Heard in the Cheap Seats

Before I get into this post, I just want to apologize for not writing anything for a week.  Both my brother and I have been all over the place and I have not been in front of my computer at all.  I will try not to let it happen again.  The good news is that my writing should be vastly improved, as I have been on a steady diet of performance enhancing drugs.

It seems like months ago that the Sixers were ousted from the playoffs by the Orlando Magic.  There are many questions that need to be addressed this offseason.  One of those questions was partially answered earlier today.  The question:  Who will be the Sixers head coach next season?  The answer:  Not Tony DiLeo.  Ed Stefanski met with DiLeo earlier today and Dileo informed him that he was withdrawing his name from consideration for the head coaching position.  Dileo will return to the front office.

I can’t say that I am surprised at all.  I don’t think that DiLeo would have retained the job anyway.  In fact, if you enjoy conspiracy theories, I wouldn’t be surprised if Stefanski informed DiLeo at their meeting that he was not in consideration, and the two agreed to report that DiLeo had withdrawn because of all he has done for the organization.  I think DiLeo did an admirable job considering the circumstances.  The reality is, he is not an NBA head coach, at least not in my opinion.  There were times that the team looked like it was responding to DiLeo, and other times they did not.  With the way the season ended, and many of the players speaking in not so glowing terms about the coaching staff, the writing was on the wall for a new regime.  So, who will coach the Sixers next season?

I have no idea, but I am of the belief that this is the most important offseason the team has had in years.  During the years that Billy King was handing out terrible contracts like candy on Halloween, the Sixers were able to have some good years because Allen Iverson carried them.  The Sixers are trying to get back to the land of NBA contenders, and the job of getting them there has been given to Ed Stefanski.    Since Larry Brown left in 2003, the Sixers have had 5 coaches, and are looking for their sixth.  You won’t find upper echelon NBA teams with that kind of instability.  Honestly, that’s ridiculous.  The next coach has to be a coach that is here to build a winner.  That’s why this offseason is so important.  There are so many questions regarding the roster, but none of them matter until we know who will be charged with trying to mold the Sixers into contenders.  For Stefanski, this will be one of those pass/fail situations.  There is no middle ground because that’s where the Sixers are currently stuck.  Whoever Stefanski hires has a tough job ahead of them.  That is why I feel the Sixers need a tough minded, demanding coach with some kind of track record.  This hiring cannot be another situation where the Sixers decide a year from now they have the wrong guy.  They simply don’t have that luxury.  The fans are already staying away from the arena, and if this is screwed up, the Wachovia Center will sound like Wimbledon. 

There are quite a few names that are being thrown out, but at this point no one knows what direction Stefanski will go in.  Will it be Eddie Jordan, Doug Collins, Avery Johnson, Jeff Van Gundy, or a name that isn’t on anyone’s radar at the moment?  We will start to hear more rumors as the days go by.  Who do you want as the new Sixers coach?  Can a new coach finally get the Sixers out of mediocrity?

There are so many questions and no answers at this time.  We will be tracking the hiring process as it plays out.  Once the coaching question is answered, we can then examine the many questions facing Ed Stefanski and his new head coach moving forward.  Stay tuned.

I was at the Wachovia Center for last night’s embarrassing end to the Sixers season.  There were quite a few empty seats in the building, and as the final buzzer sounded I thought maybe they were the smart ones.  I am not going to break down last night’s game because it is pointless.  I am not even going to go too much into anything regarding the Sixers.  There is going to be plenty of time for all that.  I just want to say that I am disappointed and as I sit and think about this season, I really didn’t see any growth in this team. 

What bothered me about last night is the team clearly had no interest in fighting for their playoff lives.  There was no sense of urgency.  I never once saw any Sixer talking to each other on the bench during timeouts.  They looked like a combination of a team running in quicksand and being stoned at the same time.  Trust me, that isn’t a good combination.  What we saw last night from the Sixers is inexcusable.  There is nothing else to say about it.  The one thing I would tell any naysayers during this season was that the Sixers are a young team that fights and plays hard.  I can’t even say that anymore.  Not after last night’s game, and especially not after what they said after the Magic embarrassed them in their home building.

“I”m going to sit down with Ed and discuss what I think will get us over the [hump].”- Andre Iguodala

Really, Andre?  Dude, you are a good player, but come on!  Who the hell is he?  What has Andre Iguodala done to earn the right to even utter those words?!

