Sixers at Toronto 11/12 - 7pm

[tk76-]

Sixers really worked hard on defense for this one.  They committed a ton of fouls, but it didn't kill them.  It also helped that Toronto was a bit off from 3.

Good to finally see Iguodala and Young be disruptive defensively.  Also great to see Mo willing to go to Speights- and the young kid responding.  Man was he a great pick at 16.  When to you get talented bigs at 16, especially one as well rounded as Speights?

Also, Brand looked like a new man playing at the foul line extended.  Glad to see at least some adjustments were made.

Still concerned with how the pieces fit, but they will probably will win a majority of the games coming up.  Also looking forward to seeing Thad match up with Granger and his boy Durant.

BTW- that was the best game by WG in years (ever?)- 17 pts on only 10 shots and 9 assists?!?  Who would have though he would be the perfect pick and pop combo with Brand- at least tonight.

[Skates]

Looks like they made a concerted effort to get Brand out in the post and into pick and pop.  The majority of these situations involved Green, not Miller.  Green can get to the rim off the pick and roll well, and when he's hitting his jumpers like he was today can be a good option for the pick and roll.

Looking at the boxscore and seeing all of those assists next to Willie's name, but seeing that he had played with Miller a lot, I had a sneaking suspicion that Green was playing ball with Brand.  Sadly, nothing looks as good as WG when he's hot, or as bad when he's not.

Sam has looked completely lost this year, even more than usual.  I think he will have trouble with any kind of complexity being added to the offense and it is showing right now.  Unfortunately he has no reliable shot so that you can park him outside to draw his man away from the basket.  A team that could use Sam is the Knicks as a shot-blocking back-up to Randolph.  Sam would be better in a pure running style.  Supposedly there is a market for Curry, maybe we could get in a three way deal on that.

[tk76-]

I think tonight Sam just struggled with scoring in close against two good interior defenders in Bosh and J.O.  Sam just doesn't have moves to go to when he can't simply flip the ball in close.

Skates, I hope you can see the highlight of Speights faking out both Bosh and J.O. and then pivoting back to lay the ball in.  The contrast between his skill set and Sams couldn't be move stark.
That said, I stil expect to see Sam stating- ut hopefull wth Sepights canabalizing his minutes.  Let them both play 25-30 min- and maybe we can see more sustained production out of Sam if he knows he will only play about 1/2 the game.  Just don't take away his starting spot, or he'll cry and pout to no end.

Brand 35min, Speights 25 Min, Sam 25 min sounds about right.  That would leave about 10-12 min to go small with Thad at PF, or Kamakaze with Evans at PF.

[Derek Bodner]

Just because something has 'always been done' one way doesn't mean it's the right way to do something - 'common wisdom' isn't always ACCURATE

You're making an argument noone else here is arguing against.  Nobody's saying it's the right thing to do, we're talking about WHAT WE THINK WILL HAPPEN.

[Skates]

The frustrating thing about Sam's fouls this year are the way he has gotten them (not counting tonight since I did not catch the game).  He has developed a goofy bad habit of puttimg his left hand on a shooters shoulder or back as he goes up nice and straight to block a shot with ihs right.  It is almost like he is feeling for the player.  I see no strategic advantage it can give him, but it is an easy and obvious call for the refs.  Add that to his legitimate fouls and usual dose of going over the back for rebounds and he ends up in foul trouble.

I would like to see the Speights highlight, the guy has nimble feet and quick hands for a big man.

[tk76-]

I tried to find the Speights highlight, but the NBA did not include it in the game recap.  Maybe they will but out a longer vid recap tomorrow.

Basically Speights was driving down the lane hard to his left and faked left, drawing both Bosh and J.O. in the air.  He was left completely uncovered.  Then he turned to his right and casually flipped in a 3 foot right half hook.  Great footwork and very smooth.  Almost hearkened back to Hakeem's nimble footwork (not that I expect to ever to see him play at that kind of level.)

[jemagee]

I'd like to point out that benching Sam will almost guarantee a hissy fit and a major minus in the "team chemistry" department.  That's gotta count for something.

I don't actually think it does - it affects sam being a baby - the rest of the team shouldn't be affected, and if sam acts like a pissy bitch you suspend him, and send him home, for conduct detrimental...

[anklebreaker]

Speights and Young are two young guys that look like they are going to turn into match-up nightmares.  By the way, you've got to love Young's competitive nature.  Watching him wrestle Bosh down low and deny him position was great to see.... It only happened once or twice since Young wasn't guarding him, but Bosh thought he had a mismatch and Young worked his ass off to hold his ground..... it's exactly what Philly fans appreciate. 

You've also got to love seeing Speights run the floor and not give up on the play... even when it appeared as though Green had a wide open layup.  I can't put my finger on a player comparison for Speights.  I see a lot of David West in him the way he can shoot from the foul line extended... not to mention his 15-18 foot baseline jumper is money and reminds me of McDyess.... and his soft touch around the basket is reminiscent of big Todd Mac.  He's displayed a lot of versatility in a short run so far and is surprisingly polished... pretty uncharacteristic of someone who falls to the 16th pick. 

[jemagee]

pretty uncharacteristic of someone who falls to the 16th pick.

