Webber having trouble adjusting???

[JoMal]

This might be the absolute worse place that Webber could have been traded.

Since Chris is so much more effective running the offense from the top of the key, to suggest that he is going to have to adapt to Iverson's ballhogging/turnover style of basketball is so ludicrous that O'Brien might as well have handed the media his "I'm-sorry-I-could-not-get-a-longer-chance-to-improve-the-team speech for getting fired after saying that.

He also might want to notice that Adelman was always extremely cautious playing Webber long minutes, if at all, in back-to-back games. Rick often just sat him down, no questions asked, if the opponent was not that great. Chris never complained about it either. It also allowed Webber the chance to see how the game was going and how the team was playing, so the next game when he came back he almost always did well.

I know Chris is trying to impress, and right now that means he is pressing, but this is a serious, long-term issue that the Sixers should strongly think about. All these back-to-back games, Webber has not played so many since his knee injury. and if the Sixers want the guy to stay healthy, they should remember he does not have a history of it.

What are they banking on, the insurance paying his salary once his knee blows out again?  

[Derek Bodner]

Not only that, but he's playing on back-back nights.  Then O'brien sits him for long stretches (10+ gametime minutes).  This practically renders him ueseless.  Not only does it make you tighten up (for someone already immobile), but it p*sses him off as he's on the bench for 8+ minutes in the 4th.

If you're going to sit him, just sit him.

O'brien likes to play mind games.  He did it with Kenny Thomas and Willie Green earlier in the year.

Problem is, we're not talking about Kenny Thomas or Willie Green here.

[JoMal]

dbodner, or Rick, I have another question for you.

What the heck was O'Brien thinking in regards to Brian Skinner? When Adelman asked Brian how injured he was after he arrived to the Kings, being that he spent so much time on the disabled list with the Sixers, Skinner's answer was "I wasn't injured at all".

HUH???!!!!

Was there something that Skinner did or did not do that annoyed O'Brien that much? We sort of knew what we were getting with Thomas, and Corliss was easy to fit in, but we had no idea about Skinner. He looked like he was just some garbage thrown into the heap to keep the salaries compatible.

Turns out, this guy was biting the bit to play. His hussle, rebounding, shot-blocking, and ability to finish shots around the basket are, to say the least, exhilerating to watch.

Adelman has as much as admitted to the media that he's been shocked by how good this guy works, filling in for Brad Miller. So have the rest of the Sacramento fans who watch him play.

I am telling you, there is not a team out there in the NBA who would not want a Brian Skinner type of guy on their bench.

Except for O'Brian in Philadelphia, apparently. Skinner alone has made the trade lopsided in favor of the Kings.

[Derek Bodner]

Skinner was 3rd in the rotation.  Dalembert was the starter becuase we needed shotblocking and rebounding.  Jackson was first off the bench for a scoring punch and his jumper opened the lane.

Skinner's a good backup.  But he was 3rd in line here.  It was a #'s game.

He does have warts though.  He gets lost in defensive rotations, has a confidence problem, and his knees are serious red flags.  He had 3 knee operations in the course of a year, 2 on one knee and 1 on the other.

Good bench player, but don't rely on him too much.

[JoMal]

Skinner was 3rd in the rotation.  Dalembert was the starter becuase we needed shotblocking and rebounding.  Jackson was first off the bench for a scoring punch and his jumper opened the lane.

Skinner's a good backup.  But he was 3rd in line here.  It was a #'s game.

He does have warts though.  He gets lost in defensive rotations, has a confidence problem, and his knees are serious red flags.  He had 3 knee operations in the course of a year, 2 on one knee and 1 on the other.

Good bench player, but don't rely on him too much.

He's been starting since Miller went out with a severe bruise on his calf. Skinner is working out as a great backup who has been blocking shots and getting his hands on lots of balls going into the paint. I am having a difficult time seeing him as a third option behind Jackson, who is not a shot blocker, nor much of a rebounder.

