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.

Philadelphia 76ers All-Decade Team

The 76ers all-decade team is not pretty to look at to be perfectly honest. I have to imagine it would be one of the worst all-decade teams in the league, especially because the Sixers are one of the worst teams in the league right now, and our all-decade team contains 4 players on the team currently. Besides the very beginning of the decade, the team has been very average. Even the team that went to the finals had a bunch of role players, and 1 big star. Also, the team that went to the finals, the players were not on the team for very long in this decade. Nevertheless, the early part of the decade, and the 2001 team that this city fell in love with is well represented on this team, especially in the backcourt.

It was tough to leave off a guy like George Lynch who was a great team player, but we decided to go with Andre Iguodala at the small forward position. Also, Derrick Coleman came very close to making the team at the starting power forward position, but we chose to go small and go with Thaddeus Young instead, even though his time with the team has been shorter. Samuel Dalembert basically makes the team since he has been the team’s starting center basically all-decade, not because he is actually good.

Here is our starting Philadelphia 76ers all-decade lineup--

PG: Eric Snow
SG: Allen Iverson
SF: Andre Iguodala
PF: Thaddeus Young
C: Samuel Dalembert

6th Man: Aaron McKie

Coach: Larry Brown

MVP: Allen Iverson

Close Calls: George Lynch, Derrick Coleman

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 have to make more moves

The Sixers enter an off-season filled with many questions marks. On the one hand, they are an above average team, with a good mix of veterans and improving young players. On the other hand, they are in that area where they are too good to get into the lottery, and too bad to make a serious run in the playoffs. Therefore, many things need to happen before we head into next season. First, we need to shake up the starting lineup a little bit. We need to go into next season with a new starter at the shooting guard and center position. Willie Green and Samuel Dalembert just cannot cut it in the starting lineup. Willie Green is a great guy, and does a lot for the community, but he is not a starting 2 guard in this league, especially for a team that wants to make it past the first round of the playoffs. The Sixers should be able to get rid of Green, he is a serviceable player. Green and Kapono are both not starters, and since Kapono is the sharp shooter, Green has to go. Samuel Dalembert is a typical basketball punk who is over-paid and will never live up to his potential. One night he will give you 20 and 20, and the next night he gives you 8 and 8 (his career average). He requested a trade, yet no team in the league would take him because Billy King gave him a 15% trade kicker... and cause he sucks. Sometime during this season, Dalembert announced that he should take more 3 pointers. He cannot even make a 10 foot jump shot. He was kicked off the Canadian National Team for being a jackass. Basically, Dalembert is a joke, and cannot be the starting center on the Sixers. I think the only way to solve this problem is to offer him a buy-out.

Next on the Sixers radar is the upcoming draft. If the Sixers do not make a move on draft night and stick with the 17th overall pick, 3 point guards come to mind: Ty Lawson, Eric Maynor, and Jeff Teague. You never know what will happen on draft night or leading up to the draft, but Stefanski is already on record stating that the Sixers will be looking for the best available guard. As the draft gets closer, we at Kotite's Corner will give an in-depth analysis on each of those three point guards and our recommendation to Stefanski. Right now, I will discuss the possibility of trading up. I believe that Ricky Rubio is going to be a great player, a player that only comes around every 3-5 years in the draft. To get him, you will have to trade up somewhere in the 2-4 pick range. As the Sixers currently stand, you have two pieces of trade bait: Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young. After Brand (if he ever returns to form), these are your next two best players. Problem is, they play the same position. One has to go at some point in the near future to improve this lineup for the long term. I am not sure which player currently has move value in a trade. Thaddeus Young is still raw, has an amazing upside, and is still on his rookie contract. Andre Iguodala has proven to be a great player in this league, but has a max contract. The Memphis Grizzlies expressed an interest in Iguodala last year during the free agency period, and they have the cap room to take on Iguodala's contract. Memphis also has a bad reputation with Spanish players, with Pau Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro not working out there. Rubio has already made it known that he does not want to play in Memphis. I say we offer the 17th pick and Andre Iguodala for the 2nd overall pick and select Ricky Rubio. Rubio has the chance to be the best point guard in this draft, which is loaded with point guards. Even though Iguodala gives you the best chance to win right now, the Sixers need to shake things up, so we don't stay in the position of "middle of the pack" for years to come.

