76ers Lineup Shaping Up

The Sixers lineup is shaping up now that the draft is concluded, and the Sixers signed Evan Turner.

I still would like to see the Sixers make one offseason move; that move would be to get rid of Andre Iguodala, obviously via trade. Iguodala makes a lot of money, a bad signing by Ed Stefanski, but still is a good player, just not a #1 option. I think Iguodala makes a lot of sense for certain teams, including the Chicago Bulls, who missed out of signing LeBron. If you can unload Iguodala, it will open up room for Thaddeus Young to start at the #3.

This is the year you need to find out if Thaddeus Young can play or not. Young looked good and showed flashes early in his career, but struggled for the most part last season. This is the year you need to find out in Young can be a starter in this league, or if he is just a serviceable player. In this scenario, Jrue Holiday would start at the point, and Evan Turner at shooting guard. With Thaddeus Young at the small forward, this would give the Sixers maybe the tallest 1, 2, 3 combo in the league. Holiday is big for a point guard, Turner is big for a shooting guard, and Young is big for a small forward. This would allow the Sixers to create a lot of matchup problems for any other team.

If Iguodala stays on the roster, which is probably likely, then Iguodala will probably start at the small forward position, and Thaddeus Young will come off the bench. The Sixers have tried putting Iguodala at the 2, and Young at the 3, but that didn't really work, and Iguodala has said he feels more comfortable at the small forward position.

As for the big men, the Sixers are not great up front. Elton Brand is a natural power forward, but as we have seen the last 2 seasons, is well past his prime, but locked into starting with all the money they are paying him. He is also unfortunately sort of blocking the process of Marreese Speights, who has shown a lot of skill when in the game. He is another guy the Sixers need to see if he can be a long term starter in this league.

Finally, the Sixers do not have to run out Samuel Dalembert at center. It wasn't a very significant trade, but just getting rid of Dalembert is one of the best trades in Sixers history. Basically the opposite of the Cliff Lee trade. In return, the Sixers received Spencer Hawes and Andres Nocioni. Hawes will probably be penciled in as the starting center. Hawes isn't great, but has size, and is decent, and still young.

If the Sixers want to play around, they can put Thaddeus Young at the 4 from time to time, or Speights, and Elton Brand can play center. Jason Smith will also get some time up front this year to see if he can show us something.

Lou Williams will probably be one of the first players off the bench, and even though Williams didn't show much last year as the starting point guard, he can still play, and is a solid backup to Jrue Holiday. Throw in the fact that the Sixers now have a respectable coach in Doug Collins who can help groom the young players, and will make the guys work hard, and the Sixers should at the very least have more wins than last season.

Sixers Season Comes to an End

The 76ers season comes to an uneventful end tonight... too bad people are more interested in the Flyers playoff game, the Phillies, and the Jimmy Rollins injury right now. The 76ers will close out their disappointing season tonight in Orlando. With 1 game remaining, the Sixers currently sit at 27-54, bad enough for the 7th worst record in the NBA. The Knicks will finish with a better record than the Sixers. The Sixers can do themselves some favors and not win this game, however it might not be easy as the Magic don’t have anything to play for either having locked up the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers actually have somewhat of an eventful, strange season that saw ticket prices spike with the return of a fan favorite, and then drop back down to their normal, abysmal level. The Sixers actually entered the season with decent expectations. They had made the playoffs the 2 previous seasons, and pushed 2 teams better than them to 6 games in the first round. They came into this season with Andre Iguodala in his prime, a healthy Elton Brand, Lou Williams supposed to see more time, and youngsters like Thaddeus Young and Marreese Speights supposed to contribute more. Ed Stefanski hired new coach Eddie Jordan to run the team. Unfortunately, the Sixers never quite got on track.

Instead, they faltered as soon as the season started. They never quite grasped Jordan’s “Princeton” style offense. Lou Williams never really fully took over the point guard position. Samuel Dalembert continued to suck. Elton Brand was terrible. Thaddeus Young regressed, but is still young. Speights sat behind an ineffective Brand most of the season.

