Underachieving team looking to regroup
Few teams received more accolades during the offseason than the Philadelphia 76ers. Coming off a late-season run, earning a playoff berth, extending the heavily favored Detroit Pistons to six games and then enjoying what appeared to be a wildly successful offseason makeover, the bar was raised considerably.
President and general manager Ed Stefanski spent approximately $160 million, signing Elton Brand as a free agent and re-signing Andre Iguodala.
The team also spent another $25 million to re-sign Lou Williams and added veterans Royal Ivey, Donyell Marshall, Kareem Rush and Theo Ratliff, while drafting forward Marreese Speights.
So the Sixers definitely felt they upgraded the talent pool and there was talk about possibly being among the top four in the Eastern Conference.
As most know, the expectations and team spirit became deflated by a 9-14 start that eventually cost coach Maurice Cheeks his job.
Cheeks was replaced by long-time Sixer employee Tony DiLeo, who will guide the team for the rest of the season, according to Stefanski. DiLeo hopes to change the culture while adding a few more W’s. His biggest goal is to get the Sixers back to their fast-breaking ways.
Was Cheeks made the scapegoat for the Sixers’ poor start?
Sure, but as the old saying goes, you can’t fire the entire team, although several Sixers players are certainly worthy of receiving termination notices.
Cheeks was known as a players’ coach. He never put one of his players under the bus, always taking the blame.
And the fact that the Sixers started slow continued a pattern under Cheeks, so he did indeed receive blame.
In 2006-2007 the Sixers began 6-19. While much of the turmoil centered around Allen Iverson, who was traded in December of 2006, the Sixers rebounded to go 29-28 in the final 57 games.
Last season the Sixers started out 18-30 and eventually righted the ship, going 22-12 after that and earning the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
This year Cheeks wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt with the Sixers languishing through the first quarter of the season.
“It’s not just the coach’s fault,” Stefanski said. “It’s a change of direction and we felt we had to do it and go in a different direction and felt progress wasn’t there.”
The question now is, what type of team has DiLeo inherited?
Both Stefanski and DiLeo said how they hoped to make the Sixers more of a transition team, something that helped them claim that postseason berth last year.
Yet as they showed in the playoffs, teams can rarely win in the postseason with this style.
The running masks the Sixers deficient perimeter game. Without better shooting one wonders how much better the Sixers will become.
There could be natural improvement if the players actually live up to expectations.
Brand has been a disappointment even though he’s averaging a double-double (16.4 ppg., 10.0 rebounds).
He missed all but eight games last season with a ruptured left Achilles tendon and has played like somebody still attempting to shake off the rust.
The other thing about Brand that one has to wonder is whether the expectations were out of control, despite his big contract.
This is his 10th NBA campaign and he has played eight full seasons, with only one playoff appearance. Granted Brand played on some horrid teams with Chicago and the Los Angeles Clippers, but it’s still a less than impressive postseason resume.
Iguodala has also played below his standards until recently. He was switched from shooting guard to small forward and that has seemed to help.
The biggest disappointment has been center Samuel Dalembert, averaging 5.8 points and 8.3 rebounds.
Dalembert has been known for his inconsistency, but last season he played well, averaging 10.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in a career-high 33.2 minutes per game.
“We have to get Sam playing at a high level,” DiLeo said in the season’s biggest understatement.
Andre Miller has been solid at point guard, but he’s an unrestricted free agent after this season and if the team doesn’t show significant progress, it won’t be a good selling point to keep him.
Williams, who has the ability to create instant offense off he bench, has been inconsistent. Actually the Sixers’ best player has been second-year forward Thaddeus Young (13.1 ppg.).
Besides Brand, the Sixers other off-season acquisitions have given minimal contributions.
Whether it’s a coincidence or not, Brand and Dalembert played well in DiLeo’s first game, a 104-89 win over the visiting Washington Wizards. Brand had 27 points (12 for 19 from the field) while Dalembert added five points and 17 rebounds.
Those two must be able to mesh together on the court both offensively and defensively for the Sixers to improve.
With the woeful shape of the Eastern Conference, the Sixers should still contend for a playoff spot.
Yet just contending for one of the back-tier positions wouldn’t be a sign of progress. The Sixers are looking for major improvement.
Changing coaches won’t do much unless the players who are expected to produce, can considerably step up their game on a consistent basis.
JohnJohnSaidIt Said,
December 14, 2008 @ 6:50 pm
The Sixers thought they could spend a lot of money and purchase a championship….wrong.
Their problem is simple; chemistry. Elton Brand is trying not disrupt the chemistry the team had last year and in doing so, he’s being timid.
Iggy is still trying to prove he’s “the man” even though he was grossly overpaid. Not to mention, he was the leader of a vaguely over-achieving team last year.
Mean while Maurice “Mr. Nice-Guy” Cheeks is babying this team and not holding them accountable.
