THE HERO RETURNS

Sometimes in life you get to re-live great memories, sometimes you are given a second helping of a great thing. Allen Iverson was meant to end as a Sixer. He was turned free to try and get his championship but now returns to the fold in the city that adores him. No one is expecting him to carry us to the Finals, but everyone knows he was meant to be here, flaws and all.

Welcome home AI. Light it up and thrill us again.

Sixers Acquire Kapono

In a move that the majority of Sixers fans will view as positive, the team traded Reggie Evans to pick up Jason Kapono. This move addresses the Sixers' 3-point shooting woes in a big way. To start, Kapono is tied with Steve Kerr for the highest all-time 3-pt FG%. He has won 2 All-Star 3-point Shootouts and also been part of the Heat's championship team. I was one to criticize the contract he received from Toronto as a free agent but seeing how the money lined up with both him and Evans put me at ease a bit. They both have 2 years left on their contracts and Kapono makes only about $1.5 million more per year. Seeing as how the Sixers have finished dead last in the league two consecutive years in 3-point shooting, this is a glaring weakness that needed to be addressed. You cannot run an effective offense without the spacing that outside shooting (or at least the threat of it) creates. This is even more of a pressing need if Eddie Jordan is going to instill a new Princeton offense that relies on spacing. It's likely, but not certain, that this precipitates the exit of Donyell Marshall and/or Kareem Rush. Yes, both are shooters but hardly got playing time. It will be better determined after the draft. I think the Sixers will look to keep Royal Ivey, who provided wonderful role-defense and some shooting.

Let not the contributions of Reggie Evans go unnoticed. He was always a hustle guy for us, a "glue" guy who wreaked havoc on the defensive end of the court. He was everywhere at once and that included under the skin of the opponent. He'd take a charge, run out to help double, and pull down rebounds at a rate he was famous for. He was also the guy who had the last word to say to each of the starters before every single game right before they each took the court. He was the first to meet his teammates as they came off the court for a timeout or quarter end. But in the end, he provided absolutely nothing on the offensive end and was part of a glut of PF's on this team. With the return of Elton Brand and Jason Smith, as well as the quick growth and versatility of Young and Speights, Evans was expendable. This really is an upgrade for the Sixers. It is tough to lose another fan favorite the way we lost Korver but at least with this one, there is clear upside to the trade.

And The League Strikes Back!

The League has reviewed the most dubious elbow of Tuesday night and determined that Howard is to be suspended for Game 6 tomorrow in Philadelphia. I'm a little annoyed that the rule book was not followed at the time because he would have been ejected in the 1st quarter and the Sixers would have had a very good shot to win the game down there. Then potentially close it out at home tomorrow night. Either way, this is big news that could still swing favor toward the Sixers. A big win tomorrow gives them the mindset that it's a 1-game series and anything can happen in Orlando. They won once before down there...

Pick Your Poison

Well the Sixers indeed ran into a wall last night. The Magic have stepped up their defense in a way that is giving the Sixers fits. The more alarming issue, however, is what happened to the Sixers defense. Throughout the first four games of this series, the Sixers have focused their attention on the perimeter and limited Turkoglu and Lewis from scoring in bunches. They have mitigated the damage by allowing the entry passes to Howard and then quickly collapsing on him, usually fouling, and forcing him to earn his points at the line. Last night that strategy seemingly disappeared. Howard had his way inside and on the glass, and was very effective from the line. Fine, I'll let that happen if the Sixers clamp down on the perimeter. Not the case. The Magic were getting several open looks and frankly could have won by a greater margin but missed a bunch. The Sixers needed to hit the majority of their outside shots and they simply could not do it. Marshall entered the game only to provide porous defense, quick fouls, and missed shots. That's not the game we can have from him. Dalembert once again couldn't stay on the floor and was caught gambling for offensive rebounds and fouling, thus forcing Ratliff to have to play even smarter minutes on Howard. The frontcourt's fouls need to be strictly limited to fouling Howard on the low-block while he has the ball or stopping slashers on their way to the basket to prevent easy scores.

One interesting wrinkle is the blatant elbow that Howard threw at Dalembert's head after a tangle for a rebound. The league despises thrown punches/elbows to the head and no doubt will look at this very seriously. If this were the regular season, Howard would almost certainly be forced to sit a game but since we are in the playoffs, the league will hate to influence anything (especially when it's clear who they would rather have advance from this round). Howard might just be facing a hefty fine. News just came out that Courtney Lee, Howard's own teammate and another victim of his flying elbows last night, broke his sinus and is out for at least Game 6. Lee has been the benefactor of the Sixers' defensive attention to Lewis and Turkoglu and has had a few strong games this series. Let's see what the league say about Howard this afternoon. Obviously a suspension would greatly impact the Sixers' chances to win Game 6.

Series Tied 2-2

I didn't chime in after the incredible Game 3 victory because I was living it up for several days (am I still? maybe) but I do not want to let it go by how great of a game that was. The Sixers rose to the occasion and gutted it out to win on a beautiful play by Young. He sensed Howard out of shot-blocking position and struck quick. Now Game 4 was also close and we all know how it ended, with Turkoglu hitting a big-time shot with 1 second left to take the victory. Similar drama to Iguodala last Sunday if you think about it...

So now the Sixers and Magic are locked at 2 games a piece with Game 5 tonight in Orlando. Some people have brought up the bulletin-board talk that perhaps Turkoglu trashed Young by saying that he took the final shot because Young was guarding him. I honestly don't know if I have an opinion on this. It's the playoffs and it's the NBA and of course the Magic are going to go for the best matchup. I think it should be known that this is not a blatent knock on Thad, as if he were Marshall out there defending, but rather a tip-of-the-cap to Iguodala by saying that they did not want to face up against him by going to Lewis. Iguodala is one of the better defenders in the league and both Turkoglu and Lewis knew with their injuries, they might be at a disadvantage if trying to get space on Andre. Whatever, let this talk only motivate Thad. He's responded well this year when needed and should take his game right at them. I see no possible adverse affects. People rave so much over the maturity and work ethic of Thad that this can only result in a positive. The Sixers will need every positive and every break they can get if they hope to win down in Orlando tonight.

Another thing to be mindful of is how the Magic are now employing a new defense against the Sixers. This involves extreme focus on Iguodala with double teams and switching to prevent him from getting in any kind of position to shoot and also from comfortably driving the lane. Dwight Howard has also decided to keep his defensive focus much closer to the basket. Therefore, it's clear the Magic have conceded the outside shot to the Sixers and, in fact, seemingly dared them to make long-distance shots. We all know this is far from the Sixers' strongsuit. Tonight, they will need to establish some semblance of an inside-outside game and open up the floor a bit. Clogging the lane cripples the Sixers' halfcourt set. Also, the Magic are now doing a better job with their transition defense and being very mindful to hustle back and prevent the Sixers' fastbreak offense from taking shape. Defensive rebounding and limiting second chances will continue to be key as the Sixers will need to take advantage of every single opportunity they have on the break. Do they have another miracle win in them? Can they possibly return home on Thursday with the chance to close out the series?? Dare we dream but I'm sure we can rest assured that this team is not going away easily and the Magic will have to earn every inch they think is theirs.

Keys to Game 2

While I think the Sixers might have "awoken the beast" similar to what they did last year, I think there should still be optimism about this being a good series. I've been going back through games by both teams this year and especially our matchups with them to identify the keys for tonight and a successful series.

1) Limiting outside looks by Turkoglu and Lewis. The Magic have the best outside shooting and we know they like to resort to playing in and out with Howard and their perimeter. In two specific losses to them those 2 combined to go 8-13 and 7-14 respectively from 3-pt range. That was key. Right now, both are hurt with ankle and knee injuries and clearly that has carried over into the playoffs. I can't see either deciding to be slashers so the Sixers need to pay attention to them on the outside and recognize that they can perhaps drive on them and get bailed out by a foul. Guys like Williams, Green, and Iguodala have the speed to drive on them.