Allen Iverson was re-signed, which brought a sellout crowd to the Sixers game, but not much else. Iverson played pretty well, all things considered, but quickly left the team as personal issued mounted. After Iverson left, the season was a lost cause, and so we got to see the one bright spot this year in rookie Jrue Holiday, who is the youngest player in the NBA. Holiday has been the only person who has even really tried the 2nd half of the season, and has looked good. In fairness, Andre Iguodala has also played well, and is a good player, but is not the guy who should be leading your team. Iguodala is a very good #2 or #3 option on a team, a guy who can do everything well, but cannot be a #1 option on a good team unfortunately.

The Sixers team is put together terribly, but I think you need to give general manager Ed Stefanski some more time to fix it. You have young guys such as Speights and Jason Smith who need to get some time to see what they can do. Speights has shown the ability that he can be a possible solid player, but he is stuck behind Elton Brand. Samuel Dalembert is a clown, but he makes so much money that they have to play him. Thaddeus Young is still very young and has a lot of room to grow, but needs to step his game up. The Sixers won’t be able to do anything this offseason, but should soon get some room to maneuver with Dalembert and Willie Green coming off the books after next season. Unfortunately, for the next few years, the Sixers are flat out a bad team.

Sixers Lose Iverson's Debut

The Sixers lost their 10th straight in front of a sellout crowd, which included Kotite's Corner, at the Wachovia Center. Iverson got a long standing ovation when he was introduced in the starting lineup, but wasn't much of a factor on the court.

Iverson basically chose to pass the ball most of the time when he had it, and ended the game shooting 4-11 for 11 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Iverson could have taken a lot more shots, and I personally wished he had, but he seemed hesitant at times. I guess that is to be expected in his first game back to get his legs under him. The Sixers were winning most of the game until the Nuggets went on a 22-3 run at the end of the 3rd quarter and beginning of the 4th when Iverson was on the bench. Chauncey Billups had a great game, and went off at the point to put the game away.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Sixers lineup of Willie Green, Jason Kapono, Elton Brand, Samuel Dalembert, and Jason Smith just isn't going to cut it. I really do like Elton Brand, but he is horrible offensively. The only shot he can make is an uncontested shot from 15 feet. No question that Elton Brand was a beast in his prime, but he is average to say the best at this point in his career. I'm not even going to comment on Samuel Dalembert, besides to say I hate him. Willie Green played horribly also.

Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young were really the two Sixers who kept them in the game and in the lead for most of the game. Unfortunately, with Brand and Dalembert both as the starting 4 and 5, they need to give you something on the offensive end, or the Sixers will not win many games. Iverson didn't do much special, but I do think he provided a spark, and should only get better going forward. Either way, at least there is some Sixers talk in this town, and Iverson was enjoyable to watch.

10 Things the Sixers Need To Do

1. Sign Allen Iverson. Listen, he is past his prime and somewhat selfish, but the Sixers attendance is extremely low, and that is something Iverson can help with. Iverson will put people in the stands. Most intelligent Sixers fans love Iverson, or at least support him. I've been to 1 Sixers game in the past few years, and it was the first game Iverson was back in town as a member of the Nuggets. This may stunt the growth of our young core, but something needs to happen. This team is not exciting and it feels like a minor league atmosphere. You can give him a 1 year deal, and probably get him at the veterans minimum. It is only a band-aid, but at least it stops some of the bleeding for this year.

2 . Make the trade that has been reported happen. The trade would send Nocioni to Boston, Kenny Thomas, Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine to Philadelphia and Dalembert and J.R. Giddens to Sacramento. This trade isn't done to help this current Sixers team, because Thomas, Allen and Scalabrine all have expiring contracts. This trade is harder to make with the Speights injury, but it needs to be done today. If I never have to see Sammy D again, I will be a happy man.

3. Play rookie Jrue Holiday more. I was watching the Sixers play the Jazz the other day and they were down 25 and Holiday was not in. Why would I want to watch Royal Ivey play at that point? If the game is close, I understand not playing the 19 year old rookie, but if you are down 25 in the 4th quarter, Holiday should be in.