Character issues and he came out a year earlier than most thought he should/would (Draftexpress had him as a top 10 pick in 2009) benefitted the sixers...i still worried someone would steal him.

[Skates]

You've also got to love seeing Speights run the floor and not give up on the play... even when it appeared as though Green had a wide open layup.  I can't put my finger on a player comparison for Speights.  I see a lot of David West in him the way he can shoot from the foul line extended... not to mention his 15-18 foot baseline jumper is money and reminds me of McDyess.... and his soft touch around the basket is reminiscent of big Todd Mac.  He's displayed a lot of versatility in a short run so far and is surprisingly polished... pretty uncharacteristic of someone who falls to the 16th pick. 

Looking back at the draft this year, the middle of it was full of potential quality big men:

10.  Brook Lopez
12.  Jason Thompson
14.  Anthony Randolph
15.  Robin Lopez
16.  Speights
17.  Roy Hibbert
18.  JaVale McGee
19.  JJ Hickson

All of these guys have had impressive reports either out of summer league, pre-season or early regular season.  Throw in Ryan Anderson, Koufos and Darrell Arthur from the mid-twenties and you have a very deep and versatile big man class.  I have not heard much about Ajinca who went to LB in Charlotte at # 20, but the others all seem to be showing at least decent pro-potential early in their careers.

[anklebreaker]

You've also got to love seeing Speights run the floor and not give up on the play... even when it appeared as though Green had a wide open layup.  I can't put my finger on a player comparison for Speights.  I see a lot of David West in him the way he can shoot from the foul line extended... not to mention his 15-18 foot baseline jumper is money and reminds me of McDyess.... and his soft touch around the basket is reminiscent of big Todd Mac.  He's displayed a lot of versatility in a short run so far and is surprisingly polished... pretty uncharacteristic of someone who falls to the 16th pick. 

Looking back at the draft this year, the middle of it was full of potential quality big men:

10.  Brook Lopez
12.  Jason Thompson
14.  Anthony Randolph
15.  Robin Lopez
16.  Speights
17.  Roy Hibbert
18.  JaVale McGee
19.  JJ Hickson

All of these guys have had impressive reports either out of summer league, pre-season or early regular season.  Throw in Ryan Anderson, Koufos and Darrell Arthur from the mid-twenties and you have a very deep and versatile big man class.  I have not heard much about Ajinca who went to LB in Charlotte at # 20, but the others all seem to be showing at least decent pro-potential early in their careers.

This is true....bigs were plentiful in the 1st round of last year's draft.  Thompson has really been a stud for Sacramento and I've noticed that McGee has given Washington some quality minutes filling in for an injured Haywood. 

[Skates]

Robin Lopez seems to be fairly productive when filling in for Shaq.  He and McGee have surprised me the most so far.   The Kings have quickly realized that benching Thompson when Brad Miller came back was a bad idea.  They now start him up front with Mikki Moore and Miller and Hawes getting big minutes off the bench. 

BTW, I think Brad Miller will go on the trading block this year with all of the young bigs progressing so well in Sacto.  His passing, rebounding and shooting would fit nicely on the Sixers this year, assuming we could get him somehow and that he can stay clean.

[Derek Bodner]

All of these guys have had impressive reports either out of summer league, pre-season or early regular season.  Throw in Ryan Anderson, Koufos and Darrell Arthur from the mid-twenties and you have a very deep and versatile big man class.  I have not heard much about Ajinca who went to LB in Charlotte at # 20, but the others all seem to be showing at least decent pro-potential early in their careers.

This is something I mentioned a few times during draft time.  There were an abundance of big men with a ton of potential who would have been well served to wait another year or two before staying in the draft.  I expecting some, maybe even half, staying in the draft.  They all seemed to stay in this year, which created an exceptionally deep big man class that's definitely not usual.  Speights, Hickson and McGee are perfect examples of big men who could have been top 10 picks in 1-2 years.

[jemagee]

hey all seemed to stay in this year

Maybe people are starting to pay attention to the history and the trends?  Hardly anyone who goes back ever truly increases their draft prospects - maybe it's coincidence, maybe it's not - but guys who go back tend to drop more in drafts because they become more known quantities - i believe hibbert was an example from the past draft wasn't he?

Hansborough (sp?) from UNC, even before the injury, probably would have been better served to come out earlier because the longer he stays in colleege the more i read about how he's a 'great' college player but probably won't be more than a solid bench guy in the pros.

[Skates]

All of these guys have had impressive reports either out of summer league, pre-season or early regular season.  Throw in Ryan Anderson, Koufos and Darrell Arthur from the mid-twenties and you have a very deep and versatile big man class.  I have not heard much about Ajinca who went to LB in Charlotte at # 20, but the others all seem to be showing at least decent pro-potential early in their careers.

This is something I mentioned a few times during draft time.  There were an abundance of big men with a ton of potential who would have been well served to wait another year or two before staying in the draft.  I expecting some, maybe even half, staying in the draft.  They all seemed to stay in this year, which created an exceptionally deep big man class that's definitely not usual.  Speights, Hickson and McGee are perfect examples of big men who could have been top 10 picks in 1-2 years.

Not to mention the horrible decision by Deandre Jordan to leave school and end up in the second round.  so much for listening to the draft "experts."