Sixers Can't Find Any Magic

The 76ers were eliminated last night in an embarrassing loss to the Magic, losing their first round series 4 games to 2. The Sixers suffered a 25 point loss to the Magic who were without Dwight Howard and Courtney Lee.

The Sixers have yet to win a playoff series since 2003, and this is the 2nd straight season that the Sixers went up 2 games to 1 in their first round series, and then proceeded to lose in six games. The game was ugly, and pathetic. The absence of Dwight Howard did not mean a thing. The Sixers continued to struggle on offense, and once again could not even get to 90 points. The Magic were doing anything they wanted offensively. Rashard Lewis had a big game, and so did Rafer Alston. Even backup center Marcin Gortat put up bigger numbers than his counterpart, Samuel Dalembert. Thaddeus Young never got anything going this series, and really played poorly. The only two Sixers who were consistent in this series were Iguodala and Miller.

There really is no reason to rehash the game, as it was pathetic. The Magic didn’t even really play an impressive series, and still won easily. I won’t go into the fact that the Magic have a bunch of punks on their team, mostly in Howard and Turkoglu, and led by their coach, Stan Van Gundy, who the players will soon quit on.

The Sixers face a lot of off-season questions this summer. Tony DiLeo did a respectable job getting this team to the playoffs, but he really is not a head coach in this league, nor should he be the head coach of the Sixers next season. As for the team, there are many issues, and I’m not sure how many can actually be addressed. The Sixers start two players who flat out are not good enough to be starters in Willie Green and Samuel Dalembert. We also rely on Andre Iguodala to be our #1 option, which he should not be. Iguodala should be a #2 or 3 option, and a facilitator. Iguodala has also stated that he can’t play the SG position effectively, which unfortunately has meant that Thaddeus Young has had to play the PF position. Thaddeus Young is not a PF, and should be the small forward. The Sixers are locked into so much money with contracts to Elton Brand, Iguodala, and Dalembert, so they can’t do much in free agency anytime soon. Andre Miller is most likely gone, which will hurt the team in the near future, as Miller carried the Sixers offensively at times, which you always need from your point guard.

With the 17th pick in the draft, the Sixers should address one of two positions: Point Guard or Center. This year’s draft is heavy on point guards with Ricky Rubio, Brandon Jennings, Jonny Flynn, Stephen Curry, Eric Maynor, Tyreke Evans, Jeff Teague, Ty Lawson, Patrick Mills, and Jrue Holiday all expected to be taken in the first round. Someone like Eric Maynor should easily fall to 17. Even if the Sixers are able to resign Andre Miller, it will only be to a 3 year deal. The Sixers need to address the future of their point guard with a draft that is stacked at that position. Watching this season, Thaddeus Young has an unbelievable upside and will be the best player on the team in a few years. However, he does need to put the work in to improve, especially on the defensive end. Part of the reason Young has struggled on defense is because he is playing out of position at Power Forward.

With the Elton Brand experiment coming back next season, can Iguodala play the 2, so Thad does not have to be the 6th man? When Brand was in the lineup and Iggy played the 2, he looked awful. Andre needs to learn to play the 2 this off-season. He is athletic enough to handle guarding 2 guards around the league, and for the most part, should be able to physically dominate them on offense. If he starts at 2, we can get rid of Willie Green. Willie Green is alright and we rip him often. He has overcome a lot in this world to get where he is. He is just not a starter in the NBA. He is a very serviceable 6th or 7th man on a roster. Along with Green, Dalembert needs to leave this team. He is a freak of nature. He could easily be a 12 and 12 guy consistently in the NBA. The problem, he thinks he is better than he is and does not always try. He is a cancer and needs to be removed. Hopefully, the Sixers can resign Miller, but Miller has always made it known that he prefers playing on the West Coast. Miller is one of the most underrated players in the NBA, and because he is a veteran, he may sign with a team like the Lakers where he can win now. Marreese Speights has shown promise all season, and may be the starter in place of Sammy next year. This small line-up will be an athletic tough match-up for other teams. No matter what, the Sixers have a lot of tough decisions coming up this offseason.

