Killer Game

Took me two days to finally write about the game on Saturday night because of how much it irked me. Sixers needed to win that game and will look back on it at some point later in the season and wish they could have it back. The Pacers were without a few of their best players and also had played a double-overtime game the night before in Indiana. The Sixers won in Washington but were coming home. They needed that one. They needed it before they embark on their annual winter road trip that this year might have them go 1-5 (and is that even generous?). They are getting deep into a hole that might not be climbed out of later in the year.

I had a discussion with some people over that final shot by TJ Ford. Point is, he made an incredible play and sometimes you tip your cap to that. The best defenders in the league are not able to stop a bounce back fadaway jumper. That's the shot we want him to take with hardly any time and up by a point. He's a slashing guard so if he drives, he is either getting an easier shot, a layup, or getting fouled. Some advocate to foul there. I must state this clearly: you do not give the NBA's 5th best free-throw shooter a free pass to the line when you are only up by one point. Period. I cannot think of any possible reason to justify this. Anyway, Iguodala got the call for the final shot and he missed. I can't say I'm surprised. My faith in Iguodala has decreased this season. He simply doesn't seem like he will get it done when needed. Frankly, I would have rather had Lou Williams get the final look there because he might be the only player that can create his own shot and he's got range. Maybe next time they'll give him the play.

They needed that one.

Did You Know: Trading MVPs

Did a little research today and learned something interesting and thought I'd share. In the 52 year history that the NBA has awarded an MVP, 8* winners have been traded to other teams. Only one of those, Charles Barkley, won the award AFTER he was traded (he won it with Phoenix the season after the Sixers traded him) so he doesn't really count in this. Besides him, each and every one has gone on to win a title with their new team, except for one. You guessed it......Allen Iverson. Does this bode well for him or not? You decide. I for one hope he gets his and I'm willing to have it count if he does it in his remaining career since he didn't do it in Denver.

*NOTE: Dave Cowens, the 1972-73 MVP, would make it 9 MVPs traded, but he retired after the 1980 season. Cowens came out of retirement and the Milwaukee Bucks traded for him before the 1982-83 season in exchange for Quinn Buckner. So, Cowens was traded, but his career was basically over by that point.

Cheeks Fired As Coach

This is a sad event that I dreaded facing the day Mo Cheeks was brought in to coach the Sixers. He is a legend in this town, yet it's an awkward situation when he is fired as coach of the very team he won a title with in 1983. He was fired because the Sixers simply are horribly disappointing so far this year and he is the obvious scapegoat. It is difficult to say whether or not he deserved the firing, but nonetheless that is the reality. It's quite apparent that the Sixers are underachieving and that Elton Brand is not playing up to the potential we had planned for upon his signing. The Sixers, with all their high hopes, are in last place in the Atlantic Division. Ed Stefanski does not want to sit around any longer and watch this team allow the entire season to slip away. I can't blame him! I sit there every game with little faith that the Sixers will win a quality matchup.

The interesting element here is the decision to have Assistant GM Tony DiLeo assume coaching duties for the remainder of the season. I have always admired the job that DiLeo has performed in regards to Director of Player Personnel and it was obvious his next step was to Assistant GM. I just wonder about the ability he has to coach. Is he going to be a puppet for Stefanski? Recall last year that it was Stefanski who implored Cheeks to give more minutes to the younger players in order to more fully evaluate their abilities. Now I don't know about you, and I've already stated my level of respect for DiLeo and wish him all the success on earth (obviously), but something seems fishy here. I can't say there is a certain other coach I would rather have here right now, but I sure want one with a true game plan, a proven track record of success, and the ability to at least somewhat convince me that the Sixers will make a turnaround soon. The next 3 games, and throw in the last game for good measure, are a pretty easy stretch for the Sixers. They SHOULD win all 4 in total. That will get them back to 13-14 before embarking on their annual late-December-West-Coast-road-trip-thanks-to-Disney-on-ice. Hopefully they have some sort of semblance of a game plan in place to at least make that trip NOT detrimental. I do not want this 4 game stretch to look like more than fool's gold because most people could coach them to wins here. They have just come off a stretch where they had to play 2 of the best 3 teams in the NBA 3 times in 10 nights. It's time for a little relief.

All in all, very sad to see Cheeks go. I wanted him to be successful here and so did every single last Sixers fan. He deserved better and I hope all goes well for him. I'm sorry the players couldn't save him.