In the seven games he's played in, Skinner is getting more boards, assists, and blocks per game then Jackson has been averaging with the Sixers all year. He is just not scoring as much, though on the Kings, who cares?

I heard about Skinner's knee operations, as did Adelman, which is why he asked him how healthy he has been this year. Brian flat out told Rick he has been healthy, yet was sitting on the DL most of the season anyway.

At least he is quite fresh for the time of year, and if he was having some problems with his knees, they certainly have had plenty of time to get better.

Regarding his defense, he is doing a pretty good job, though I think I know what you mean about failing in his rotations on occasion, but mostly he has been solid there. His confidence problems, however, I have not seen at all. If anything, it is his confidence while playing the game that has been the most impressive.

[Derek Bodner]

I'm not saying Jackson's better than him.  I'm saying what Jackson brought was needed more from our backup center than what Skinner brought.

Besides Jackson's jumpshot, which opens up the lane for our drivers (iverson and iverson), he's also a very good communicator.  He may not block shots, but he helps our team defense.  I had the luxury of sitting about 5 rows behind the court one night, and it's amazing how much marc talks.  He's telling people, on every play, where to go.  Where the screens are coming from.  Where to help out.  He was the quarterback of the defnese, and it's really something that you appreciate watching him do it live.

None of our other centers (or even power forwards at that time) could do that.  Dalembert and Skinner didn't know where to rotate themselves, let alone direct the other players.

It's not so much that Jackson's a better player than Marc, but that what he brought was needed more.

[rickortreat]

Wouldn't bother me in the least to see O'Brien go.  You have two talented stars like Iverson and Webber and some decent young players and you should be winning, particularly against teams like Golden State.

The only reason their not winning is because O'brien is not a good coach.  The Miami game was a great example.  Shaq is too slow to play Dalembert, and got into foul trouble.  So what does O'brien do, take Dalembert out and stop going to the low post.  The offense doesn't score points, and the Sixers can't defend agaisnt the run-outs.  And even when the play in a half-court set, Miami shoots over 70% from the field, because O'Brian's switchining defense doesn't work.

The sooner he goes the better.  I could coach the team better and I know very little about basketball.  But I do know when you find something that works on offense, you keep doing it, until the other team finds a way to stop it.  And, when they find a way to stop it, there will be another hole in their defense somewhere else.  That's how to win basketball games.  It isn't rocket science.

[JoMal]

Okay, Derek, that part is clear. Now you have to tell me why Philadelphia chose to pay Skinner a contract of twenty million over four years this past summer if they were not going to use him in this back-up role? The Sixers already HAD Jackson on the team at the time.  

[rickortreat]

I'll take that one Dabods.  It's because of O'brien.  Billy King can see talent, too bad he hired a coach that can't get the talent out of them, because he's too busy trying to make his stupid system work.  He never got Boston deep into the playoffs, and he never did anything great in College.

He had one good playoff series against Philly a few years ago,  that's it, except that he does have Philly roots.

Skinner can play, and so can Thomas and Corliss.  I'm happy they got out of Philly.  I would rather that we traded O'brien!  

[Derek Bodner]

Okay, Derek, that part is clear. Now you have to tell me why Philadelphia chose to pay Skinner a contract of twenty million over four years this past summer if they were not going to use him in this back-up role?

Billy King and Jim O'brien are not on the same page.  

Skinner's an example.  Samuel Dalembert's another good example.  Billy King and Tony DiLeo are huge on Samuel Dalembert.  Billy King refused trades that asked for Sam, and will want to match any contract offer he gets this year, as he's a restricted free agent.  O'brien, on the other hand, wanted Dalembert traded for Antoine Walker.

Of course, this is not the first time Jim's had disagreements with a GM over player-personnel matters.  We all remember why he left Boston.  There are rumblings in the Sixers front office that O'brien wants the GM position to himself.