4. Run more plays for Thaddeus Young. Right now Andre Iguodala is the best player on the team. My problem with him is he is not the star of a team. He has the potential to be a triple-threat monster, especially in the Princeton Offense, but I just see him as a Scottie Pippen type player. Iguodala is great as a #2 option, but average as a #1 option. Thaddeus Young has a ton of talent. I think we have just scratched the surface on what Young is capable of, and Young is too unselfish. Young needs to demand the ball, and the Sixers need to start running some of the offense through Young to see if we have a star, or another above average role player. Thaddeus Young might never be as good as Iguodala, but we need to find out. He improves every year. He is tall and athletic with a nice shooters' touch.

5. If we are bringing Iverson back, I think it is time to think about trading Lou Williams. I know Lou is young, and gets opponents big men in foul trouble with his slashing abilities, but obviously what we have now is not working. When you look at the Sixers roster, nobody wants Brand or Dalembert (lets hope they pull off the deal with the Kings), Iguodala seems to be untouchable in Stefanski’s eyes, and he gets paid a lot. That leaves you with Speights, Young, Williams, and Holiday as young chips that other teams will have interest in. I think Speights and Young are untouchable and you need to see what you have in Holiday. That leaves Williams. He is not a true 1 and is too small to be a 2. Williams ideally is a 6th man. He has good energy coming off the bench. I think a championship caliber team would trade an expiring contract or a late 1st rounder for Lou.

6. Bring back Pat Croce in some capacity. Obviously Croce will want a lot of power, which is what was not given to him in the first place, and why he left. Ed Snider really only cares about the Flyers anyways, and thus he should bring in Croce to be what Snider is to the Sixers. Snider needs to get over his huge ego and realize that Croce is a talent, and a person that is a positive influence on an organization. The fans love Croce, and Croce can put people in the seats, and eventually build a successful team. Croce is a guy who understands the Philly mentality and who can get the fans and players motivated.

7. Treat Elton Brand like a normal player. Unfortunately, we have to realize we paid Brand way too much money, and Brand is not the same guy as he was in his prime. I know he makes so much money that it doesn’t seem worth it to play Speights over him. However, bottom line, Speights has been better than Brand this season. When Speights comes back from injury, if he continues to outplay Brand, Speights needs to be on the court as a starter. If Brand is playing poorly, bench him. Ed Stafanski made a bad signing. I hate saying that, because Stafanski is a friend of Kotite's Corner, but the team should have gone after Josh Smith. It’s a shame because Elton Brand is a really good, intelligent guy who works real hard.

8. The Princeton Offense is great if you are student of the game. In the NBA today, not many players are students of the game. The Sixers were exciting and won a lot the last 2 seasons while running the ball. This does not fit Brand’s style nor Jordan’s offense. Both need to adapt and they need to find a middle point. Right now they are not there and they need to be for the Sixers to be successful.

9. Have more ticket promotions. The Guys Night Out is a good idea. The Holiday Pack they just announced is average at best. Good job marketing! You need to get people in the seats. Have giveaways. Do something; Nova draws more fans when they play in the Wachovia Center. That should not happen.

10. If all else fails, start tanking.

Sixers Lose Opener

In the big Philadelphia sports news of the night............. the 76ers lost their opener to the Orlando Magic 120-106. Marreesse Speights led the way with 26 points for the Sixers, while Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, and Thaddeus Young had 8, 8, and 8 respectively. What a great start.

Letter to Ed Stefanski

Dear Ed,

After the news came across the wire that Elton Brand would need season ending surgery, I think that I have the answers for you, and they don’t include signing Stephane Lasme from the EuroLeague (although that would be nice). Right now the Sixers are playing better without Brand, but this is still a huge blow to them for two reasons. First, Brand is signed for 5 years. Although he did not find his way in our offense, we are delaying the inevitable fact that we will have to come to some compromise as a team and learn to play up-tempo and fit around Brand’s strengths. We are delaying this learning process another year. The next problem this creates is that we got Brand in order to play half court basketball in the playoffs. Without Brand in this offense, we will not win a single round in the playoffs.