“We weren”t always there.”

“We had mental lapses.”

“We had inner turmoil.”- Andre Iguodala

Maybe try being a leader and doing something about it instead of using it as an excuse after the season ends in a disappointing way.

“The coaches are responsible for guys [being] prepared and playing,”  “They have to hold guys accountable. It’’s been that way all year, so you couldn”t expect anything different.

“You have to step up and get into guys. If [as the coach] you don”t have that type of personality, to be able to go at guys . . . “

 “At the same time, it’’s your position. You”ve seen the mistakes and all that going on. Was anybody getting talked to about that? To me, this is losing if you have situations like that.”

“[The lack of that] has bothered me, and I”ve told them it’’s bothered me, that it’’s something you”ve got to deal with,”

“When you see the lack of effort, the lack of concentration, the lack of being able to get things done, and to stick with the same thing, to me you”re just trying to play guys, and I don”t feel good about it.”

“You don”t know if you”re going to get back to this position,”  “This is my 14th year. It’’s not guaranteed that I”ll be in the playoffs again. To not get the effort, to see how things went, the lack of hustle, that leaves a distaste.

“I”m not a coach, I don”t make the substitutions. But if you”re going to do it like that, then that’’s the way it’’s done, then you get that type of game. You”re going to get whupped, plain and simple.

“If you see mistakes and you don”t address them when it’’s going on, guys get comfortable . . . That’’s why you lose seven games while you”re trying to move up [in the seedings].- All made by Theo Ratliff

I understand what Ratliff was saying, but please enough with the finger pointing.  The Sixers for the most part did not stand up and hold themselves accountable.  Now we find out, that certain players on the team feel that other players lack focus. 

Believe me, that was just a sampling of the quotes from the spoiled mouths of the Sixers.  I am just glad I wasn’t holding anything that could have been thrown thru the window when I read them.  There is blame to go around on all sides here.  I personally don’t think Tony DiLeo should be back.  I think they need a tough minded proven coach who will figure out if these kids have any desire to be winners.  There are some pieces on this team, but tons of problems.  Questions surround this team at every position.  Like I said, we will be discussing all that in the months to come.  For now, I will just say I am disappointed and shocked at what I saw from this team, and especially at what I heard from their mouths after the fact.  I have been wanting this team to grow, and based on how this season ended, you would be hard pressed to convince me that they did any growing at all this year.  I am not sure if they “get it”.  I am going to step away from thinking about the Sixers for a bit, but we will definitely be looking at this team and its future very soon.  Until then, maybe we should just watch the Bulls and Celtics series to remind ourselves what NBA basketball is supposed to look like.

“This is a game we won’t forget about and also will forget about.”  Uhhhh…What?!  That is what Tony DiLeo was quoted as saying following Sunday night’s awful loss to the New Jerset Nets.  Now, I know what DiLeo meant, but that doesn’t make it any less funny to read.  That is one of those quotes that can make your head spin, very similar to the way the Sixers play can do the same.  I chose not to write a single word after the loss to the Nets, because it really didn’t deserve any space on this website.  Plus, I probably would have been arrested for vulgarity had I written anything at all.  Instead I want to simply look at the remaining six games, and the Sixers chances of snagging the 5^th seed in the Eastern Conference.

There are a few factors that play into the remaining games as I see it.  I am basing all my predictions on possibilities.  Three of the final 6 games will be against Boston and Cleveland and there is a chance that the Sixers may not be facing their best squad, but it remains to be seen.  Here’s how I think it will play out between the Sixers and Heat in the battle for the 5^th seed…

Tuesday, April 7th

Sixers @Charlotte- Tonight’s game is huge.  While it is not a must win for the season, I believe it is if the Sixers want any chance of beating out Miami.  The Bobcats are going to fight tooth and nail, as they cannot afford any more losses if they want to sneak into the 8^th seed.  I think/hope that the Sixers come out with aggression and play from in front and win a close game.

New Orleans @ Miami

Obviously Miami has the same motivation in their final 5 games as the Sixers do.  But, tonight I think a good New Orleans team will win in Miami.  New Orleans is fighting for playoff seeding as well.  They currently sit in 6^th in the West, but can as high up as 3^rd if they play well down the stretch.