Howard Suspended for Game 6

Dwight Howard has been suspended for Game 6 on the 1st round series for his elbow that caught the head of Samuel Dalembert. This really was an easy decision, but you never know. Howard is the biggest star in this series, and one of the biggest in the league, and the league obviously doesn't want their stars sitting on the bench.

It goes without saying that Howard being suspended helps the Sixers out a great deal. Howard had 24 and 24 in Game 5 in the Magic victory. He really should have been ejected early in the game when he threw his elbow. Without Howard, the Magic's starting center is Marcin Gortat... if you don't know who he is, neither does anybody else. He did score six points in Game 5 though, which equaled the amount that the Sixers bench scored. Without Howard however, the Sixers will not need to double down on him in the low post, which usually allows the Magic to get good, open three point looks. With the game at home in Philly, and the Magic not having their big man, the Sixers have a big advantage in Game 6. They still need to come out and play their game, and not act like this game will be easy to win, because it won't.

Courtney Lee is also out for the Magic, who also caught an elbow in the head from Dwight Howard, this one inadvertent however.

Sixers Magic 1st Round Preview

Let’s be honest - The Sixers do not have that great a chance to win the series. If this was KC odds makers, I would put it at about 9%. But there is still a chance and anything can happen. We at Kotite’s want to give a preview of the matchups you will see while watching this series. This matchup and the 9% is assuming that both Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu will play. Today it was announced they might return. If they do not play, Sixers percent chance of winning goes up to 40%/ Let's take a look at how the Sixers and Magic match up - position by position.

PG: Andre Miller vs. Rafer Alston - Advantage Sixers

If hometown favorite Jameer Nelson was not injured this would be a lot closer (with advantage still going to Miller, primarily because of experience). Miller should be able to control Skip-to-my-Lou fairly easily, but will have trouble keeping up with his speed.

SG: Willie Green vs. Courtney Lee - Advantage Magic
Any starting 2 guard in the league is better than Willie Green, so the advantage Magic really has nothing to do with Lee’s skill. The rookie from Western Kentucky shoots well from the field, can hit the three, and shoots well from the line, and moved big free-agent signing Mickael Pietrus to 6th man. Hopefully Willie Green gets taken out early and Big Lou Williams gets a lot of minutes in the series.

SF: Andre Iguodala vs. Hedo Turkoglu - Advantage Sixers
Hedo has a bum ankle and might not play in this series and Andre was completely embarrassed last year in the playoffs with a performance that I could match - that is how bad he was. I expect Iggy to step up his game and play very well in this series.

PF: Thaddeus Young vs. Rashard Lewis - Advantage Magic
Thaddeus Young is the best player on the Sixers. You heard it here first. It is a shame that AI part 2 cannot play 2 guard, so when bust-Elton Brand comes back next season, Thad is playing the 3 and not 6th man. Rashard Lewis a freak of nature and will give match-up problems for Thad if Lewis’ knee is alright for him to play.

C: Samuel Dalembert vs. Dwight Howard - Triple Advantage Magic
This is not even close. The self-proclaimed Haitian sensation, Sammy DDDDDDD, on his best day is not even close to the skill level or physical prowess of Dwight Howard on Howard’s worst day. Sammy D could be a good player, but he thinks he is Dwight Howard and he really is much closer to Shawn Bradley. Expect at least one 20/20 game from Howard, especially if Hedo and Rashard do not play.

Bench – Advantage Sixers
The Magic do bring Mickael Pietrus off the bench, who is a very good player. JJ Redick also comes off the bench, who can provide instant offense with his 3-point shooting. The Sixers have the best bench player in this series in Lou Williams, who usually plays in crunch time over Willie Green. The Sixers also bring Speights off the bench, who has shows the ability to do a lot of good things at the power forward position.

Picks
Mr. Green: Sixers in 6
Roget: Magic in 5

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