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The Sixers have quit on city, team
It is pretty much a forgone conclusion that Eddie Jordan will not be welcomed back next season as the coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Hopefully, half the roster is shown the door with him.
The Sixers do not have the least talent in the NBA. Their roster includes a former All-star at power forward (Elton Brand); a talented, if overpaid guard (Andre Iguodala); a $12 million center (Samuel Dalembert); a young guard scoring 14.9 PPG (Lou Williams); and a young forward with big upside (Thaddeus Young).
Yet they play like the Washington Generals.
The Sixers aren’t just losing, they are failing to show up. In nine of the most recent 10 losses the team has suffered, the Sixers have been defeated by double digits.
Some of these losses can be explained. Losing by double figures to the Lakers, Magic, Hawks, Suns and Celtics can at least be partially accepted for a team that was not expected to be a contender when the season started.
However, big losses to the Heat, Bulls, Raptors, Pacers and most recently the Bobcats can not. There simply is no excuse for the team’s lack of competitive spirit.
It’s not like tanking the season will do the Sixers any good, as the Nets (seven wins) and Timberwolves (14 wins) already have the top two in the lottery locked up. Being the third-worst team in the NBA won’t give the Sixers enough ping pong balls to really make a difference from being the sixth worst team.
It is clear that this team doesn’t care. They have a bunch of veteran players who got fat contracts for mediocre production. They do have some promising youth in Young and Jrue Holiday, but they have not been around long enough to make their opinions heard in the locker room.
The Sixers have no identity and that’s a problem that must be fixed soon. Does anyone know the plan for this team? I certainly haven’t heard one.
This city is not going to tolerate quitters. This year’s group of Sixers fits under that billing. The attendance has reflected that
It’s time to blow the whole thing up, from GM Ed Stefanski, to Jordan, to a large bulk of the roster. This team is going nowhere. It’s time the front office and roster does.
Sixers trade nothing for nothing
Sixers fans had hoped that the NBA’s trading deadline would be a time to celebrate a change in personnel for the team.
Personnel did change.
But the team still stinks.
Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert remain as the team did nothing to shake up an overpaid and underachieving squad. They did move a few bench players.
The following is an ESPN.com report.
“The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to a trade that will send Jodie Meeks and Francisco Elson to the Philadelphia 76ers for Primoz Brezec, Royal Ivey and a second-round draft pick, two league sources told ESPN.com NBA Insider Chad Ford.”
Meeks and Elson combine for just over 5 points per game.
Way to shake things up Ed!
All eyes on Andre Iguodala as trade deadline nears
With the NBA’s trade deadline approaching on Thursday, the Sixers’ Andre Iguodala will soon find out if he will be getting a new home.
Right now, it doesn’t look like it.
Iguodala – as well as Samuel Dalembert – has been a hot name in trade rumors over the last month, but with 24 hours left to make a deal nothing seems on the horizon.
One of the most popular rumors that was in circulation was Iguodala and Dalembert going to Houston in a deal that would bring Tracy MaGrady to Philadelphia. That deal will not be happening as Houston has announced that it plans to deal MaGrady today to either the Knicks or Bulls.
Another bit of speculation had the Cavs interested in landing the Sixers’ swing guard, but that too looks like a long shot at best. The Cavs top target is Amare Stoudemire, which would get LeBron James one of the top big men in the game. If that falls through, it is being reported that Cleveland is looking at a deal with Golden State, which would involve Corey Maggette. The team has also talked to the Wizzards about the availability of Antawn Jamison.
That doesn’t leave a whole lot of options left for Iguodala. One possibility that remains is Boston, who is looking to get younger and more athletic. The Celtics have been looking to trade Ray Allen and his contract is close enough to Iguodola’s that the teams could make a trade work without too many other pieces.
In all likelihood though, Iguodala will remain a Sixer. Ed Stefanski has come out publicly and said that that the team has no plans of trading Iguodala and that they do not want to make a salary-shredding move. He also said the team had no interest in signing Allen Iverson – a couple of days before it did.
A lot can change in 24 hours.
For the Sixers’ sake, lets hope it does.
Writer thinks Sixers should go “Black Sox”
One of the worst moments in the history of professional sports took place in 1919 when eight members of the Chicago White Sox decided to tank the World to collect a gambling bet and stick it to then-owner Charles Comisey.
Everything about it was dirty: From firs baseman Arnold Gandil getting the wheels turning by convincing gambling figures that a series could be fixed, to the seven teammates who joined him in handing the title to the Reds.
Just thinking about it makes me sick.
This brings us to today’s column in the Inquire by Stephen A. Smith.
Smith is brash, loud and often annoying, but he does know the NBA and the Sxiers in particular. Whether you love or hate his style it is hard not to appreciate his knowledge.
On Monday, however, he slipped into lunacy.
