The fine folks in the PR department over at the Philadelphia 76ers were kind enough to arrange a call for some of the Philadelphia sports bloggers to speak with new Sixers head coach Eddie Jordan. So first off, thanks to both the Sixers and Coach Jordan for taking the time to chat with us today—much appreciated.
Able to jump on the line for the call was Brian from Depressed Fan, Derek from RealGM and Philly Arena, Dannie from ReclinerGM, Ricky from Sixers 4 Guidos, Jeff from Philadunkia and my brother and I.
As you can imagine, the line of questioning ran the gamut from the Princeton offense, to defensive philosophy, to what to do with Samuel Dalembert. I will do my best to summarize here Coach Jordan’s answers in all departments and my take on those answers.
On what to do with Samuel Dalembert:
It is clear to most observers that Samuel Dalembert is a colossal mismatch for the Princeton offense due to his limited offensive skill set in a scheme that demands versatility. Though, it could be easily argued that Dalembert is ill suited for most any NBA offense other than one intent on throwing lob passes his way all game long.
Of course, Coach Jordan took a diplomatic approach when asked how Dalembert fits into the Princeton offense. Jordan highlighted that Dalembert is an elite shotblocker that rebounds the ball well and can run the floor. No arguments from me on that point. But what was probably most telling was Coach Jordan’s take on Dalembert’s commitment to his teammates and his work ethic. Jordan said: “He has to buy into being an unselfish player who cares about his teammates. That’’s always been the knock on him. If he can play unselfish basketball, and stop all the up and down stuff, the offense can either run through him, or around him, but he has to buy in.”
In my opinion, that is about as close to a public tongue lashing as you will see a coach give one of his players. And personally, I like the approach. Jordan is sending a clear message to Dalembert and any other player paying attention—the Sixers will play a team brand of basketball and if you can’t buy into the philosophy you will find yourself sitting at the end of the bench.
On the defensive philosophy:
Eddie Jordan is widely considered to be an offensive-minded coach. Because of that, I was keen to hear what his philosophy was on the defensive end of the floor. Essentially, Coach Jordan emphasized that a championship-quality team starts at the defensive end of the floor and must have a frontcourt capable of defending the basket. When pressed on the weak perimeter defense of last year, Jordan stressed that the Sixers need to do a better job of containing the dribble penetration and rotate to the basketball better.
There is no doubt that the Sixers have the athletes needed to be a quality defensive team. The question is: can coach Jordan motivate them to up their level of play?
On offensive philosophy:
There were no huge surprises on the offensive philosophy. Coach Jordan said he firmly believes that any good coach adapts his system to the skill set of his players. For this team, he acknowledged that meant a handful of players that essentially have the same skill set and lack a true outside threat. Because of that, Coach Jordan said that each one of the players will be asked to be a chameleon and occupy different spots on the floor. Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams will both be used as combo guards and Elton Brand will be moved around the floor in a variety of ways.
Most interestingly, Coach Jordan indicated that the Princeton offense thrives off of combo guards. Does that mean a pure point guard like Andre Miller has no use for this team? I think so. Even more telling on this front is Jordan’s candid acknowledgement that players that can knock down the three are a huge priority. It seems likely that Sixers will be shopping for a long-range threat at the expense of bringing back Andre Miller.
My overall first impression of Coach Jordan was positive. He did not shy away from questions and answered them candidly and in a matter of fact manner. It is clear that he has a system in place and a plan in mind for this roster. He is painfully aware of this roster has holes and admits it is a work in progress.
Will his plan work? That remains to be seen.
Great job, guys!