O'brien Fired, Cheeks Hired

[Derek Bodner]

http://espn.go.com/

[westkoast]

Yay!!!  Ive always liked Mo Cheeks coaching style.  Too bad he got stuck with bums in Portland.

[ziggy]

Good for Mo, I hope it works out well for him.

[rickortreat]

Hooray!

Got the coach to get the team to the next level.  

Sixers need to get a solid power forward.  

[Guest_Randy]

Yeah, here's luck on finding someone to trade for Chris Webber!!!  :cheers:

The question is:  what are the expectations of Cheeks in Philly?  Is it an EC title?  An NBA championship?  I'm concerned that the expectations are higher than he will be able to fulfill!

[Derek Bodner]

Ziggy: It seems that the biggest knock on cheeks in portland (besides rotational issues) was not being able to handle some of the personalities (maybe being too friendly).  Can you elaborate?

[Joe Vancil]

What an awesome move!

I didn't think the Philly front office had the cajones to cut O'Brien loose after one season, even though it BADLY needed to happen.  And getting the coach they REALLY wanted when Brown bolted is an added benefit.

Cheeks is going to have some problems in Philly, though.  The talent level he's got to work with is rather lacking on the offensive side of the ball, Iverson and Webber excluded.  (I know someone is going to want me to address Korver, but I find Korver rather one-dimensional rather than being an overall sound offensive talent.)

Personally, I think the big beneficiary from this move is Chris Webber.  He'll do well under Maurice Cheeks.  He had no chance under Jim "Just launch up another three" O'Brien.
 

[Reality]

Concur Korver is one dimensional, however he can build off that one dimension with good coaching.  Also Ig oozes offensive potential.  I think 'Mo could develop tons from a Korver/Ig combo to go with A.I.  Webbers knee looks very shakey to me.  That could be 'Mos biggest problem.

[Skandery]

Maurice Cheeks coaching the Philadelphia 76ers.  Sounds perfect.  I just hope it works out for them.  

I know that Mo Cheeks was a smart basketball player and is a class individual.  But my faith in him as a competant basketball coach was shaken when at the midseason trade of Shareef Abdur-Rahim last year, he decided to bench the 20 and 10 power forward for the 14 and 5 cry-baby, Darius Miles.  I'm pulling for him, though.      

[ziggy]

Ziggy: It seems that the biggest knock on cheeks in portland (besides rotational issues) was not being able to handle some of the personalities (maybe being too friendly).  Can you elaborate?

One of the main complaints about Mo was that he was "too much of a buddy", and not enough of a task master.  That supposedly allowed the players to walk all over him.  I tend to disagree.

I think Mo was a fine coach.  He wasn't great, but he wasn't bad either.  He stood up for his players when it was appropriate, but he didn't when it wasn't appropriate.

He busted Rasheed hard, and his technicals dropped.  He stood up for Rasheed a little over the "parking lot" incident, but he didn't excuse it.  I think Sheed really liked and respected Mo, and I think he played hard for Mo, and he tried hard to improve his demeanor.

He basically benched Damon for a year, and when Damon came back his game was better than ever.  There were times when I think Damon really had a hard time with Mo, but in the end I think Damon really respected Mo, because I think Mo helped him become a better player.  In the end Mo and Damon and a very strong relationship.

Though I think the media blew the Miles thing up a bit, the situation started because Mo pushed Miles real hard.  The Miles situation was culmination of the decision to give the starting spot to Rahim and not Miles.  Not sure who's decision that was, but based upon how the situation alll played out I believe it was Mo's call.  That was a gutsy call on Mo's part, though I am not sure it turned out to be the right call.

I think Mo really did a good job of bringing Telfair and Pryzbilla along.  He put them in situations where they could succeed, and I think it really helped their confidence levels

Last year he demoted every one of the starting 5 at one point or another during the season.  Not very many coaches will do that.  I think he actually did a pretty good job of coaching in close games.  He was a good communicator with his players and with the media.  I think Mo really has a good handle on how to play and teach defense.  He was a very good and important member of the organization, and he was the most public face of the team.  He always handled that part of the job well.

I was sorry to see him go, but at the same time it was time for him to go.  He had lost the team, even though I don't believe that was all Mo's fault.  He needs to take some of the blame, but certainly not all of it.
 

[rickortreat]

I don't think Philly should have unrealistic expectations comming off of this season.  I think if the team was coached right, they would have gotten to the second round before exiting, and would have won more than 45 games, but not more than 55.

Even with Igoudala and Dalembert developing, they're still not a realistic candidate for a title, unless they get another solid Power Forward.  Webber can't do the job, and no-one on the bench can give them 15-10 every night.

A lot depends on how well Mo develops the younger players over the Summer.  Salmons, Green, Korver, Igoudala and Dalembert all have alot of room for improvement.  I'd also like to see Iverson not be the point guard so that the ball gets distributed better and the team is more patient on offense.  That was the whole point of getting a good passer like Webber, to make the other team work harder on defense.  

[Guest_Randy]

I don't think Philly should have unrealistic expectations comming off of this season.  I think if the team was coached right, they would have gotten to the second round before exiting, and would have won more than 45 games, but not more than 55.

Even with Igoudala and Dalembert developing, they're still not a realistic candidate for a title, unless they get another solid Power Forward.  Webber can't do the job, and no-one on the bench can give them 15-10 every night.

A lot depends on how well Mo develops the younger players over the Summer.  Salmons, Green, Korver, Igoudala and Dalembert all have alot of room for improvement.  I'd also like to see Iverson not be the point guard so that the ball gets distributed better and the team is more patient on offense.  That was the whole point of getting a good passer like Webber, to make the other team work harder on defense.

Rick,

If you run the offense through Webber, he monopolizes the ball -- UNLESS he looks to pass the ball first (see Malone at LA) -- if you run the offense through Webber, AI ISN'T going to like that.  AI DID pass the ball a great deal this year but did you notice that he STILL got his regular shot attempts -- if AI TOOK better shots, perhaps Philly would win more games.

Bottom line, I just don't see Webber and AI as being compatible and helpful to each other -- both want to run the offense through themselves and both want to be "the man."  

[rickortreat]

At this point in their careers, the one thing that Webber and AI want is a tittle.  If they don't want to play the right way they can get stuffed.

Bottom line- if you rely on ANY player everytime down the floor, you're much easier to defend than if you don't know where the ball is going.  Even Iverson, who is so quick, can get trapped and forced into a bad situation.

The whole idea of getting Webber was to get more and better shots for the other players, taking advantage of his ability to see the floor.  O'brien was too stupid to figure that out, but Cheeks isn't.  If Webber and Iverson aren't on board with that, then they'll be the problem not the solution.

The best game the Sixers played all year, Iverson and Webber were out and Willie Green ran the point- only 1 turnover the entire game, and no defering to Iverson to bail them out.  Obviously they're better off with the two stars playing, but only when they play to enhance what the rest of the team does.