Sixers- 41-36     Heat- 41-37

Thursday, April 9^th

Sixers @ Chicago

It is looking like the Bulls have secured either the 7^th or 8^th seed in the Eastern Conference, but they aren’t going to be assured anything at this point.  It will be a tough road game, but I am going to go with the Sixers in this one.  Andre Miller is going to put up big numbers against the Bulls.

Sixers- 42-36     Heat- 41-37

Friday, April 10^th

Cleveland @ Sixers

The Sixers have no shot in this game.  Not only is it a road/home back to back, but it is against the best team in the conference.  The Cavs are fighting to beat out the Lakers for best overall record in the NBA.  They have only lost one game (albeit to the Lakers) at home, and have their sights set on the NBA Finals.  You better believe they want home court advantage.  Sixers will be beaten handily in this one.

Miami @ Boston

The Celtics are tough at home, and they definitely want to ensure having the home court advantage in a possible 2^nd round match up with the Magic.  I think Miami is going to play tough in this one, but the Celtics prevail.

Sixers- 42-37     Heat- 41-38

Sunday, April 12^th

Sixers @ Toronto

The Sixers have a lot to play for, and Toronto has absolutely nothing to play for.  That should be a recipe for a win, although you never know with this Sixers team.  I will give them the benefit of the doubt and put this one in the win column.

New York @ Miami

Dwayne Wade will make sure that Miami takes care of the Knicks in front of the home crowd in a big game. 

Sixers- 43-37    Heat- 42-38

Tuesday, April 14^th

Boston @ Sixers

There is a pretty good chance that this game will mean something in the playoff seeding for the Celtics.  I will base my prediction on that premise and say that the Celtics take down the Sixers in order to secure the 2^nd seed in the Eastern Conference.

Miami @ Atlanta

This game could very well be a first round playoff series match up.  Depending on where the Hawks stand at this point, this game could be to lock up home court for the first round.  I think the Hawks will want to make sure the Heat don’t feel good on Atlanta’s home court.  Atlanta wins a close game.

Sixers- 43-38     Heat- 42-39

Wednesday, April 15^th

Sixers @ Cleveland

The more I looked at the schedules for each team, I decided that the race between the Lakers and Cavs for best record in the NBA could very well come down to the final regular season game.  With that theory in mind, the Sixers will not win in Cleveland.  If they have already clicned by this point and decide to rest some players, the Sixers may have chance.  I am not sure that will be the case.

Detroit @ Miami

If everything breaks down the way I have laid it out, then this would be a huge game for Miami.  At this point, Detroit will likely already know it can do no better than the 8^th seed, and will pack it in like the Pistons tend to do.  Miami wins their final regular season game.

Sixers- 43-39     Heat- 43-39

So, that would mean the Sixers and Heat end their battle tied.  The two teams split their season series, so the next tiebreaker would be conference record.  If we use my scenario, the Heat would finish with a conference record of 28-24, and the Sixers would sit at 27-25.  Obviously, this would mean that the Sixers would finish 6^th in the East and face either the Magic or Celtics.

I am hoping that it plays out differently, of course.  I am simply laying out what my prediction would be if you put a gun to my head (please don’t, I don’t want to have to get physical).  I know I am making a big deal out of this whole thing, but it’s because I truly believe that if the Sixers can somehow get the 5^th seed, they will win their first round series.  I believe just winning a series and getting to face Cleveland in the 2^nd round will benefit all the young Sixers heading into next season.  This team needs to grow and learn what it feels like to win a playoff series, and getting the 5^th seed is the only way for the Sixers to do that.

nba.com

For the sake of full disclosure, I must admit that I am a very emotional person.  For better or worse, that emotion always transfers into my love for sports.  Well, I am going to try and stay level headed and let things play out for once instead of making an emotional declaration.  What I am referring to is, the other day after Thaddeus Young went down with an injury, I proclaimed that the Sixers would have no shot at earning the 5^th seed or of winning a first round playoff series against the Hawks.  Now, I consider myself very knowledgeable when it comes to sports, and I will say that the statement wasn’t made based on just pure emotion, but it was definitely fueled by it.  From a purely basketball standpoint, losing Thaddeus Young hurts the Sixers in a big way.  Young had become the Sixers most reliable scorer, even more so than Andre Iguodala.  His ability to run the floor is unparalleled at his position.  If Young was out for the entire year, the Sixers would be in big trouble, but the hope is that he can return for the playoffs.  So, what I failed to take into account, is that other Sixers now have a chance to step up.  In a short term situation it is actually possible to have a little success.  I guess what I am saying is that I am retracted my statement that the Sixers have no shot at the 5^th seed.  I’m doing it, because I can.

