Oh! The Pain!

[Rickortreat]

The Sixers look awful lately.  Last night they played one of the worst teams in the league and lost.

Nothing these guys seem to do works well enough.  I could be wrong about this, but I think they have enough talent to be an above average team, but as of yet, that talent hasn't established itslelf.

Iverson threw in 36 points, but killed the teams chances by continuing to take shots and missing, rather than passing to his teamates.  It seems like the Sixers are unable to generate enough points to run away from other teams, and at the same time, their defense isn't good enough to keep others from scoring.

Atlanta had 10 more boards than the Sixers, and Dalembert didn't play at all.  Several players for the Sixers were shooting a decent percentage, but the shots were being taken mostly by Iverson.

O'Brien is not getting the production out of the team that it's capable of, and it is his fault.  I thought he was a good coach, but he's not adjusting and not developing a system that will allow this team to win.  The pieces are there, and he's not makeing them work. It's not just a matter of mixing and matching players.  He has to put a team on the floor that can defend and rebound, and run plays to generate offence.  I think the Sixers lack discipline on the offensive end.  They need another scorer besides Iverson night in and out.  That's a lot to ask of an Igoudala or a Korver.  Why isn't Big Dog playing?  
 

[westkoast]

I cant comment because I've yet to see the Sixers but AI is more than capable of MAKING this team better offensively.  He still is one of the very best 2 guards in the league off the dribble.  Pretty much his speed is unmatched at that spot in this league.  With that said he is also one of the most streaky jump shooters at the 2 guard position.  AI can find a happy medium.  Although who is to say that O'Brien isnt designing alot of plays where AI has to shoot a jumper.

Less jump shots and more breaking down the defense makes all the difference IMO.

As for the rebounding.....is boxing out a lost art or what?  I swear it seems each year more and more players forget to box out.  That or they just dont know how to do it.

[Rickortreat]

Another bad loss for the Sixers last night against the T-Wolves.

The Sixers are awful at boxing out- a severe problem for an undersized team with a coach who' s unwilling to play more than one big man at a time.

They constantly get outrebounded, inspite of the fact that Andre Igoudala and Kenny Thomas really work at it.  

O'Brien still keeps trying to mix and match players, without establishing a set rotation.  To me this is a real mistake as it' s hard for the players to anticipate how there teamates are going to make their breaks.

AI can do it, but he's regressing into a player who's forceing too many shots.  It's fine that he drives the lane, but he can't do this all by himself, and the rest of the team isn't helping him by moving around to get open.  There's a real lack of basketball knowledge on the Sixers, like they don't know the right way to defend, box-out or execute on offense.

For a team that prided itself on fundametals under Larry Brown, they've really regressed.  Lots of new faces, but not a cohesive unit.  Tough for a fan to watch, since no discernable progress is being made.  

[jn]

I missed much of the second half last night when the Wolves blew it wide open.  I agree though Rick.  The Sixers didn't look cohesive out there.  I give them credit for playing hard though.  They put the effort in on D but just couldn't get it done, particularly on a night when the Wolves three point shooting was ridiculous. (They set a franchise record and Eddie Griffin tied a Wolves record for most in a half with 6 in the first.)

Wolves announcer Jim Peterson paind Iguadola a nice compliment by saying Iggy reminded him of Sidney Moncrief.    

[Guest_Randy]

I don't like what O'Brien is doing with this team.  This team's glaring weakness is rebounding and post defense -- and yet O'Brien has turned his strongest players at those weaknesses into failures.

Dalembert was starting to show promise last year -- esp. on the defensive end.  He was averaging 2.3 bpg and yet this year all of his stats are down.  He is only averaging .9 bpg.

Thomas was a double/double man -- he was on my FNBA squad last year and he was consistent -- not a Brand on offense but strong solid numbers night in and night out.  He is WAY under his averages in EVERY category, including FG%.  

I think O'Brien is trying to plug a square into a circle cut-out.  I don't mind coaches who have systems but if they ONLY choose one system and their players don't fit that system they need to be able to adapt.  O'Brien is killing this squad, IMO.