All of this being said, what do the Sixers do now? They will continue to run a high tempo offense and will make the playoffs. The Sixers need to make a decision on Andre Miller before the trade deadline. If you decide to keep him, I want Miller to sign an extension before the trade deadline. My thought is Miller does not want to stay in Philadelphia, but you would know better. He has taught this young team a good amount about basketball, but Miller is getting towards the end of his career, and he wants to play for a team that can win this year. So if Miller does not resign, I want you to trade him for an available player that fits our needs: to Orlando, who just lost Nelson for the season for a package that includes JJ Redick (Magic just traded for Lue, but we all watched the Sixers-Lakers finals and know he is not the answer and is a chump), or Portland for one of their young guards such as Bayless, Fernandez or Rodriguez. Either of these trades will help get something for Miller before he leaves for free agency, and it will help fill in gaps that we have on our team right now.

Listen, even if the Sixers do not make the playoffs without Miller, no one is coming to the games anyway and without Brand we have to play for next year not this year. Making a move to trade Miller is what is needed to be done right now, even if it makes the team worse this year. Also, while we are at it, could you please do us a favor and unload Green and Dalembert?

We still feel as if you are turning our Sixers around, and despite the current Brand situation, we feel as if you are doing a very good job with the Sixers, and we definitely still support you.

Thank you,
Kotite’s Corner

Sixers Quietly Playing Great Basketball

With all the talk about the end of the Eagles season, and the Flyers battling for 1st place, we are missing out on the Sixers quietly playing some very good basketball lately. The Sixers beat the Rockets last night to even their record at 22-22 on the season, and they are 8-2 in their last 10 games.

You would think the Sixers would benefit from the return of Elton Brand from his shoulder injury after being out a month. But questions are out there as to whether Elton Brand fits the mold of this running team, and Brand is even being mentioned in trade rumors for the upcoming trade deadline. I think the Sixers can definitely be successful with Brand in the lineup, they just need to find a way for him to fit in. This Sixers team is still a very poor half court team, and it seems like every time they come down court in a half court situation, they find Brand on the blocks, and the double team comes immediately on Brand. Brand is then forced to give it up, and the Sixers will then miss an outside shot.

Under Tony DiLeo, interim coach, the Sixers are playing better, and DiLeo seems to be getting more out of his players than Cheeks was. DiLeo has also found a way to get Lou Williams, and Marreese Speights more playing time. We definitely want to see more of those guys, while seeing less of Sammy D. and Willie Green. Dalembert is a clown on the court, and a joke that he still doesn’t even really know how to play basketball, he is just a freak 7’0" athlete who pulls down rebounds that are near him. Willie Green is the epitome of the phrase "dime a dozen."

Anyways, as of today, the Sixers sit in the #7 playoff spot. The Eastern Conference features a "Big 3" teams at the top, in Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando, all three of these teams already sit at at least 20 games over .500. If the Sixers can get into the 5 spot, they would have a chance at winning a first round series, and with the way they are playing, they can definitely achieve that. Come playoff time, the Sixers will definitely need a veteran like Brand in the lineup playing at his best.

If the Sixers can find a way for Brand to fit in, and get the most out of him, while still maintaining their running, high-tempo style, this Sixers team could be a team that no one wants to play come playoff time.

Checking in on Our Teams Owned by a Cable Monopoly

Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers beat the Toronto Raptors last night 106-96 to win their 1st road game of the season, and break their 3-game losing streak, moving them to 3-5 on the season.

There have been few bright sports this season for our 76ers, but it is still early in the season, and may take a month or so to come together as a team, with new members, and a new philosophy in the half-court offense. Newcomer Elton Brand has been one of the few bright spots thus far for this team. Brand is averaging a double-double with 16 points, and 11 boards a game. Thaddeus Young has also been a bright spot for the Sixers, and shown that he is comfortable at the 3 spot. Young has shown the ability to take the ball to the basket, and hit the jumper when he needs to.