2) Dalembert's effectiveness. He needs to stay on the floor and pull rebounds and block shots of guards. I dont' want him racking up fouls against Howard. Leave that to Ratliff and Evans. If Sammy can't stay on the floor, that puts Evans in the middle more (bc Ratliff can't handle all those mins) and he does not block shots the same. Evans in the middle also causes our defense to scramble on pick and rolls which I really think the Magic will throw at us tonight. The Sixers have to hold tight to their defensive rotations and only allow those first two involved defenders to guard the pick and roll. If they get caught and a third has to pick up the shooter they are in trouble because it causes the whole defense to shift and they are weak there (as much as I love them, Young and Speights are particularly weak here but try to use speed to compensate). Then the Magic will know they have a wide open shooter on the floor and have burned us there before. It all starts with Sammy staying on the floor and straight up discipline and hard work because he actually does rotate well.

3) Bench play. We have the advantage here but have to optimize it. Our bench MUST outscore and outplay theirs. Williams needs to get into the lane and make things happen and also get to the line. Marshall must play effective by outscoring what he is giving up on the defensive end (and he can do this because we hide him on defense these days). He must drift to open spots and be ready to get his shot off. Look for him in the corner when we drive and at the bend when we get offensive rebounds. Ratliff must try to put Howard out of position by forcing him to set up 2-3+ feet from where he wants to set up. This will cause him to take extra dribbles to position himself (big men dribbling leads to turnovers) or making him shoot outside his range (and thus not being in position to rebound). We can't have someone like Anthony Johnson or Tony Battie have the game of their lives.

These are just some extra keys. Obviously good games are needed as usual from Iguodala, Miller, and Young. I think this one will be tougher to win but if you can come back from 18 down on the road anything can happen. Also, coming home just having won something down there is incredible.

Sixers Stun Magic to Win Game 1!

Look at that face! What an absolute death stare to Orlando delivered courtesy of Andre Iguodala. That's not the only thing he had for the Magic. How about a game-winning field-goal with 2.2 seconds left to cap a furious comeback from 18 down and take Game 1? What a game it was. The Sixers chose to focus their defense on the outside shooters with which the Magic have burned them this year and let Dwight Howard go off. That was expected but they caught a real break when Howard had to leave the game to attend to his eye. During that stretch the Sixers began to close the gap. It was the Sixers' own hot shooting in the 4th quarter where they went 5-for-7 from three-point territory and 74% overall that keyed the comeback victory. All those people who swore the Sixers would get swept can eat their words because this is now the playoffs and things are always different when you face the possibility of ending your season very soon. There is no reason for any player on the team to hold back in any regard. They fought all season without their big offseason pickup to get where they are and I hope they continue to make some noise and get the respect they deserve. Next game is Wednesday and we should expect the Magic to come out with a vengeance after this game. Then bring it back home on Friday night and I hope the Wachovia Center is rockin!

Sixers Are In A World Of Trouble...

...at the worst possible time of the year! They have now lost 5 in a row which is a season high. They have blown their chances to lock up the 5th seed unless a miracle happens. A miracle that would include beating Boston at home tomorrow night in what is likely Kevin Garnett's return and then playing in Cleveland on Wednesday against a Cavs team that just so happens to be 39-1 at home this year. They are falling apart and are now 2-5 without Thad Young. Miller has had to pick up more of the scoring and therefore his assists have dropped, teams have locked in more on Iguodala, and Speights has hit, crashed, and died against the "rookie wall". I can't remember the last time I saw him hit a jumper from the top of the key where he used to be a force. Also, he is getting consistently victimized on defense and found to be in poor positions.

The Sixers better at least get their heads on straight heading into the playoffs if they plan to make any noise whatsoever. Yesterday was a must win if we wanted the 5 seed. Since they lost, I can only assume they are fine with the 6 seed, provided Chicago doesn't steal that from us as well.

Thad Young Out 2-3 Weeks

Hurts big time, we all know that. Not a lot more to say other than Willie, Marreese and Ivey have to step up their games to help compensate. Can Thad return in form for the playoffs? We can only hope.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Please say it isn't so....PLEASE! Thad Young, who has scored 20+ points in the last 10 games went down in obvious pain last night in the first quarter. This would be a catastrophic loss for the Sixers if he is out for any kind of extended time. For a team that, except for Brand, hasn't had other guys missing any time at all, they could be down 2 starters heading toward the playoffs. It's difficult to tell how truly bad this is for Young until after the MRI today but it cannot be any better than a serious sprain. He wouldn't even put an ounce of weight on it as he came off the floor. The crowd had an awkwardly nervous hush come over it. Arrrgggghhhhh. Now we wait to see....

Big win for the Sixers though for two reasons: stop the bleeding of the recent losses to keep pace with Miami (do they really want the 5 seed either?) and also nice to see how we match up with the Hawks in case we face them in the playoffs. With Young in, I think we take a series with them. With him out, they will be close games.

...(bounce)...(bounce)...

That's the sound of the Sixers dropping the ball in their last two games. Now I can understand a loss in Detroit, who is playing for their playoff lives, a little bit easier then a home loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. That's the second time this season the Sixers have lost to the Bobcats and both times the outside shooting of Charlotta was the difference-maker. The Sixers had a dreadful first half by only scoring 33 points but then made a game of it too late. Extend that game and Sixers likely win it but that's not how it goes in the NBA. You gotta play 48 minutes. It didn't matter what happened in the 4th because the Sixers were down 17 at the half and that was it. Inexcusable. Now they face a tougher assignment in needing to beat teams like Atlanta, Cleveland and Boston which will be tough. You must take care of business down the stretch if you are going to be a viable threat heading into the playoffs. It's time to get serious starting tonight against the Hawks. That would be a confidence win to use against Milwaukee on Thursday and hopefully carry over that energy into Saturday's game for what looks like it will be a large crowd on hand to see Iverson. A 3-game stretch that will be extremely important for them. Let's see what they're made of...

Sixers Take Care of New Look Wolves

Thankfully. That's because the "new look" Minnesota trotted out last night was a starting lineup of reserves! Apparently they were being rewarded for their hard play against bottom-feeding Oklahoma City (which unfortunately DID beat the Sixers this year). The Wolves definitely made a game of it but I fear that it was also more of a combination between the Sixers returning home after a long trip as well as showing their occasional tendency to play down to certain competition. The team seemed ice cold from the field in the first half and simply were not getting any assists nor getting out on the break. We actually saw something again this game where Thad Young has been starting to get some looks in the "go-to" role. He was the only consistent scorer last night (once again putting up 29 points). Nice spot for Ivey coming off the bench to hit a couple 3's and give the Sixers a cushion.

In the end, it's a win even though it was more hairy than expected. Sixers are now 4 games over .500 and have won 4 in a row at home. With Charlotte coming in on Friday, it present a great opportunity to move to 5 games above .500 for the first time in several years. Also, it's not too early to start watching the scores of Miami and Detroit and understand that every game is going to matter. I'm preparing myself now for that one killer late-season loss the Sixers usually take and just hoping it doesn't bite them too bad. They must take care of business against teams they can beat because they will get no love from Cleveland, Detroit, Boston, and Atlanta down the stretch.

Sixers Wrap Up Road Trip in Grand Fashion with Win Over Portland

What a road trip it was! Before heading out west, I was hoping the Sixers would just take care of business and beat the Warriors and Kings. They sure made it interesting by knocking off the Lakers to start the trip. Then the hope was that they could grab 3 out of 5 games. After the unfortunate loss to Golden State, they took care of the Kings (no drama expected there) and returned the next night to beat the Blazers...in Portland...on the second night of a back-to-back and at the end of a 5-games-in-7-nights road trip. Simply unreal. For starters, the Blazers were 28-6 at home going into last night. They also have been 17-3 against teams who have played the previous night. The Sixers got out to a nice lead in the first half with some hot shooting but it was widely expected things would settle down in the second half. It's so tough to shoot so well for a whole game and keep up a fast pace when you've played the night before. Everyone stepped up for this. The Miller-Iguodala-Young trifecta supplied the offense and guys like Evans, Dalembert and Ratliff sure gave a great effort on the defensive end. Sammy was unreal in the closing minutes on the boards against Oden and Aldridge. Also something to note was the Sixers' foul shooting. They were 35-39 and needed every one. I was nervous about Iguodala's 4 shots in the closing moments of the 4th because he has been suspect to miss those on more than one occasion.

One more thing to note has been the Sixers overall defense, especially against star-caliber players, lately. The held Dwayne Wade to 18pts (avgs 29.9/gm), Kobe to 11 (avgs. 27.7/gm), and Brandon Roy to 12 (avgs 23/gm). It was obvious during this trip that they were letting up a lot of cumulative points, but there is more behind the final score to Phoenix and Golden State. Golden State has the fastest-pace offense in the league while Phoenix has the 4th highest. That means these teams get a lot of possessions considering many factors (e.g. avg time of possession, takeaways, etc.). Also, the Sixers played Phoenix the night after LA and it was an uphill battle from the start. Not making any excuses in that regard but despite the points let up, they have done a great job of limiting baskets down the stretch when it has mattered.

Ok...one more thing...Thad Young. I find a large part of the reason that the Sixers have won 6 of their last 8 to be the play of Young. He has averaged 23 points over that stretch (his season average is 15) and he has done it while shooting 58% from the field (up from season avg of 49%). He is just more confident these days in his low-post moves, his timing, his range, his right hand, and his awareness on the court.

Iguodala's Confidence, Heroics Help Sixers Shock Lakers

What a finish at the Staples Center last night! The Sixers, facing overwhelming odds against a Lakers team that was 30-4 at home, pulled out a memorable win. Iguodala drained the game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer over Trevor Ariza to win 94-93. It looked like it was going to be yet another "Kobe saves the day" game when Bryant, who was held to only 11 points, drained the go-ahead basket with 6.6 seconds left. In the timeout, Iguodala boldly proclaimed he would shoot a 3 to win the game. He then held true to his word seconds later. The real question is why Ariza didn't foul him with about 3 seconds left? I'm obviously thankful he didn't, not only because Iguodala hit the shot, but because Iguodala has been struggling lately in late-game free-throw situations. I don't know how confident I'd be with him on the line down 2 and shooting even 3 shots. True the Lakers had a foul to give but it depends on how Iguodala could anticipate the foul coming. That's neither here nor there after such a great win to start the 5-game road trip that continues tonight in Phoenix. Should be a tough game but the Sixers won there last year against a better Suns team. Just have to focus on the game at hand and try to build off that win and make this a better-than-expected road trip.

Finally Ready To Resurface...

Yes, after the pain that Saturday's game caused. I have never sat through something like that before, and I've sat through a LOT of games. This one was so different because the Sixers were pulling away from the Nets, a team who got crushed in Atlanta the night before, and were about to be 2 games over .500 right before the Celtics come into town. That meltdown in the 4th was inexplicable. Nothing would go right. Literally ANY kind of basket and the game is over. I said to my buddy that it was almost as if someone put Saran Wrap over the hoop so no shots would go through.

My worry about the loss now is how the Sixers respond. Losses like that are quiet killers, both for team psyche and standings. I tend to look at game on the schedule in groups and say what I hope their record will be after that group of games, rather then going game by game (ok, I do both really). Therefore, I had said I hope they are a game over .500 after tonight's Celtics game. This becomes significantly more difficult when you are forced to beat Boston to have that happen. Not saying the Sixers can't win, but they need to respond with a vengeance and go on a run now. Do not let this loss knock you back and then proceed to drop winnable games. They need to rise above the pack that includes teams like Miami, Atlanta, and Detroit now in order to jockey for playoff positioning. Let's see what they're made of.

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

Under normal circumstances, you would have expected the Sixers to travel to New Orleans and face difficult odds in winning against the Hornets. However, since the Hornets were without their frontcourt line of Tyson Chandler and David West, one reasonably could have expected the Sixers' odds of winning to increase drastically if they could outrebound (doable), outrun (easy), out-defend (hard) the Hornets. As the game started, the Sixers were indeed controlling the glass and getting into their fastbreak offense. This gave them an early edge due to New Orleans having a poor transition defense. The problem in the beginning was controlling Chris Paul. He was getting past Miller and finding open teammates with ease. On top of that, he was stealing almost every other pass from the Sixers. The first half ended with the Sixers indeed succeeding at two of the three aforementioned keys and the notion turned toward that the Sixers should win the game. Not so fast...

The Sixers must have forgotten what helped them succeed in the first half because they quickly lost it in the second. They still managed to shoot the ball better overall than the Hornets as well as pull down more rebounds. The rebounds and the high amount of points in the paint was directly attributable to the Hornets missing frontline. Chris Paul still was a menace and continued to pick off passes left and right. Not only that but Peja Stojakovic decided to drain an insane amount of 3-pointers over the span of 5 minutes that provided the knockout punch. The Sixers still got on the fastbreak but only came in around their average against a team susceptible to that attack. As for the out-defending key? The Sixers finished with 21 turnovers (many were steals) and failed to guard the 3-point line. All that equated to what appeared in the box score as a lopsided loss.

Why I Love New York...

Caught your attention with that one didn't I? The one reason I will admit to liking New York is simple: the Knicks are so good at giving the Sixers victories I just have to be thankful. Last night the Sixers knocked them off for the third time this season and for the 12th time in the last 14 matchups. That's called domination in most circles. Before I get too cocky about a team that is indeed .500, I will stop there. But overall, last night at the game was a great atmosphere. It was Phillies night and many people probably showed up to also see the World Series trophy but wound up seeing a great time between rivals. Hopefully that will spur more people into coming out to games the rest of the season. It definitely makes it all the more enjoyable. McNabb was in attendance as well and got a nice ovation (I credit the small amount of boos to the New Yorkers in attendance since the home crowd outlasted them). Another note was that it was disappointing to not see Cole Hamels there since he was expected to be but still cool to see Brad Lidge, Shane Victorino, and Ryan Madson compete in a 3-point shootout (took a while for Lidge to hit the rim, maybe he should stick to closing ha).

Overall, it was a nice finish and the defense was there when needed. Great steal and alley-oop to Dalembert, who played a very nice game, to basically clinch it. Elton Brand looked good in his return and it will be great to get him more and more minutes in this lineup. Tough to say if he'll start Monday in New Orleans (doubtful) but it will be good to have him for a very challenging game. The team definitely has an identity now and is playing good basketball. If they can stay tough on defense and rebounding, things should keep going their way. They did let up a lot of first-half points but the Knicks are known for shooting a lot of 3-pointers. Anyway, good game, good crowd, and most importantly...good win.

Break The Superstitions, The Streak Is Over

As the Sixers kept racking up wins, I thought I needed to settle into superstitions to keep the streak alive. I wore my retro Chamberlain jersey to basically every home game in that run. I even stopped posting since I didn't want to wreck anything (ok, truthfully I took a few days off to catch Metallica in a couple cities...they rocked as always). Alas, all good things must come to an end. Actually, I'll take the blame personally because I did not attend the game due to it being at 1pm on a day not everyone gets off from work. In a way, it mirrored the Eagles game the day before but the Sixers left you with a vastly different feeling. Them coming back and tying up that game was important. It was important for the psyche of a relatively young team who is developing. It was important for Iguodala to step up and carry them on his back when it mattered most. Those are the lessons that can be taken from this loss. Now, Brand should return on Saturday and we will see if he can fit into the system they are clearly subscribing to as of late. Can he give the same commitment to defense? I feel good about that. Can he contribute positively to the offense? Two factors here: he needs to trail the fastbreak and allow to be the spot up shooter from mid-range should they not convert and he needs to be ready to set up in the halfcourt game down low if need be. Maybe the most important issue is can the rest of the team continue how they have been playing even when he returns? This means they cannot dip into the mentality of relying on Brand for more than they should. They all need to keep that hunger. They also cannot stunt the fastbreak and decide they will now consciously involve him on every play. No, take it to the basket just the same. Brand is a bonus to add back into the mix right now. The Sixers are 20-21 at the midway point of the year. They need to continue the good play and make their run from here on out. And oh yeah, try to score 100 points each game because they are 14-3 when that happens.

Efficient Offense Study

I was reading this article today by John Schuhmann which broke down the characteristics of 5 of the top offenses in the league and what they do that is successful. Throughout it, I was realizing what ails the Sixers and it's interesting to see what he says at the end about them. We have all heard how the Sixers are the best fastbreak team in the league and also that they score a lot in the paint. Why hasn't this translated to more success? How can you be tops in the league in a certain offensive stat but still 3 games below .500?

