Webber and Iverson shot like crap. Frankly, whenever they play like that the Sixers will lose. Not to mention the team-wide choke in the final 3 minutes (2 consecutive turnovers leading to fast breaks, 2 missed free throws by Iguodala, 2 missed free throws by dalembert, airballed 3 by Iguodala).
CWebb looked like....well, like he didn't know what he was doing. Which is to be expected since he hasn't had a full practice with the team.
But in the first (and partially 3rd) quarter you saw what this team can be. I haven't seen ball movement like that in years. The passing lanes were wide open. Passing became contagious. We now have good passers at 4 positions of our starting lineup. With Webber and Korver spreading the floor, not only should the driving lanes be wide open, but the cutters as well. Iguodala was the biggest beneficiary of this last night, getting many easy dunks off of nice looks. Last night on Korver's opening 3, it was Webber's screen that got him that look, occupying two defenders. His simple knowledge of the game is going to help us a ton.
Obviously, Webber's shooting (and pick and roll ability) will open up the driving lanes for AI. But I'm torn if the biggest beneficiary is going to be Iguodala (on cuts), Korver (on open 3's) or Dalembert (on low post passes). None of these guys really create their own shot (Iguodala can create, but more likely for other people, not himself), and having 2 players out there with such ability to create for others is going to open it up for them.
I thought Webber and Dalembert looked real good together. They compliment each other well. With Webbers huge mits, size, and knowledge he's still a good defensive rebounder. And with Dalembert's athletic ability he's good at crashing the boards. For the break, Webber's the best outlet passer we've had hear in many years. His limited ability to run the break doesn't matter much, since Dalembert's probably the fastest endline to endline center in the game. Dalembert will run the break, Webber will trail.
When Jackson came in, however, they're a much worse fit. Jackson might be the one pf/c slower than Webber. And to compound matters they both like playing offensively at the high post. There were a few times where they literally almost stationed themselves next to each other. Jackson's not incompetent in the post, he's just going to have to adjust his game.
I was glad to see O'brien adjust his defensive system a little bit. He didn't front the post like he normally does. Although, he did still hard trap the pick and roll. I'm not sure if this was a by product of playing to Webber's strengths or Webber simply not knowing the system. I think it's not knowing the system, but I hope it's an adjustment. Chris won't have the mobility to front the post then do the rotating that's required. And he won't be able to hard trap a pick and roll and get back to his man. He can still be a marginally effective 1-1 post defender with his bulk (although short, quick guys like Kenny Thomas are always going to cause him problems). I hope O'brien doesn't make his lack of mobility even worse by asking him to do things he's incapable of.