Unfortunately, the Sixers have struggled at the guard positions. I am not too concerned with point guard Andre Miller, as he is a veteran, and should be able to start playing well soon. Miller is turning the ball over too much, and not hitting his usual mid-range ugly sort of set shot. Andre Iguodala has moved to the 2 guard this season, and has also struggled early. He is still very good in the open floor, but struggles with the half-court offense. He looks like when the Sixers run their half-court sets, and throws up too many contested outside shots. That is not his game. Last night Iguodala was one rebound shy of a triple-double, so this is a good sign that he may be regaining his form from last season. Sammy D has struggled as well, and really is limited beyond rebounding the ball, and scoring on a dunk.

The bench has been up-and-down so far this season. Willie Green has played real well, and then real bad. Louis Williams is the best bench player, and is one of the few players who can hit an outside shot. Rookie Marresse Speights has looked good when he had played, and should get more minutes as the season goes on. Kareem Rush and Donyell Marshall have provided a nice outside option.

The Sixers have really struggled with turnovers, and entered last night’s game against the Raptors leading the league in turnovers. That’s not a statistic you want to lead the league at.

We feel as if the Sixers will turn this season around, it is still very early. The half-court offense needs to go through Elton Brand almost every time down. He is the best offensive player on the team, and has shown that he can find the open man outside when the defense doubles him. It’s just a matter of the other players hitting their outside shots.

Philadelphia Flyers

Sharing the Wachovia Center (soon the be named something else I’m sure) with the Sixers are the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers, like the Sixers, have started out a little slow, but have played a little bit better after the first few games.

The Flyers are 5-6-3 overall, which isn’t bad, but isn’t good. Just like the Eagles in the NFC East, the Flyers play in probably the toughest division in hockey, the Atlantic. This means the Flyers will have to play and beat the Rangers, Penguins, and Devils multiple times to get back into the race in the Atlantic Division.

As a bright spot for the Flyers, their young core group of players has all played pretty well. Mike Richards, the recently named captain before the season started, already leads the team with 17 points in 14 games. One of the other young stars, Jeff Carter leads the team with 9 goals this season. Simon Gagne, Danny Briere, and Mike Knuble have all played well so far this season. However, just like seasons’ past, the offense is not usually the problem with the Flyers.

The Flyers worked very hard in the offseason to improve the defense. They brought in Ossi Vaananen, Andrew Alberts, and their draft pick, Luca Sbisa, to go along with Braydon Coburn, and Kimmo Timonen. The Flyers definitely miss Randy Jones back on defense, and the defense will improve once he is back on the blue line. The Flyers just made a trade for Tampa Bay defenseman Matt Carle, another young defenseman.

The goaltending has been a little shaky, but both Biron and Nitty have also had good games as well and shown the ability to shut down the opposing team and win a game for the Flyers. Biron is a good goaltender, and the amount of goals scored against the Flyers this season, we blame on more lack of defense than poor goaltending. Admittedly, Biron will need to play better as the season goes on, but more importantly, the defense needs to do a better job in front of him.

Bottom line, the offense is a little hot and cold, but can usually score goals. The defense needs to improve, and the Flyers organization has done a good job of loading the team with solid young defenseman, who just need some time to improve. Just like the Sixers, look for the Flyers to start coming together and stringing some wins together.

In Ed We Trust

Philadelphia native and Penn grad, Ed Stefanski took over the Sixers last winter and changed the culture of a losing team. He got rid of fan favorite, sharp-shooter Kyle Korver and told head coach Maurice Cheeks to play an upbeat style of offense and defense with his young team. The team responded well, becoming one of the hottest teams to end the season, gaining a playoff birth in their first “Iversonless” season. They drew the hard-nose veteran team of the Pistons in the first round. They surprised the Pistons taking the series to 6 games before losing.

