Sixers gettin it together.

[Rickortreat]

Just finished watching them defeat Cleveland.  The cavs haven't been playing their best ball as of late, so it's hard to know how good the Sixers are based on this game.

Nonetheless, they looked pretty good tonight.  Webber scored often, Iverson was his usual scintillating self, Dalembert was in double figures, Korver was everywhere on defense, and Igoudala kept Lebron from going off, while making a couple of nice dunks.

Sixers now have a lot of games against lower echelon teams.  Only Miami looks to be much of a challenge.  This is great for the Sixers as over the next 8, they should be favored in 7.  This will give Webber a chance to get comfortable with the team and vise versa, and give O'Brien a chance to figure out how to best use his players.

I predict that after this 8 game run, they will be on top in the Atlantic and have a spot in the playoffs.

The nice thing is that they're only going to get better.  By the time they meet the Lakers, they'll be ready.  Kobe and his crew aren't playing all that well anyway, but they're going to need to do something special to beat the new-look Sixers.

[Derek Bodner]

Right now it's just a race to see if they can all get on the same page while staying in the playoffs.  Unfortunately they don't have much time, or of a cushion, to falter.  Right now they're playing well together during spurts, but not consistently.

[westkoast]

I was watching some of the game last night too and it was actually very fun to watch.  Of course like you said Cavs are kinda in a skid right now but they are still a good team out east.

That dunker you guys have (I forget how to spell his name and since I cant spell anyways I will leave it at 'that dunker'...something with an I) has one of the quickest leaps ive ever seen.  The guy has springs for legs, im convinced.  He had this one wide open dunk off a beautiful fast break pass and in a split second he was 20 feet in the air throwing down a dunk.  

[Derek Bodner]

You mean this one?
http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/52278207...9C30E9B9B114CE8
(unfortunately I haven't found an image of it that isn't from getty, and have that watermark).

Andre Iguodala.  And yeah, he's an absolute blast to watch.  It's a travesty that he wasn't in the dunk contest, especially because he was campaigning to go.

He does get off his feet quick.  For a second there I thought he was looking to give up the rock on the break.  Then he took off almost with no effort.

he's a future all-star.  all he needs is repitition, game experience, and a little bit more of a scorers mentality (right now he plays more of a setup role).  He's already got the defense, passing ability and work ethic.  He had LeBron frustrated last night, especially in the first half.  LeBron got off when he was guarded by Korver and Rodney Rogers.

How many rookies (who start) end up top-10 in the league in steals per turnover?  That's a great stat for a rookie, IMO.

[rickortreat]

Yes, AI2, Andre Igoudala is a very special player.  It is his development and Kyle Korvers that are critical to the Sixers success.

Webber and Iverson are good enough to get theirs most nights, but it's the young players that will make or break the Sixers.  My new favorite play is a Webber rebound to Iverson running the break to Igoudala for a slam dunk.  

The only thing keeping Iggy from rookie of the year honors is that he doesn't get the ball enough.  He's shooting at a high enough percentage (higher than Iverson or Webber) but only takes 5 or 6 shots a game.  I'd like to see the ball in his hands more, because he is so unselfish.  (he had some great assists last night, driving to the basket and dishing to an open Marc Jackson)

Last night the Sixers shot poorly and still won.  Iverson was 10-25, Webber was 11-28.  That won't get it done against the good teams in the NBA.  Igoudala was 4-6, with 7 boards and 4 assists.  I'd like him to get 15 shots a game to give AI a chance to run without the ball, and give Webber the chance to make cuts to the basket.   The more that ball is out of the hands of the stars, the easier it will be for them to get open looks.

IMO, they really do have the pieces for a decent team with good depth.  Part of it is for the team to learn how to win within O'Briens system, and part of it is for O'Brien to utilize the young players to their capabilities.  Dalembert, Korver, Green (injured now) Salmons and Igoudala need to develop for the Sixers to go far in the playoffs.

There isn't a lot of time, so my expectations for this year are somewhat limited.  But they could surprise to the upside, particularly as they are in the East.

Dabods- Iggy was actaully campaigning for the slam-dunk and was turned down!?  Considering how poor some of the contestants were that was a real oversight.  Pathetic.  

[Derek Bodner]

It was pathetic.  I have it on good word (I know someone who works for NBATV and was at all-star weekend working) that Andersen got the nod simply for the story, to put someone in there as an NBDL success story.  No way he should have went instead of Andre.

And I've also got it from good word that they won't make that mistake again next year.  He actually brought Andre up to the committee that select the contestants, and they've been watching him hard since then.  He'll be there next year, although it's unlikely Kyle will be in the 3 pt contest, unless he's leading the league in makes while shooting 42+ percent or something ridiculous.

And once AI and Webber get on the same page, next year those 2 will be good enough to carry the Sixers to the playoffs.  But it's the development of Andre, Sam and Kyle that would be needed to take another step.

[westkoast]

I was kinda hoping once Webber got use to how the Sixers run their offense that he would be able to let AI move without the ball.  AI and AI2 (lol) both are very quick players who can get to the rim one way or another.  AI uses his quickness and AI2 seems like he can just straight jump over defenders.  If Webber gets back to the old Webber we saw in Sac-town then its over for the rest of the division.

[Derek Bodner]

Wait until you catch tonight's oop on sportscenter westkoast.

[rickortreat]

That was a pretty narrow win over Atlanta last night.  I had real problems with the way O'brien coached.  He is stubborn and pedantic.  Why weren't Igoudala and Dalembert playing at all in the fourth until the very end?  If was clear that Atlanta was getting extra rebounds and second chance shots because Marc Jackson wasn't able to control the boards.

There's no way a game between the Sixers and the Hawks should be that close at the end.  The Sixers won simply because they have more talent, and the Hawks made more mistakes down the stretch.  

I take no please in a narrow victory when they should have been ahead by more than 10 pts. at the end of the game.  

If O'Brien coaches like this when we play Miami, we're going to loose.  

This whole Iverson running the show thing is getting old.  The ball should be going through Webber at least 30% of the time, and should be going through Igoudala another 30% of the time.  It would make life a lot easier for AI if O'brien would let him run off of screens instead of forceing the ball and taking a quick shot.  This style of play is just bad basketball, particularly when a team is focused on stopping AI.  Sure he can get though it, since he's so capable, but the Sixers would be a much better team if they didn't rely on him so much for the offense.  

[Derek Bodner]

Chris sat out about 13 minutes of straight gametime as well.  The atlanta broadcast kept showing pictures of him on the bench visibly upset.

Meanwhile, O'brien left rodeny and marc in there nearly the entire 4th and offensive rebounds kept them in the game.  Iguodala played maybe a minute in the 4th.

it was a horribly coached game.

[Reality]

With Detroit cutting a couple farts the last two games, I hope Sixers and Pistons get it together for thier showdown about 8 games from now March 23rd.

[westkoast]

Wait until you catch tonight's oop on sportscenter westkoast.

I turned on Sportscenter to see it but it must have came on when I was on the phone or somewhere away from the tv.

Im a fan of this guy after seeing his leaping ability.  I havent seen a dunker that explosive off the ground in a while.  Probably since VC was...well VC :lol: