing my fingers that we don't have to reach to get Iggy to stay here because I think he'll have the upper hand in the negotiations. Keep in mind that Iggy basically rejected a contract that'll give him close to a cool 12 mil a year for 5 years. I don't know what he was expecting but...

that last post was from me.

I would like to make a couple points about last nights terrible looking loss.

1. Is Mo Cheeks doing his best Charlie Manuel impression (getting us to the playoffs, but making bad in game decisions). His substitutions over the last 3 or 4 games have been baffling. In the 3rd we were making a run at the pacers with Thad, on the floor, about four mins in, Cheeks takes out Thad and put in Carney then proceeded to get owned on the next 5 possessions by Granger. Than the lead was back up to 11 and never close again. Thad could have had his best game of the year if he was given real starters mins. It is also weird how when Carney is having a good game he doesn't usually play very long. Tonight was prob his worst game of the season and he got a ton of mins.

2. Willie Green has gone from a minor annoyance to a basketball player I hate. He needs to be gone next year! If we cant trade him just cut him. I hate when Zumoff always say "Well Willie's been struggling lately but is having the best season of his career"

Best season of your NBA Career + Still Suck=Should be the best basketball player in the local Janitors league.

3. Where have the crowds gone. I can't bitch about this too much cause I haven't gone to a game but the ATL, DET, and IND games have all been back to low attendance. I think One reason we lost the ATL game was the Sixers clinch a playoff spot and comeback to lackluster fan support it was a let down for me and probably for the players as well.

4. If Iggy is hurt of nicked up we have no shot, He is not worth max dollars but we can't afford to lose him. He is our defensive stopper, and our best offensive player. Luckily I don't think any team will offer him a max contract except a really bad team so he will prob sign with the Sixers.

Tonight is a must win.

Suede

Just checked out your boy earl clark on draft express, I am now a huge fan! Pairing him and thad would be super sexy

Jumpin'Johnny: not sure if you saw the game, but at least 4 of Iguodala's assists led to dunks ('dazzlers' in Strat-O-Matic) and several more were hard penetrations that led to open 10-footers by Thad or Miller (the only two guys who were making jump shots -- half of being a good distributor on this team is knowing who to pass to). While stats inflation does occur today with assists, this was not an example of it. The Pacers were sagging the whole game, and Iguodala was the only one working to set up others in the halfcourt (Miller really only set up himself).

I won't debate whether Iguodala is worth max money from a philosophical standpoint, but from a practical standpoint he is *unquestionably* worth max money. This team would be in the "deep lottery" without him (as in, one of the five worst teams in the league). Since you've made that statement more than once this year, I'll pose this question: who would you replace him with for the same amount of money? Such a player would have to be significantly better *and* available.

Greek, Gotta give my brother S.F.W. props for Clark, when a guy doesn!t even start most games for his team you only see dribs and drabs of his athletism but he made me aware of his "upside". Would like to see the final "team" put together this summer with 3 additions hopefully.Jumpin, I was in your camp on Iggy but he has won me over with his play the last month or so. The only 2 guards I probably would trade him for are Bryant, Roy, Durant,Ginobli, and Wade. Redd, Hamilton and R.Allen if younger would also be in that group. Don!t think he is a max player but when guys like R.Lewis [ basically a jumpshooter] get what he got then who knows.Don!t know if Willie can be moved but as the 4th or 5th guard he would hurt us less. Carney seems like a player you have to keep on a short leash. Mo, no more "green lights", please!!

At the risk of piling on one player, the extent of the problems need to be fully stated and understood in order to move on:

In the last 11 games, while Wild Willie has shot 28% and 9% (overall and 3pt), he has contributed in other areas to the tune of 29 rebounds and 19 assists. Total. That's less than 3 and 2 a game, not exactly the numbers of a guy helping out in other areas while mired in a shooting slump. Remove the 9 boards from last night and he is below 2 in that category as well. During the same period of time:

* Sammy has 32 blocks
* AI has 26 steals
* Miller has 46 rebounds

Not overly meaningful stats, I will admit, but they point out the fact that Willie can't even keep up with the numbers posted by the other starters in non-primary categories! My only hope is that tonight, I tune into the game and see someone else starting in the 2 spot. Otherwise, I might as well turn it off until the 2nd quarter.

5/37 from our SG's tonight. I can't pile on Willie (for you, jumpin') as everyone had a piece of the pie, and Willie somehow was the only starter with a positive +/-. That must have been because of his atypical 9 rebounds and 3 steals

I didn't see a lot of the game, but what I did see was sloppy sloppy sloppy - for both teams. O'Brien may have our number, but 85 points for the Pacers is not very impressive either.

Is Dre's injury something that will linger into the playoffs? Because if so then we are in trouble.

Tormented:

Go to basketballrefference.com, and look up the "per 36 minutes" stats, whereby the they average out all the Sixers players for 36 minutes per game. That's the best measure to see production. It can be revealing.

Statman,

Didn't see game - reason my statement on his assists wasn't conclusive. Good report on what did transpire.

Deep lottery landing might've proved advantageous to Sixers in better filling a need, though raw competitiveness of team has entertained.

I disagree with your last statement. A replacement for Iguodala would not have to be better, just significantly contributive. Basketball is not a game of warring superheroes (as it's often billed as), one versus another, with victors announced daily with a 'thumbs up' from a rostrum. (Granted, matchups can be good discussion fodder.) It's a great game and, at its peak, a total team arrangement whereby "weaker" players playing smartly together can triumph sustainedly. You take Iggy, I'll take the more conventional and equally heady Dunleavy, who grew up in the game and equates to "less muss, less fuss", and nearly equal production. I haven't a clue regarding his contract status or availability; wouldn't think Pacers would be in a hurry to move him. I forward his name quickly, only hypothetically, to respond in the moment to your question. I think he's a player and a blender, though obviously he wouldn't replace Iguodala's defensive force fully. Good as Iggy is, there's a crazy component about his game that I'm not crazy about. I'm sure if I scanned each NBA roster I could find more players to assume his duties.

Dribble, pass, shoot, defend, rebound; accept role, and limitations; accomodate teammates and coaching staff - minus hulabaloo. A simple job description; a theoretical ideal and answer to every coaches' prayer.

Morty,

We are in trouble either way.

Suede,

That should be Willie's new nickname - "Green Light" since he will shoot at will.

Morty, Your piling on restraint and detection of anomalous plus/minus figure (saw that too) is exemplary!

Judging by boxscore, Green, Carney & Williams last night - Bermuda Triangle.

Jumpin':

Yep, no dogs in that hunt last night! Or, I should say, they were all dogs.

I could not disagree more with you about Igoudala, however. I think he exemplifies your simple job description. He has really changed my mind this year. Previously I was probably in your camp re Igoudala. But he has cut down on the turnovers dramatically, as well as all the whining, bad body language, etc.

His mid range game has taken several steps forward, and his 3 point shooting is improved as well. His defense, which I once thought very overrated, is fantastic, among the best in the league I might venture.

You have to have a plan to replace a player like that, and I'm all ears to something realistic, but I doubt it exists.

Guys, I have wanted Iggy at the 2 because of the defensive end of the floor but the fact of the matter is , right now , he is probably our best outside shooter, more the reason to put him at the 2. When we get in a 1/2 court situation where we are having trouble scoring why not try a Sam, Jason, Thad, Iggy and [A.Mill. or Lou] unit.

Suede, they wont do that because if they do we wont have anything to bitch about. That lineup makes too much sence man, come on now.

The problem is that besides AI we don't have a 2. Like I said before, Carney is a a SF. He could be a quality backup for a wiining(us) team. Willie should never, and I mean never see any minutes at the 2 again. Worst starting SG in the league, hands down, bar f'n none.

Marc to answer your question on A.I and does he deserve the Max dollars is a great question? Especially for all sixer fans and the 76er organization as a whole. Earlier in the year I was laughing and saying no way he deserved a Max contract. I thought this especially after the way he started the season which was not very good. Then he turned down what I thought was a very generious 76er offer.
Now I am having second thoughts! I truly believe he can be a number 1 guy and a franchise player in this league and possibly for this team.
His whole game has jumped a couple of notches.
Marc, I still believe A.I he needs to improve in some areas like being a big time 23 to 26 point a game scorer. He needs to improve his Free throw shooting badly but the rest of his game is superstar material. So with that being said pay the man his money if not somebody else will!
Marc,Iggy plays very hard 95% of the time thats all you can ask from a superstar when your playing a 82 game schedule,plus he is a real team player and plays well with his teammates and they seem to like and believe in him. Thats what I am most concerned with!
Iggy should be a franchise and lifetime sixer with that being said" but lets get him that power forward so he has a chance to win a championship!

Great question Marc!

Suede:

Like Greek says, it makes no sense, man. They have a deficiency at the SG spot. They have a better SG in Dre, and they have an up and comer to step into the vacated SF spot. ES has said that he wants to use that lineup going forward, why aren't we doing it? Carney and Lou as the primary subs, and Willie gets spotted here and there for a favorable match up, try to use him for "instant offense."

...adding: Evans and Smith get mixed and matched at PF according to match ups - the same the way Evans and Thad get mixed right now.

This game really exposed how badly we need a SG. At the risk of Marc making another post about how we should be focusing on this season, I made a list of all free agent SG/SFs who are guaranteed to knock 3s at a decent clip:

Maurice Evans
Walter Herrmann (R)
Jarvis Hayes
Kareem Rush
Carlos Delfino (R)
Sasha Vujacic (R)
Eddie House
Bostjan Nachbar
Fred Jones
Ron Artest

All of these players will give you more than 1 3-pointer a game with a percentage at .333 or better. I'm not sure about the defensive capabilities of many of them unfortunately. If we can tear Jarvis Hayes away from Detroit he would certainly fill the downtown shooting/perimeter defending gap, but that could be difficult. Any insights on the others?

Bob, the problem is that all our cap room will probably go towards a 4 and something else has been bothering me.If E.S. has his sights set on a big name 4 that will make more than 10 to 11 mill. does he trade our #1 pick to add to our cap room[app.1.7 mill.]. Out of your list I really like Hermann because Nachbar is less athletic than Hermann and with more minutes played this year will probably get 4 to 5 mill. per.

Jumpin'Johnny: I'm with Morty -- not sure which games you've watched this year, but Iguodala fits your description to a tee (the "dribble, pass, shoot, defend, rebound; accept role, and limitations; accomodate teammates and coaching staff - minus hulabaloo" description), with the exception of his complaining about calls (which has toned down recently) and occasional harping on teammates. What part of your description of the ideal player do you think he doesn't do?

Your choice on Dunleavy is an interesting one and would fill a shooting need, but Dunleavy can't create his own shot or create shots for others, and on this team his defensive liabilities would prove fatal. Another player who is at Iguodala's experience level but slightly better on offense (and arguably better on defense) is Caron Butler. But I'd be willing to wager that his next contract will be a max contract too.

Anyhow, to each his own. As you say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder to a great degree in the NBA. (But 2-14 is ugly no matter who's looking.)

Suede,
Just checked out your boy Hermanns stats and they are willie green like. He makes Eddy Curry Look like Moses on the boards. We can't afford to be giving 3-4-5- million to mediocre players anymore.

Now, giving 3-5 million to someone like childress who would fits into our system like OJ'S glove is another story.

Suede, I've suggested Herrman on here before, and as long as we are just looking to improve our offense, I think he is the best candidate. He really went on a tear at the end of last season when he finally got the minutes. I can't really vouch for his defensive abilities. But with the limited minutes he has been receiving in Detroit, I think his price has come down. If we can nail him down for a few mil he would vastly improve our offense. And unless we sign Brand, Jamison, or Smith we should have enough room.

Greek, go to the year he got good minutes, Charlotte I believe, 40 % FROM 3 and he is 6!9" and an athlete. No minutes available in Detroit. Ithink he is a Korver level player[15 min. a night]. Just an opinion.

The best part about last night was Iguodala figuring out that he could get a ton of assists by just looking for Thad More.

My wish list

call plays for Thad

make sure that gets at least 12 shots a game

Start Jason Smith and as Morty said let reggie take any available minutes left at the 4

Send Willie Green home just like we did to AI, the reason? If this was Jeopordy the answer would be he plays like somnething that you might have stepped on and comes from a dogs anus

You know what suede, if we could get him on the cheap for a 1 or 2 year deal then I am interested. I just feel burned from the buckner, green, snow, mckie, kenny thomas signings of the past.

Love Childress but he has a qualifiing offer of 4.8 mill. on the table. He is a major reason Atl. may not be able to sign J.Smith, he probably gets 6 to 10 mill. per this contract.

That would be great, then we could just Take smith instead.