We had our first chance to see the Sixers in action without Thaddeus Young last night against the Milwaukee Bucks.  The Sixers trailed by 13 in the first half, and 8 at halftime, but outscored the Bucks 55-36 in the second half to win 105-95.  While one game, especially against a crappy and depleted Bucks team, certainly isn’t anything to hang your hat on, there were some positive developments. 

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN POSITIVE COMMENTS ON REGGIE EVANS, WHICH MAY LEAD TO YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN EXPLODING.

I was hoping that Tony DiLeo would start Speights at power forward in place of Young, but just as I was expecting, he went with Reggie Evans.  My guess is there were a lot of reasons for this move.  He probably preferred having Evans’ defense to start the game as well as not putting too much pressure on Speights.  I will agree that having Speights come off the bench and provide scoring is a definite boost.  DiLeo’s decision didn’t look bad at all as Reggie Evans was on fire in the first quarter, including two 3 point plays.  He ended the night with 13 points and 7 boards, with 4 of those coming off the offensive glass.  Yes, my friends, I am giving kudos to Evans.  I thought DiLeo did a nice job of splitting the minutes up in the frontcourt between Dalembert (19), Evans (26), Speights (27), Ratliff (8), and Marshall (16).  Speights contributed nicely with 14 points and 6 boards, now if he can just figure out a way to stop getting dumb fouls.  Speights and Lou Williams were my two favorite developments of last night.  Speights had been in a bit of a funk and his minutes had been cut, but he seems to be rejuvenated, and Williams played great last night.  DiLeo gave Williams 31 minutes and he responded with 21 points on 7 for 10 from the field, went to the line 8 times, and chipped in 4 assists.  These are the two guys that can soften the blow of losing Young.  Lou Williams is capable of getting his own shot, and if he takes it upon himself to shoulder more of the load, we may see him grow right before our eyes.  The key will be for Williams to continue being aggressive and taking the ball to the basket rather than settling for the jumper.  Last night was a good start.  Sometimes when a teammate goes down, it motivates others to step up in his absence.  That is why I jumped the gun a bit.  In the short term, the Sixers may be able to succeed.  To do it, they will need contributions from everyone, but to me, it is Speights and Williams that hold the keys.  We already know what we are going to get from Miller and Iguodala.  I hope DiLeo is able to find 30 minutes a night for Williams, because I think if he does, we may be seeing a lot more 20 point nights.  No matter what, there is an opportunity for the Sixers to do some growing here.  Will they step up or will they falter?  The last 8 games will answer that question.

The Sixers needed a win in the worst way tonight, and they came through with a 98-85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.  They pretty much had a comfortable lead throughout the game, but the Hawks were able to fight all the way back and cut the lead to one with about 9 minutes left in the game.  But the old veteran Theo Ratliff would have no part of a Hawks comeback win.  His hustle and defense helped the Sixers to a 14-2 run to close the game. 

It was a nice substitution by Tony DiLeo to insert Ratliff for Samuel Dalembert.  The Hawks were able to consistently get easy buckets in the second half until Ratliff was inserted into the game.  As anyone who reads anything I have written knows, I am constantly harping on defense being the key for the Sixers to have any success.  The Hawks were on the verge of taking the game over and were scoring every time down the floor, especially Josh Smith, who had 33 points and barely missed a shot.  I wonder if Sixers fans were picturing what Smith would have looked like with his skills on the Sixers this year. 

But, here’s what the Hawks’ possessions looked like after Ratliff was inserted: missed jumper and shot clock violation, made basket, layup, missed 3, 2 made free throws, Ratliff block followed by a missed three, missed jumper, missed jumper, turnover, turnover on a Ratliff steal, offensive foul turnover drawn by Ratliff, 2 free throws, missed jumper, 2 free throws, turnover, missed 3, and missed jumper.