Fast forward to this off season, the Sixers have a good amount of cap room, but do not seem to have a enough to sign the top prize of the class, Elton Brand. In a surprising move that came from left field, Stefanski unloads Rodney Carney, Calvin Booth and a protected first rounder for a conditional second rounder, then he signs Elton Brand. He also resigned young stars in Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams. With the buzz created from last year’s turn-around and the signing of Brand, Stefanski was able to lure key veteran bench contributors in Kareem Rush, Donyell Marshall, Royal Ivey, and the return of Theo Ratliff. The Sixers also drafted freakish athlete Marreese Speights, who should see some playing time, since Jason Smith is out for the season.

The predicted starting line-up for the season opener is:
1. Miller
2. Iguodala
3. Young
4. Brand
5. Dalembert

Iggy has moved from small forward to shooting guard. Although A.I. 2.0 is better suited to play the 3, the Sixers had to open a spot for standout rookie of last year Thaddeus Young who really thrived in the new Stefanski-style offense. Most of last season, Young played out of position at power forward. If Iggy and Young can improve their outside game this year, they will both be very difficult to stop. Andre Miller had his best year statistically last year, and will continue to be a great court general. His assist numbers should improve with the ability to run a frequent pick and roll with Elton Brand. Brand has averaged 20 and 10 over his career. Although he may not reach those numbers (we are predicting 17 and 9) he will open up the offense, like we have not seen on the Sixers in a long time. Last year during the playoffs, the Pistons swarmed and embarrassed Iguodala every time he drove to the basket. This year it will be difficult for defending teams to give help defense in the paint without the threat of kicking it to Brand for a dunk or a ten-footer. The Haitian Sensation, Sammy D, should be able to mostly concentrate on D and rebounding this year. Brand will take a good amount of offensive pressure off of Sam. This should open him up for a few easy dunks a game and not too many shots. Look for Sam to be in the leaders of field goal percentage this year.

The Sixers have their best bench since Iverson and Larry Brown led them to the NBA finals. 6th man candidate Lou Williams just knows how to score. He really does not have a position. He is too small for the 2 and cannot handle the ball and lead the team well enough for the 1. Look for him to continue to grow as a point guard as he is going to be the PG of the future. Although he will not start, he will rack up a good amount of minutes. We also have former starter Willie Green coming off the bench who can also have a scorers touch. With Brand in the middle and the eventual double team coming ever time he gets the ball, not having a good outside shooting team can really hurt production. Stefanski addressed this by signing Rush and Marshall who have career 3 point percentages of 36.0 and 34.8, respectively. These two coming off the bench should give the Sixers the outside option they will desperately need. We all know what Theo Ratliff can do. Although he is not as athletic as he was with his first stint with the Sixers, he can sniff out block shots like a bloodhound. Royal Ivey also is a great defender and can shut down the opponents PG, when Miller is getting a breather. Ivey and Ratliff know their roles as defensive specialists.

The Sixers have vastly improved from last year, but so has the Eastern conference in general. Former playoff teams, the Bulls and Heat had the first two picks in the draft, and should return to form with possible playoff births. The Sixers opening day opponent, the Raptors traded for Jermaine O’Neal. If healthy, having Chris Bosh and O’Neal should be a great 1-2 punch for Toronto. The defending champs lost James Posey, which will hurt them, but they still have the big 3. The Cavs seems to be suffering from what the Sixers used to struggle with, which is finding a great second option to their super-star. The Cavs had made multiple deals over the past few years to try and get a Pippen to their Jordan. This years attempt was former Bucks PG Mo Williams. The 5th year PG from Alabama averaged 17 ppg last year. Orlando will still be in the playoff picture with their young team developing and getting more experience together. The Wizards if their key players can stay healthy, they have Agent 0 back this year. Atlanta has a good 1-5 and if Josh Smith continues to grow, they could surprise some people this year. They should battle the Bulls for the last playoff spot in the East.

Our predicted 1-8 in the East is:

1. Celtics, 2. Cavs, 3. Sixers, 4. Magic, 5. Pistons, 6. Raptors, 7. Wizard, 8. Hawks