Not a J.Smith fan, attitude issues and no team improvement till Horford came aboard. And contrary to his numbers[ blocks and steals] I believe our Atl. bloggers have stated he is not a good man on man defender.Did not post up once last game against us, strictly a jump shooter.And he costs us Sam or A.Miller probably in a sign and trade, Atl. won!t just give him away.

Morty & Statman, I respect your standpoints, and I'm probably in the minority, but it's my position that Iggy doesn't shoot it well enough (though improved, not a natural or classic stroke) and lacks the self-possession of a reliable 4th quarter "assasin." Has assortment of strengths on the hardwood though. He's a player, but among many. Good stat line accumulation. Pending greatness? - a bit of a mirage due to city's drought, just my opinion.

Statman, I like your suggestion of Caron Butler a lot.

It's funny because all of us sixers fans are all clamoring for an international player. Before I knew of this blog I emailed Phil Jasner a name of a Greek player and begged him to tell BK about him.

Last summer the United States was undeafeated until losing to Greece in the semi's. Ofcourse all of Greece including the team partied there asses off and were too hung over for the finals. The Point guard for Greece was by far the best defensive player in that whole tournament. And it was obvious that when he was on the court with wade, lebron. and carmelo that no one wanted to be guarded by this guy.

Dimitris Diamantidis 24 6-5 PG Iraklis: Diamantidis, the Greek Jason Kidd, aka the "Octopus-man" because of his long arms that help him in every aspect of his game. AKA The Diamond Man, Ed I know your listening Bud. Get this guy and someday he will lead the league in steals. And steals for the Sixers equals good times

He isn't 24, he is 27

Jumpin, the guy I think Iggy can be is Moncreif, not a pure shooter but good enough to get by.Does everything well and can be a lock down defender. Greek, seems the Argentine players [Ginobli,Scola,etc.] have a good succes rate in the league. Is the player you mentioned the one the Nets have the rights to, I heard they have a top p.g. in Europe.

My best friend is greek, and everything greek is the greatest - just ask him. So I ask you, if he was Turkish, would you be a fan of his? JK

Statman,

I agree with you about Iggy in that he is not a natural scorer. Very few guys develop into scorers/shooters. As a max guy - you have to be able to average 24 - 25ppg. I don't know if Iggy can do that. The problem is - our previous GM decided that we needed 3 athletic swing men with our last 3 first round picks - the best player available theory is a bad one in my opinion - you draft on need unless a guy is truly special - for example - if you have Kobe and a kid like Lebron comes out - you don't pass him up, obviously. The main reason I would sign Iggy is that he will be tradeable if he doesn't become the star we are anticipating and we decide to move in another direction - much like Lamar Odom is moveable- teams like versatile guys.

DiLeo and King were idiots for taking Carney - they should have kept Sefalosha - he looks like he is a crafty guard with a good handle who can play solid defense - could have been Miller's replacement. Then they take Thad - and while I like Thad - he is still raw - I think he is the youngest player in the league right now. He has played well and continues to improve - but I bet we will be debating the same question in 2 years - is he worth x amount of dollars?

In my opinion, the PF position has to be filled through the draft. Signing a PF this off-season will cost too much and we will be over paying, because none of the FAs are that good or they have injury problems. This draft is deep at PF - Love, Alexander, Speights, White, Arthur. I think everyone knows that I favor Love, White or Alexander. I don't really like Jamison because of his age and low FG%. Would you rather have Jamison and Green back - or an Alexander or Love and one of the guys mentioned by bob Nachbar/Vujacic/House/Delfino?

The 2s and 3s mentioned above by bob are guys we should be able to sign for reasonable money (except Artest). Most of those guys are natural shooters - if they are open, they will bury the open 3.

Another game where the Sixers come out flat. It's something of a concern that they have had two in the last three games. They were lucky the Wizards lost last night, I'm amazed no one is talking about tonight!

This upcoming game is as must-win as there is in the regular season, as this will put us ahead of the Wizards and get us into the playoffs against Cleveland.

Jason Smith should be getting more minutes and more touches. He works so hard, hustling and earning extra possessions that he deserves to shoot. He has a surprisingly smooth stroke for a big man, and I liked his one post-up move last night.

Cheeks is still too inclined to go small when he has the chance. It would never occur to him to try using a big lineup to dominate the inside. The team plays better with Dalembert and Smith on the front line. I think Cheeks is scared to put Young with them because of substitution problems.