As you can see, Ratliff had a direct impact on the Sixers defense.  The Hawks missed their last 8 shots to go along with 4 turnovers, 2 of those directly caused by Ratliff.  The other thing Theo did so well defensively was how aggressively he hedged on screens and still got back to his man in the lane.  Marreese Speights also gave the Sixers good minutes off the bench.  I would love to say that he got those minutes because DiLeo finally realized that even though Speights makes mistakes, he brings more positives to the court than negatives.  Unfortunately, Speights got his minutes due to the fact that Thaddeus Young went down with an ugly looking ankle injury in the first quarter.  Young needed help getting to the locker room.  Just when the kid was coming into his own, he has to land on someone’s foot.  More on that later, but back to the game for a minute.

It was a big win for the Sixers.  There really is no margin for error at this point.  As I have said, it would be great for this team moving forward to make the playoffs and win a series, but if they don’t find a way into the 5 seed, that won’t be happening.  If they can get into the 5 spot, their opponent would be the same Hawks team that the Sixers have now beaten 2 out of 3 times.  There is no room to throw up a clunker like they did against Charlotte.  All of the remaining 9 games need to be treated like playoff games. 

There’s only one problem, and I hate to be so pessimistic…or do I?  The Sixers won’t be earning the 5^th seed in the conference or winning any playoff games without Thaddeus Young in the lineup.  Defense wins in the playoffs, and with no Young, the Sixers become an extremely easy team to defend.  According to the postgame reports, Young’s X-Rays were negative and he will be having an MRI Wednesday morning.  Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

from espn.com

Going into last night’s game against the Phoenix Suns, I felt pretty damn good that the Sixers would come away with a victory.  The Suns are an older team that typically struggles in the second game of a back to back.  More than that, I loved the match up.  The Suns don’t play a lick of defense, and basically just hope to push it up the floor every chance they get.  Teams like that play right into the Sixers hands, in my opinion.  You may beat the Sixers, but it certainly won’t be at their own game.  Not to mention, the Suns tend to turn the ball over a lot, and when teams do that against the Sixers, they are just asking for trouble.

Well, last night’s game ended up playing out exactly how I thought and hoped it would.  The Sixers led the entire game and crushed the Suns 108-91, leaving Stoudemire, Shaq, and Nash sitting on the bench for the 4^th quarter.  This was the third win in a row for the Sixers, and brought their record to 17-10 under Tony DiLeo.  That’s a far cry from the team’s 9-14 start.  Last night, the Sixers were led by Thaddeus Young and Marreese Speights.  The two young guys put on a show that was fun to watch.  It is hard for most teams in the NBA to compete with the athleticism of the entire Sixers team, and specifically their frontcourt.  The Sixers took care of the ball with only 10 turnovers, and conversely forced 18 turnovers by the Suns.  Steve Nash and Shaq were nothing more than also-rans in this game.  Three Sixers ended up with more than 20 points: Young with 25, Speights with 24, and Iguodala with 22.  Honestly, I could rattle off a bunch of stats, but the bottom line is, the Sixers dominated the game from start to finish, and seem to be continuing to improve as a team.  Because of that, I just wanted to quickly touch on a few positive developments that I have seen in this team.

1)       The continued development of Speights- I like the fact that Speights seems to be getting more and more minutes, especially late in games.  He is gaining confidence each game, and is showing the ability to score in a variety of ways.  Also, I think he brings some swagger and attitude to the team when he is on the floor, and they need that.

2)       Defense- While the numbers may not show it, I would argue that the Sixers defense has significantly improved under Tony DiLeo.  The rotations are much better, and Dalembert is doing a nice job challenging shots in the lane.  The Sixers definitely need to defend the 3 much better, but if they continue to improve on their team defense, those numbers should improve as well.  We all know that when the Sixers can get stops and turnovers, it allows them to play up tempo much more.

3)       Lou Williams- Even though Williams has struggled of late with his outside shot, he has continued to help the team and contribute off the bench.  To me, it is a great sign that he is taking the ball into the lane and either finishing or getting to the line, as well as developing into the leader of the second unit.

4)       Elton Brand’s Injury- I have said many times that I thought eventually the Sixers would be better with Brand.  Still, with the team knowing he will not be back this year, it allows them to establish their identity.  They understand what their roles are, and exactly the type of basketball they have the most success with.  There will be no worrying about trying to gel with Brand.