I’m still trying to figure out who’s the “go-to” guy on this team. I bet, even the players don’t know.
johnjohnsaidit.com
J Said,
December 14, 2008 @ 7:39 pm
The team looks great on paper but the players dont mesh at all. The first unit doesnt have any real shooters. Brand has the best jumper but his range stops at like 15 feet. I think the real problem is Igudala, last year the half court offense went through igudala in the high post, this year the offense goes through brand in the high post and igudala is on the wing and hes average at best working from that spot. Brand also has showed signs of serious regression. The team has also abandoned running and most of the offense comes from andre miller a pass first point gaurd attempting to be a scoring gaurd creating offense through penitration and post ups which works well against certain gaurds but its really like a last resort when brand cant get position in the post and igudala cant get in the lane.
TOte Said,
December 14, 2008 @ 11:04 pm
Why this is deja vu to me…?
ohh i remember… CHRIS WEBBER!!!!!!!
Stefanski is making the same mistake Billy KIng made with Webber.
the problem of the sixers is not the PF position.
is the SG.
iguodala cant play there. it just cant. not his place. makes him to predictable. the defenders now is going to take to the rim. they he cant shoot that good.
so they give him the shot.
its not diffcult to guard the sixers.
if brand gets the ball inside, you now the chances that he tries the shot are 90%
so u double team him right? well when the double team comes, brand doesnt have anybody outside to shoot, and anybody inside to score (dalembert isnt a great scorer)
the sixers need an outside player.
and there r a few u now?
so ed, make the move, i know u will, but please!!! dont send dalembert away!!
take willie green, kareem rush, and some cash, and get raja bell from the bobcats, or calderon, or someone!!! or get back korver for crying out loud!!!
make the move man, i know u will
TOte Said,
December 14, 2008 @ 11:18 pm
Why this is deja vu to me…?
ohh i remember… CHRIS WEBBER!!!!!!!
Stefanski is making the same mistake Billy KIng made with Webber.
the problem of the sixers is not the PF position.
is the SG.
iguodala cant play there. it just cant. not his place. makes him to predictable. the defenders now is going to take to the rim. they he cant shoot that good.
so they give him the shot.
its not diffcult to guard the sixers.
if brand gets the ball inside, you now the chances that he tries the shot are 90%
so u double team him right? well when the double team comes, brand doesnt have anybody outside to shoot, and anybody inside to score (dalembert isnt a great scorer)
the sixers need an outside player.
and there r a few u now?
so ed, make the move, i know u will, but please!!! dont send dalembert away!!
take willie green, kareem rush, and some cash, and get raja bell from the bobcats, or calderon, or someone!!! or get back korver for crying out loud!!!
make the move man, i know u will
Aaron B Said,
December 15, 2008 @ 11:03 am
Firing Cheeks was the first attempt at turning the season around. If it doesn’t work (which it won’t- they played the Wizards) They should be looking at moving Iguodala. We have a starting small forward and his name is Thaddeus Young. I’ve had enough of Iggy’s poor ball handling (palming, losing the ball when driving to the basket), streaky shooting, and moping attitude when he doesn’t get a call. He does have value though. He is a perfect fit (and upgrade) at small forward for the Lakers because they have Kobe. He can be Pippen 2.0, at least thats what Stefanski should tell Mitch Kupchak.
space Said,
December 15, 2008 @ 1:28 pm
the team didn’t have an identity before. they’re just a bunch of guys with some talent playing basketball. in crunch time the ball goes to????? good point earlier johnjohn. i felt brand made a mistake in going here because his numbers on a balanced team like this would take a serious hit. BRAND is STILL coming off injury, but they need a better system and shooters. too many athletic guys with no identity on this team. the nba in their hunt for the new prototype has abandoned the multi-talented specialist… the jason kaponos and dale davis’ etc.
in this case its the kyle korvers… nice move philly. one of their hot up and comers needed to be shipped for great value. there are no ’shooters’ off the bench. plenty of guys who can score, but they all score the same way.
portland was almost the same way last year. aldridge, webster, outlaw, frye were all primarily mid rangers. add the play of a true center in oden and outside shooting of blake, fernandez and roy[he was already there] and they are a good team.
the 76ers need to do the same. add some shooters and create some balance. there is no fear of the dump into the post then kick-out. brand has been getting double-teamed more than he ever did in LA. why? no shooters. solution. try a freakin zone and let dalembert park it in the middle. let the runners run on teams.
Jorrye24 Said,
December 15, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
Iguodala isnt a poor ball handler…what are you talking about??..he actually is a capable point guard if you want to play him there in spurts. Elton Brand has been looking a helluva lot slower after the injury. Thaddeus Young has surprised me the most though, going back to last year. I thought he would be in the d-league until next year. Maurice Cheeks was the problem this year, he doesnt know how to use his personel the right way. I knew Brand wouldnt be a good fit for them at power forward. I always thought they shouldve tried to get biedrins from golden state or let speights play alot more. now improvement isnt going to be this year so be patient. the time is next year for the sixers to be 1 of the top 5 seeds in the conference.
DaddyNomNoms Said,
December 15, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
I liked cheeks and still think he is an NBA coach. unfortunetly the coaches are the easiest to replace. Lou williams games been down, Brand is coming off major injury so he was a high risk. dalembert, he’s just high. loosing jason Smith in preseason was big.. i know it was just preseason but youd be crazy to think he couldnt give you 15-20 solid minutes a game this year. wouldnt be surprised to see them sneak in 7 or 8. tons of talent no matter how you cut it.