[Derek Bodner]

Also, at that point, Billy King new they needed an insurance policy for Jackson.  Jackson missed essentially the entire season last year due to injury and going in there with no proven backup (besides said injury risk) was a risky proposition.

But, knock on wood, Marc's been healthy this year.

[JoMal]

When the media took to the trade in favor of Philadelphia getting the better of the Chris Webber trade, Jerry Reynolds of the Kings front office (anyone out there remember him?) had the best comment:

From Mark Kreidler' column in today's Sacramento Bee -

Reynolds remains fascinated by the number of national media types who tore into the Webber traded without, "so far as I can tell, actually ever watching a game." What he's getting at is the propensity for those outside the club circle, fairly naturally, to draw conclusions based on who Webber has been as opposed to the player he actually is.

As a five time All Star, Webber is looked upon, and certainly is being paid as, a superstar. His use by Adelman essentially had Chris putting up twenty and 10 numbers every night, with five assists, and several triple/doubles thrown in for good measure. But how much of that was stat padding? Any player with hands as good as Webber's and with his general abilities would get those numbers, and granted there are few, if any, in the NBA who could match them from the power forward position.

It just was not a real reflection of the knee-injured Chris Webber of today as opposed to the Webber of 2002. So hearing that the Sixers signed Brian Skinner to a four year, twenty million dollar contract in and of itself is not outrageous. But then putting him third on the depth chart behind the already-in-place backup center (Marc Jackson) and then placing Brian on the disabled list for the majority of the year, even though he was not hurting any longer, tells you all you need to know about the personnel decisions being implemented by the all-knowing Philadelphia 76'er's brain trust. Then they compound the insult by hiring a complete fool as a coach who just discards any player who he feels has no place in his pre-conceived game plan.

And the national media came out and actually said that King outwitted Petrie on the Webber trade? This was like the schoolyard bully kicking the marbles out of the special ed kid's hand as he tried to shoot like the other kids.

How soon are these national media types going to come out and mention that maybe Petrie is a bit better at these things then they are, and certainly better at it then a boob like Billy King is?

[rickortreat]

I don't think you can fault Billy King for the coach being a dope.  Billy had it easier with Brown, who, while a pain in the kiester is a good coach.  Since he left we've gone through two guys who just can't coach.  Maybe BK jumped the gun too quickly in hiring O'brien, but b-ball is a tight profession, and coaches get chosen based on reputation.  For that matter, how many coaches in the NBA can really coach?  As a former Mavericks fan, I could never figure out why Dick Motta could keep his job year after year.  He was a .500 coach who got lucky one year with Wes Unseld, and that was it.

Webber is still a double-double player, bad knee and all.  Padded stats?  C'mon you know better than that, put a system in place that plays to Webber's talents and he'll continue to put up those numbers.

Hire a coach who can adapt to game situations, and isn't attatched to a system, but finds ways to get the most out of what he has and the Sixers will be fine.

 

[Derek Bodner]

I can't fault Billy King one iota.

We had a below .500 team before the trade.  He got a player who could push them far forward in the east for virtually nothing.  Now, I like Kenny Thomas, but he didn't give up draft picks, young talent, or compromise our salary to do so.

So I can't say that Billy made a bad trade.  Not at all.  It's not one quaranteed to work, but it's also not something we took a risk in making.

Since it's no risk, and we didn't ruin something that was successful in the first place, it's not a bad deal.  We were a .500 team beforehand, we're now a .500 team.

Right now I put a majority of the blame on Jim O'brien, with a dash on Allen and a dash on Chris.

[rickortreat]

They have a poll in the Inquirer, Philly's big-time paper.  I'd post the link but you need a password, so if you want to vote you'll have to sign up.

Anyway the poll question was, "Who is most to blame for the Sixers current troubles?"

The responses are:

Billy King 14%
Jim O'Brien 61%
Allen Iverson 10%
Chris Webber 10%
Other 5%

Total votes 2,120.