5)       Offensive Efficiency- It is obvious to me that the Sixers are much better under DiLeo in their half court sets.  They seem to have a clear idea of where to be and what they are running.  We have seen a lot of back doors, alley oops, and even a few jumpers coming off screens.  They look to be taking advantage of mismatches on that end of the floor more than they used to.  Now, I realize they still don’t have consistent shooters, but even given that I feel much more comfortable with the team when they have to slow the game down.

6)       Attitude/Energy- I am going to shock some and say that Evans helps in this category from time to time!  But, overall I think the Sixers are developing a little bit of a swagger.  They play aggressively, and I like seeing guys like Dalembert give hard fouls near the basket.  I think Speights and Ivey, along with Evans have given the Sixers a little more “in your face” nasty side.

The team is playing well and I think can continue to improve.  I have felt all along that a minimum of a 5-2 home stand was necessary heading into the break.  Well, they have that opportunity if they defeat the Grizzlies tomorrow night.  I am hoping that all the points are touched on are areas that continue to improve as the season winds down, and then we will see where that puts the Sixers at the end of the year.

In my opinion, last night was the best win of the year for the Sixers.  Not only did they extend their season long winning streak to 5 games, but they did so by crushing the Portland Trailblazers.  Portland came into the game with a 23-14 record, including a 12-2 mark against the Eastern Conference.  Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 29 points, continuing his stellar play of late.  Portland definitely did not play their best basketball, but a lot of that had to do with the Sixers.  The Sixers played solid defense and forced the Blazers into 19 turnovers.  The more impressive thing to me as I watched the game was that the Sixers showed a desire on the defensive end, along with excellent help defense.  They have a ton of athleticism, so if they can continue to play the passing lanes and harass the ball handlers, while relying on Dalembert, Speights, Brand, and Ratliff to defend the paint, they should be a pretty decent defensive team.  The other impressive stat from last night was obviously 3 point shooting.  The Sixers shot 11 for 23 from beyond the arc, not bad for a team that has been terrible behind the line all year.  As I have mentioned before, I like how DiLeo has structured the offense, and has instilled confidence in the team to shoot it when they have an open look.  When he was asked following the game what the difference has been, Dileo simply stated that the players have the green light, a possible reference to the opposite being true under Mo Cheeks.  Whatever the case may be, the Sixers are playing with confidence.  Now, the key is keeping the rhythm they have found when they welcome Elton Brand back to the lineup. 

Obviously, there are some good vibes on the Philly sports landscape. The Phillies won the World Series, the Flyers are one point behind the New York Rangers for first place in the Atlantic division, and in case you have been asleep for a month, there is a pretty important game this Sunday. The other major professional team in Philadelphia, the Sixers, would love to get in on this action.

The Sixers return to the court tonight when they host the Portland Trailblazers, and will be looking to build on their current 4 game winning streak. As I have previously stated on this blog recently, the Sixers have been playing a much better brand of basketball under Tony DiLeo. As early as this weekend, the Sixers may be welcoming Elton Brand back to their lineup. The big question is how will Brand’s return affect the team’s play?

The Sixers struggled mightily in the early part of the season with Brand in the lineup. Now, with Brand sidelined, they have played their best basketball of the season. Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller specifically have raised their level of play. The whole idea of acquiring Brand in the off season was to give the Sixers the low post threat they sorely lacked. But, it seemed that the team was having a hard time adjusting to their new power forward, and that the running style that served the Sixers so well in the second half of last year was missing when Brand was on the floor.

The talk around the Sixers seems to be that this was just a product of adjustment, and that when Brand returns he will fit right into the offensive sets that DiLeo likes to use. As a fan, you’d like to think that adding a career 20 point, 10 rebound guy to a young and upcoming team would result in a great improvement. So far, we have not seen that. I am here to say that by the end of the season, this team will be flourishing with Elton Brand. I am not saying they are going to win a playoff series against the likes of Cleveland or Boston, but I do think they will be a hell of a lot closer to that goal by season’s end.