He offers that two of the largest contributors to an efficient offense are ability to get to the free throw line as well as 3-pointers attempted. The first makes sense because it gives you easier shots with the clock stopped, all while racking up fouls on the opponent. The Sixers aren't as bad as one would think in getting to the line (13th - keep in mind there are 30 NBA teams), however, they are 27th in terms of free-throw percentage, which obviously means they are not taking proper advantage of their trips to the line.

Second, we all know the Sixers are not a 3-point shooting team, despite their recent efforts to the contrary, but how poorly can that hurt them if they are tops in fastbreak and do well in the paint? Apparently more than one thinks. He noted that it is one of the strongest contributors to an efficient offense. Unfortunately the Sixers rank 29th in 3-pointers attempted. Also, it's not like they are missing out on much because they are also 29th in percentage made. Perhaps this is why DiLeo is imploring them to take more three's and challenging them to make at least five per game. My guess is that he sees the positive in this as being the fact that the more you make, the more the entire floor begins to open up and you keep defenses honest. There is also that part about scoring an extra point. True, the Sixers need consistency from outside in order to threaten anyone but taking more when they are available is a good start.

Finally, one clear detractor from offensive efficiency is turnovers. Nothing kills your point-per-possession stat like giving the ball away. I've noted before how the Sixers turn the ball over too much, therefore giving away easy points in transition and allowing the other team to have more possessions throughout the course of the game. I would not say that they have cut down their number overall as they still have 15.7 per game (26th in the league) but at least they are forcing close to as many (15.5, 6th in the league) and masking that problem somewhat.

The main idea here is that the Sixers have a nice strength with their athletic ability and fastbreak scoring, but they are failing in many other key areas on offense that have an equal to greater impact throughout the course of the game. Thus the tales of a 17-20 team...

Don't Stop Now...

The Sixers knocked off the Hawks today in Atlanta for a very nice win. That win is their 4th in a row and is the clear result of them playing overall better basketball. They seem to be clicking more on offense and guys are getting the ball in places they need it. Not only that, they are also getting into their fastbreak more and it's helped them immensely. Credit Iguodala and Speights with really improving their overall play lately and contributing in many facets. It will be interesting to see how Brand works into the mix when he returns. Of course, we are all hoping he doesn't disturb a good thing but rather adds to it. I'd have to say that is a nice problem to have...finding a way to have Elton Brand effectively rejoin your lineup.

Portland on Wednesday. They are a nice team out West and I'm looking forward to seeing Oden face the Sixers for the first time. The key will be Iguodala containing Brandon Roy.

In Response To Being Called Out...

...the Sixers turned in quite a performance last night against a very good Rockets team. They rebounded effectively even though they were outmatched in the frontcourt and they were able to jumpstart their fastbreak very well. I especially liked the play of Young and Speights who were effective on follow ups and spreading the floor to stretch the defense and allow the rim to be attacked by Miller and Iguodala. Also, Willie Green had a very quiet yet appreciated 14 points in his starter's role. I'm wondering more and more if Iguodala at the SF is indeed the better move. I wanted him to settle in at SG in order to keep Young on the floor at SF but maybe they found the solution for now. I guess time will tell when Brand returns and what matchups are dictated by our opponents.

Overall, Iguodala's play has been steadily improving and, while he still is forcing some shots, I'm liking his improvement on finishing at the rim. He is finding the balance between power moves/drives to the basket and the finesse to finish the shot. Nice win and it becomes even better if they can win in Milwaukee tonight. Otherwise it's just a 1-1 mark which does nothing.

On the topic of what else I should talk about, it is interesting to see some of the voting results. My hobbies and gymnastics are winning ha. Don't think for one minute that I'm not qualified to discuss the wonderful sport of gymnastics....or that I would dread it. As for hobbies, well you'll just have to see all the awesome things I do with my time if that wins out.

Why No Posts You Ask?

Because I'm protesting the team's play and refusing to acknowledge it is NBA-caliber for right now. Please vote on what my next topic of discussion should focus around until the Sixers seem once again worthy of our time.