If Shavlik Randolph could get some minutes maybe he could be another forward to give us some production. It can't be worse than watching Carney hork up shots.

They don't want to use Carney at the two because of his ball-handling limitations. Not every 6-5 to 6-8 player can dribble well.

Igouduala is clearly a top-level player. He creates his own shot, fills up a stat sheet, plays above average defense. The only thing he doesn't do that Kobe and LeBron do is put up another 7-8 pts. per game. He could do that if he would make his free-throws! He's about as close to a max-money player as there is, and have to keep him.

Hugh, I didn!t think Iggy could be a #1 scorer either, but in the last month he is averaging about 23 a game. Disagree on the 25/26 per game number. It really depends on what type of team your building. Has Duncan,Dumars,Ginobli,Worthy,Mchale, or even the great W.Frazier ever averaged 25 a game, not sure but on a good team, which we aren!t yet, a player has to sacrafice numbers to help the team. Don!t know if any p.f. other than Beasley can step in and start out of this draft.Jason Smith is probably as good a prospect, and gets drafted higher than most of the guys you mention above. Alexander is a 3 that could play some at the 4 [6!8",210] and other than Speights the rest are Evans height.Jamison!s shooting percentage is down this year probably because Butler and Arenas missing a lot of games and him trying to do to much. He hasn!t missed many games over his career and I agree that at 31 he is older than we want but if he has 4 years left at a high level and his price is reasonable [11 to 12 mill.] he may be our best option. He fits E.S.!s description of a player at the Dre!s level and seems like a team guy.Delfino is an interesting name because he plays defense but hopefully Carney can get to his level.

Suede, Moncrief shot 50% FG and 83% FT for CAREER. It's not likely Iggy will ever shoot as well as Sidney did. Moncreif exploded off the floor, was a quicker jumper, had better shooting form, quicker release. Also won NBA's first two 'defensive player of year' awards. Probably could have scored more but was surrounded by Bob Lanier, Marques Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, Paul Pressey, Brian Winters...didn't need to. His court movement was more direct, compact and economical in comparison to Iguodala. Was a wonderful player as you recall. Gave good Sixers teams all they could handle. Good mention. Both AI2 & SM - tough, versatile, impacting.

Man, y'all are depressing me, except Greek, who's cracking me up...

It's easy to say we could've used Korver last night, but I don't know if Mo would've used him the right way. BTW, according to 82games.com, he's the FG% leader in 2-point jumpshots, and he's improved his 3P% to over 40%.

Morty's right about our defense being decent last night, as he put it, "85 points for the Pacers isn't very impressive."

As one poster pointed out previously, why do the Sixers have so much trouble winning on Fridays? And why can't we beat JOB?

I would definitely watch a show where hugh, Statman, and jumpin'johnnygreen sit around Sports Reporters-like talking Sixers basketball, but before the show started you'd need some warning, "The following will depress Sixers fans, please have anti-depression medication handy. Just to be safe, we have blocked this show within a 5-mile radius of the area bridges - don't worry, it's not Comcast." The Greek should host, zinging in one-liners here and there, with suede ending the show with with his draft and free agency updates and breaking news, a la Chad Ford. This year's gimmick feature would've been "Willie Green Jersey of the Week" (and here is Willie in a nice Shanghai Sharks(whatever) alternate home jersey), which jumpin' would protest every time. And everything would be sponsored by Morty's website. Marc, make this happen.

No matter what happens for the rest of the year, the Sixers have played great ball this season, I hope they can, as A.I. would put it, just "leave it all out on the floor" from here on in. I know Philly is fixated on that elusive championship, but if you focus solely on that, you miss the ride.

I'm in - maybe we can do it on CN8 - right after - your call with Lynn Doyle.

Enjoying the ride is one thing sixerzguy - but being realistic is what I and many are being. I've had a couple of relatively serious surgeries recently and have been unable to drive so I am getting a little stir crazy. Maybe I am taking my frustrations out on the 6ers too much - lol. Thankfully this blog is here - it has provided much entertainment over the past 2 months - thanks Marc!

The Sixers reluctance..almost refusal to give Sam the ball in offensive possesions is destroying their offensive continuity

Really let it get away from them down the stretch there....experience is what won out tonight.