I certainly have some reservations on exactly how this team will fit together, but I also don’t think that their poor start was because Elton Brand can’t play the Sixers style of basketball. I think there were many reasons for the bad start. One of them was simply learning to play with each other. As I mentioned, Iguodala and Miller have played great as of late, but to just lay blame with Brand for their early struggles is shortsighted. At some point, you have to lay blame on the individuals as well. I did not see Iguodala nearly as aggressive early in the season when he was on the court with Brand. I think the Sixers were trying too hard to get the ball to Brand, and hadn’t even figured out the spots that he was most comfortable in. I love Mo Cheeks, but I personally feel that he had not clearly defined roles for each player. He hadn’t put in a system that utilized the talents of each player. They were just trying a little bit of everything. The substitution patterns were all over the place, and I just don’t think the team was comfortable at any point during a game. That, to me, has more to do with the struggles of both Miller and Iguodala along with the entire team.

I don’t want to blame it all on Cheeks, but we have seen that Tony DiLeo has a clear idea of how he wants to play, and the players are thriving under it. He is utilizing the talents of each player, and he will continue to do so with Brand. The Sixers have been much better on both ends of the floor, and each player has a defined role. I have heard DiLeo talking about Brand needing to fit in to the system when he returns. The good thing about that, is I believe DiLeo has a clear idea of exactly how he will utilize Brand within the offense. We will see continued solid play from Miller and Iguodala along with Brand and the rest of the Sixers. I guess what I am saying is: give this team some time to gel under DiLeo before you decide that Brand is not a good fit. I am optimistic that this team can make a little noise in the Eastern Conference. I repeat, a little noise. I won’t get carried away here.

If I come on this site and bash one of the Philly teams, then I think I should also give credit where credit is due. Recently, I was very critical of the Sixers in a post on this site.

I wanted to take this opportunity to throw out a few positive things I have seen in the team since I ripped them. They just finished a tough 6 game road trip with a terrible 1-5 record. I know, I know, that doesn’t sound very positive, but I am getting to it! Other than the lack luster effort they put forth against the Jazz, the Sixers played hard and had a chance to win every game. The best sign to me was the final game of the road trip when the Spurs won 108-106 on a buzzer beater by Tony Parker after leading by 26 points earlier in the game. Even though the 76ers lost that game, they showed me some guts. Instead of rolling over to the mighty Spurs and hopping back on the plane to head home, they fought back.

I agree with what my brother said a few days ago that moral victories are a bunch of bull, but I do believe that the Spurs game was a sign that the team is starting to find a little bit of rhythm. Since the Spurs loss, the Sixers beat the Rockets at home and went to Milwaukee the very next night and had a comeback victory against the Bucks. There have been a few promising signs that I would like to see continue. The first is the lessened minutes of Sam Dalembert coupled with the increasing minutes of Theo Ratliff and Marreese Speights in his place. Last year, when Mo Cheeks trusted Thaddeus Young, and continued to reward him with big minutes, the rookie continued to improve and give the Sixers energy and quality minutes. Speights is starting to do the same thing this year the more court time he sees.

Another promising sign is the hustle the Sixers are showing on defense. The Sixers are not going to be a top flight defense, but they can certainly be an opportunistic defense. Defense is really about athletic ability, desire, and teamwork. The Sixers obviously have athletic ability, and seem to be showing the desire of late and are creating turnovers because of that. That allows them to thrive in the up tempo fastbreaking pace that they excel at. One of the differences I have seen, and I would like to see more of is the increased minutes of Royal Ivey. The guy is never going to be a starter in this league, but he occasionally hits a three and consistently plays tough on the ball defense which is something the Sixers have been lacking. I thought Tony DiLeo did a great job in the Bucks game of sticking with the players that were getting the job done. Ivey was playing great, and instead of subbing him out for Willie Green, DiLeo kept Ivey in for pretty much the entire fourth quarter.

Last but not least, I have been very critical both on here and in conversations with my buddies of Andre Iguodala, and I will be the first one to say that he has played great recently. He has shot the ball well, he has made big plays late in games, and he is aggressively taking the ball to the basket, which he needs to continue to do. The only downside to all of this, is that it has happened without Elton Brand in the lineup. Iguodala has moved back to the small forward position and played well. For once I will take an optimistic approach and say that at the beginning of the year, the Sixers were trying to fit Elton Brand in, but when he comes back in a couple weeks, they will ask him to fit into the system DiLeo has in place and move forward with an improved lineup. How’s that for optimism? I believe they can make some strides when Brand returns to the lineup, however they are certainly miles away from contending for anything other than a playoff spot. Damn. What happened to all that hope I had built up?