Ugh

I just returned from the Sixers defeat to the Cavs and, before I start spilling frustrations, I will acknowledge that the Cavs are 19-3 and light years ahead of the Sixers. But that's exactly what frustrates me, I thought this Sixers team was capable of getting to the same level as the Clevelands and Orlandos of the league. For some reason, they are nowhere near that level. They are plagued with inconsistency, poor shooting, and bad luck. Yes, bad luck. Bad luck follows around teams that do not perform well because things just don't go their way. The Phillies had good luck because they were a good team and things seemed to bounce their way. The Sixers do not resemble anything that looks like a potential playoff team. It's truly a shame I cannot sit here and focus on a quality win that occurred last Friday in Detroit without Elton Brand, and that should have been followed up by a nice home win against the Nets. It's true I expected the Cavs game to be a difficult one for the Sixers, but it's frustrating to be playing difficult games and thinking you need to win so you don't fall further out. Brand was awful tonight (even receiving his first Philly boos). Dalembert has been awful for 2 weeks. That front court is not scaring anyone. The Sixers cannot operate in the half court set because they do not devise plays that allow Brand to create in the low post. They are trying to force a shooting offense with a team full of non-shooters. Their shooting guard can get to the rim and can't finish. They are creating too many turnovers, thus limiting any potential to gamble in passing lanes and jump start the fastbreak offense. When you are playing from behind, due to turnovers and poor transition defense, you limit the amount of things that you can do on the defensive end. Yes, defense is full of schemes just like offense.

Tonight Jimmy Rollins was in attendance, as was Brian Westbrook, DeSean Jackson, Mike Richards, Braydon Coburn, and Bernard Hopkins. Funny because I have not seen this list of Philadelphia stars show up for many other games this year (save for Rollins at the Lakers game but that feeds into my point). This is because they are not coming to see the Sixers. They are coming to see LeBron (and Kobe). Yes, it's nice to applaud the other Philadelphia athletes, especially the one who brought a championship to the city, but wouldn't it be nicer to count them as regular fans? This team will not gain any new fans with how they are playing. They vaulted a couple spots in average attendance over the past week. Wasn't it just a coincidence that they played the Lakers and Cavs in that stretch?

Yes, I am frustrated. I'm frustrated because I expected so much more at this point in the season. I honestly thought the Sixers would be 14-8, 15-7, or something like that at this point. Stefanski said last week that no one ever said this team would get it right overnight. I've been to 8 games so far this season and the Sixers have won 2. Frustration.

Way To Get That One Back Sixers

The Sixers avenged their home loss to the Bulls on Sunday by beating them in Chicago 103-95 in overtime. It was nice to squeak out a win since they should have won the other night and at this point need to get on the ball. Finally Iguodala broke out for a season-high 25 points on very efficient shooting. It appeared that neither team really wanted to win this game with there being a total of 43 turnovers in the game. Thankfully the Bulls had 24 of those. Oh don't worry, I'm not letting the Sixers off the hook for having 19. That has really been an issue this season which is strange to me still. I will admit they are at least winning the takeaway war these days, but in the end, those turnovers need to decrease.

Nonetheless, there is something different about this Sixers team in that they are able to close games out. Elton Brand is reliable as expected in the post (although he seems to disappear for stretches...just give him the ball!). Also, Willie Green is a solid 6th man off the bench for this team and Speights is impressing me more each game. He has a real feel for the game and a touch that I haven't seen since...well, Thad Young. Both are appearing to be great draft picks with plenty of upside and a knack for the finer points of the game.

Lakers tomorrow night. Probably will draw a large crowd so maybe the Sixers can capitalize on that and turn in a great performance and catapult their season in the right direction. Lakers are on the second night of a back-to-back also.

Who Expected This?

I really don't understand what is going on. The Sixers, despite finishing last season strong, making the playoffs, and adding Elton Brand, are not a good team. They lose winnable games all the time. Wednesday they had a chance to beat Orlando but once again they left Lewis open in the corner for another 3-pointer. I understand losing to Boston right now but I wish they stacked up with them better. Yesterday's loss at home to Chicago was simply ridiculous. They once again failed to guard the 3-point line and pretty much dared players to make shots. Professional NBA players will normally make wide open shots. They are last in the division despite hopes to make noise in the Eastern Conference. They have the worst home attendance in the Eastern Conference despite all the hype around adding big players. They have a newly re-signed SG who is shooting under 40% from the field despite shooting over 46% for his career. Pretty much not a lot has changed since this time last year except Elton is taking some of the other players' scoring load. Something has to change fast or this team will quickly find themselves needing to make up wins against teams that are far superior.