With the Sixers playing their best basketball of the season and on a four-game winning streak, Smith suggested that the team should stop trying to win games and tank the season. While many fans feel that the Sixers would do more harm than good by winnings some games down the stretch and fighting for a bottom playoff spot, few have gone as far as Smith, who wrote:
“What matters most now is where the Sixers go from here. Knowing Stefanski, he’ll swear they’re about making “basketball decisions,” not financial ones. Well, here’s one:
Tank the season. Stop wasting folks’ time trying to win what amounts to meaningless games.
The Sixers need to emulate San Antonio (Tim Duncan), Cleveland (LeBron James), Miami (Dwyane Wade), Toronto (Chris Bosh) – teams that once did everything they could to position themselves for a top draft pick just to get their hands on a franchise-caliber player.”
Even if the Sixers were to “tank the season” as Smith puts it, what would that guarantee them? The NBA lottery a weighted system that gives the worst teams the best chance of landing the No. 1 pick. With four wins, the Nets are virtually a lock to have the most ping pong balls in the wheel.
Even they are guaranteed nothing.
The Sixers need to shake things up and that may mean getting rid of players such as Andre Iguodola and Samuel Dalembert. Any moves the Sixers make could bring back talent or picks that could help the team down the line. There could even be some addition by subtracting after the Feb. 18 trade deadline.
These are things that Sixers fans to cling to for hope.
Tanking the season is not.
Sixers put it all together … at least for one night
Andre Iguodala looked like a player worthy of his max contract.
Thaddeus Young looked like an emerging, young forward who could provide all the intangibles.
Willie Green looked capable of being an NBA player.
When it all came together it gave the Sixers just enough to defeat the Chicago Bulls, 106, 103 in overtime.
I’m not sure what should be the bigger news: The fact that the Sixers finally played as they are capable of, or that on a night when so may things went right they still needed overtime at home to beat the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference?
The optimists can cling to Brand’s 26-point performance and Iguodala’s 25 point, eight rebound, 8 assist effort as a reason to keep this team together past the trading deadline. There is talent on the team and when it all comes together victories can be achieved. As bad as the Sixers have been (16-30), Wednesday’s win brought them to within 6 ½ games of the No. 8 seed in the East. A minor winning streak and the team could make the final months of the season almost watchable.
Yes the bottom of the East is that bad.
The rest of us can do nothing more than scratch our heads. How can Brand be so good one night and so mediocre the next? How come Iguodala doesn’t bring the full package every night? What could this team accomplish if it had a coach that that found a lineup and stuck with it.
It’s no secret that the Sixers have more questions than answers. That could change – at least a little – in two weeks when the NBA’s trade deadline passes. The front office has to do something to try to give this team an identity. Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert have value, but their contracts make them hard to deal (though performances like Iguodala’s on Wednesday help). If the Sixers can find a trade partner willing to take on either contract they should jump on it. This would help speed up the inevitable rebuilding process.
At the very least, it will be interesting to see what this team does over the next two weeks.
And that’s the first time that could be said about the Sixers in a long time.
Sixers win 2nd of the week, without The Answer
The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics by a point tonight, 98-97 in a game played without newly acquired Allen Iverson. Elton Brand had a strong game off the bench, scoring 23 points on 7-12 shooting; Iguodala, Speights and Green all scored in double figures as well.
Such is the NBA, where a 7-19 team that just broke a 12 game losing streak, playing without it’s newly acquired catalyst can defeat a 20-5 team riding an 11 game winning streak at home.
I believe this victory reveals the flaw in resigning Iverson to play with this team, when they so obviously perform better overall as a unit without him. I love Allen, don’t get me wrong, but this current 76er’s team is vastly different from the one he was drafted onto in the 90’s and his playing style simply doesn’t fit in with the program.
Iverson has hardly been setting the basketball world on fire since his return to the east, playing in 5 games, averaging 34 minutes and scoring 15.6 points per game on 41% shooting. More importantly, he has only dished out 21 assists and had 4 steals in his return, evidence that The Answer has lost a step, and is really not at home playing in an environment where his job is not to take the ball to the hoop every time he touches it.
Bottom line, 41% shooting just does not cut it in the NBA, and while his short return to the team has not been long enough to provide a true analysis, it is fitting that the team responded to the coach resting him after having his left knee drained twice this week in an effort to relieve arthritis with their first win over a winning team.
It also probably was significant that the Celtics played a large part of the game without Rasheed Wallace, who was perfectly healthy for the game, but who drew two technicals and then had a minor meltdown, having to be restrained by assistant coach Tom Thibadeau before before being ejected from the game. This was Wallace’s 30th career early exit, the most for any player since 1992, and the two technicals give him 10 for the season, with 16 resulting in an automatic suspension.
That series of events may have marked a turning point for the Sixers, although they continued to trail until later in the game when they cut it to a one point game with 8:27 to play.
Bottom line, the Sixers WEREN”T terrible, for the second time in a week. That is more than could have been said of them any time previously this season, so we will take that as an improvement, but I still see the 30 win plateau as a stretch for the current roster of players that in my opinion are grossly overpaid and underproductive. The Answer, doesnt answer any of the current problems except to briefly put a couple more butts in the seats. Now that the buzz from Iverson’s signing has worn off, that doesnt seem to be happening either.
An ugly win is better than no win, I guess
Playing without their top player in point guard Devin Harris, the New Jersey Nets should have stood no chance of winning when they walked into the Wachovia Center Friday night.
Instead, the Philadelphia Sixers gave them every chance to earn their first win of the season.
It turned out, the Nets didn’t want it.
The Sixers overcame a small fourth quarter deficit to pull out an uninspiring 97-94 win. The Nets came into the game as the worst team in the league at 0-5 and were without six injured players, leaving them with just four players on the bench. Still, they almost took down a Sixers team that looked lost at times on both ends of the court.
Elton Brand – who was signed last year to be the Sixers go-to player – was never in foul trouble, yet played just 18 minutes. He produced eight points and the team was -6 while he was on the court. Andre Iguodala made the biggest bucket of the night, a three pointer with two minutes left to give the Sixers a 95-92 lead.
After the game, Iguodala was quoted as saying. “I wish we could have played better. We’ll still take the win it counts.”
It does count, just not for much.
The Sixers are now 3-0 against Easter Conference bottom-feeders and 0-2 against top teams.
Expect that trend to continue all the way to the first round of the playoffs where the Sixers will exit with little fight. This team is stuck in a holding pattern and there seems to be no immediate way out of it.
Balanced Sixers net first win of season
The Sixers got their first win of the season Friday night, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, 99-86, in their home-opener.
The Sixers recovered from a season-opening loss to the Magic to even their record at 1-1.
Though the sample size is just two games I think what we have seen out of the Sixers so far is what we can expect to see the rest of the way. Philly will do well when matchup up with the average-to-bottom teams that the Eastern Conference puts out but struggle against the top tier teams.
They don’t have enough talent to beat teams like the Magic, Cavs or Celtics, but have more than enough to take down squads like the Bucks, Nets and Bobcats.
It is kind of the way the Sixers have been since Allen Iverson was in town.
New head coach Eddie Jordan promised to implement a Princeton-style offense and the early results are indicating that the players re buying into it. The Princeton offense is one that spreads the ball around and tries to find the open man through a series of cuts and screens. Take a look at the scoring averages through two games and you can see that there is plenty of diversity.
Lou Williams 17.0
Marreese Speights 15.0
Andre Iguodala 13.0
Elton Brand 12.5
Jason Kapono 11.5
Thaddeus Young 10.5
Rodney Carney 10.0
Samuel Dalmbert 9.5
While I am not sure the Sixers will finish the season with six or seven guys in double figures, I do expect the balance to remain close to the same. That is the type of team Jordan wants. It won’t lead to many All-Stars, but it should lead to a playoff berth.
The Sixers should get their second-straight win tonight, when they travel to take on the New York Knicks.
Even in basketball it is a Philly-New York weekend.
Sixers open up to little fanfare
It is not often a season-opener goes unnoticed, but that’s exactly what is happening for the Sixers as they prepare for the start of the season today.
With the Phillies set to face the Yankees tonight, basketball is set deeply in the background Philly fans. There is also the notion that the Sixers will be nothing more than mediocre this season. The Phillies are a series away from bringing the city another championship, the Eagles are in the thick of things in the NFC East and the Flyers are one of the favorites to win the Cup. No one is picking the Sixers to go anywhere.
That wasn’t the case last year when many pendants predicted the Sixers to be a top four team in the Eastern Conference. But the Sixers struggled to fit Elton Brand into their offense, playing much of the season bellow .500. An injury erased the second half of Brands season and the Sixers actually got better during that time, grabbing the sixth playoff spot in a top-heavy Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia returns mostly the same team, minus point guard Andre Miller. Lou Williams will slide into a starting role with Andre Iguodala starting as the team’s shooting guard. Third year player Thaddeus Young will team with Brand in the front-court, with Samuel Dalembert. The bench is also solid with outside threat Jason Kapono expected go get big minutes and Willie Green, Rodney Carney and Marreesse Speights resuming the roles their same roles from last year.
The Sixers are still a young team and taking with another year of experience under the players’ belts the team should finish a little better than their 41-41 mark last season.
The problem is, then what? Likely the Sixers make the playoffs and get knocked out by the Celtics, Magic, or Cavaliers.
The NBA has become a star-driven league and the Sixers don’t have stars. They have good players, not great. Iguodala is the leader of the team and he has never been an All-Star.
This team could be fun to watch this year, but they hardly have the chance to captivate the city like the other three major sports teams can.
The Sixers will be mediocre – and they have been there for too long.
Sixers Are On A Run
It seems like the sixers are on a good run here people. Tony DiLeo has the personality of a pencil, but he has got the team playing great, and WINNING!! they lost a heart breaker to the celtics last week, but they come right back and win 4 in a row. the fact that brand is out and they still win is amazing. After the All Star break I see them continuing this trend of winning. Andre Igudala is stepping up and i can’t say enough about the rookie Maurice Speights!! The Sixers willl definatly make some noise down the stretch and make the playoffs!!
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