Headline in Inky sports:

[rickortreat]

O'Brien may have to go.  By Steven A. Smith.

This is the second step.  The first was their poll in which 60% of the fans responded by putting the blame on the coach.  Now, the writers are taking shots.  Soon, Billy will feel comfortable with the idea.

Wonder if he's called Mo Cheecks yet.  (The obvious, but not necessarily the best choice.)

[Derek Bodner]

how bad is it when Sixers.com calls a coach stubborn?

http://www.nba.com/sixers/features/jolovitz_050316.html

[westkoast]

Glad to see Steven A Smith pulled himself away from the Lakers for a second to talk about the team of where hes from :lol:

Honestly is O'Brien that bad?  Cuz I know Philly has some harsh fans who demand results fast.  Only other place worse than Philly is probably LA and the bandwagon sheep.  The team has some good players but they havent been a team for very long.  You dont just trade for a key player and then all the sudden your team is playing perfect ball.

[Guest_Randy]

O'Brien is exactly the type of coach that I do NOT like:  

He's the type of coach who has ONE coaching system and philosophy and he utilizes it even if he DOESN'T have the players to pull it off.  He is using the type of defense that Detroit deploys except he doesn't have the athleticism or defenders to pull it off.  

There are a number of coaches that are "one-system" coaches -- they know one system and they employ that system no matter what type of players they have on their roster -- there are a handful of EXCELLENT coaches, coaches who can base their system on their personell (or tweak their system based on their personell) rather than demanding that square pegs fit into round holes.

[Joe Vancil]

O'Brien definitely needs to go.  He's a bad coach, who just looked good because he was a better (NBA) coach than the guy he replaced at his last job.

Give the Sixers to Cheeks.  No - not a perfect fit in terms of style, but a good fit in terms of history - both as a player and as Brown's assistant.

I want to see the Magic get Flip Saunders.  A new Garnett-like guy - Dwight Howard - and another point guard who shoots a lot - Francis - should make for familiar territory.

The Blazers need Paul Silas.  A take-no-prisoners coach for a team full of...well...prisoners.

The Lakers should hire Doug Collins.  It takes a couple of years for him to go from "breath of fresh air" to "stale windbag."  In the short term, he can do some good in LA.  Jeff Bzdelik wouldn't be a bad guy to get, either.

The Timberwolves need to hire a defensive specialist.  Now might be the time to give Rick Mahorn a shot.  Michael Cooper would be another good fit.  And Dwayne Casey needs a team.

Sam Mitchell should be fired in Toronto.  His replacement?  I'd give Mark Jackson a try.  If that doesn't work, steal Del Harris from Dallas.  A good teacher for Alston, Peterson, and Bosh.

New York...you need a strong coach for this team, and it has to be a coach who can BUILD a team.  There's not really a good fit right now.  I'd hire Darrell Walker in the meantime.  (Oops.  Bad idea.  FI-RE WALK-ER!  FI-RE THOM-AS!)  Where is Larry Krystkowiak these days?  Rick Mahorn could find a good home as a coach, here, as could Terry Cummings.

 

[Laker Fan]

Hmmmm, Webber isn't all that after all, is he?

I think I agree on O'Brien, not a good fit in Philly, but you can't put this all on his shoulders either, Philly expected a miracle when they traded for Webber, and I said when the trade happened he will not make the Sixers better, and 6-6 since his arrival is not better, time with the team won't fix this. Webber is not anyone's savior and Sacramento still got the better end of this deal, if only because they got rid of Webber. I know, I know, they are only 6-6 since the trade themselves, but if anything it points up what a non-factor Webber is regardless of where he plays.

[rickortreat]

Cwebb was a 20 and 10 player with Sactown.  He was playing at that level this year, even with the bad leg.  The only reason he isn't as productive in Philly is the coach.  He's the same player, but he's not getting the ball in the postions where he can be effective.

I didn't expect Phila. to win every game once Webber arrived, but I did expect them to start to play better.  They still don't know how to win or how to protect a lead.

One minute they're playing like they can beart anybody.  The next, it's like they'll never make another basket.  Their lack of consistency is the fault of the coach.  He is constantly tinkering with the lineup- playing with the players heads.  His strategies suck and he doen't establish any consistency.  As a result, the team ends up relying on Iverson, who isn't a team-first player.

Iverson can be a good point, but his decision-making is poor.  He'd rather do something with the ball himself than work to set up his teamates.  No team can be consistenly successful that way.  The Sixers need an offensive game plan that exploits the other teams weaknesses.  They are underachieving, IMO, because they have the talent.   I never see O'brien attacking the weaknesses in another teams players or they're systems.  I don't see any mental toughness in the Sixers or confidence that they can beat another team.  

And another thing: I never see them pressure the ball.  The other team is allowed to get into their offensive sets early.  If the Sixers were short-handed, I could bsee conserving their energy, but they're deep.  The least O'Brien could do is pressure the other team and force turnovers.  He's got to go.

[JoMal]

Hmmmm, Webber isn't all that after all, is he?

I think I agree on O'Brien, not a good fit in Philly, but you can't put this all on his shoulders either, Philly expected a miracle when they traded for Webber, and I said when the trade happened he will not make the Sixers better, and 6-6 since his arrival is not better, time with the team won't fix this. Webber is not anyone's savior and Sacramento still got the better end of this deal, if only because they got rid of Webber. I know, I know, they are only 6-6 since the trade themselves, but if anything it points up what a non-factor Webber is regardless of where he plays.

Yeah, Dan, but unlike in Phlly, where the key injury waiting to happen will be that key acquisition (Webber), the Kings are struggling trying to incorporate the three new guys into the lineup while trying to adapt to having one of the key players they retained (Miller) out indefinitely with a broken leg.

The Miller injury has thoroughly set back any playoff run the Kings had hoped for. His play allowed his teammates much more freedom to execute plays, but now, opponents just block up the lane and that essentially negates whatever the Kings try to do.

This trade cannot be judged a success or failure in Sacramento until they get their entire squad healthy, so maybe during a short time period next fall during the pre-season we can make some kind of judgement about it. Until one of the key players gets hurt, which will, of course, happen, this being the Kings.

[Laker Fan]

Jsut cements my point further JoMal, trying to incorporate 3 new players into their lineup and suffeing through Millers absence and they are still managing to play .500 ball since Webber left? To me it makes Webber even more of a non-fator in any teams success than even I would have suggested or thought possible.

[JoMal]

And Webber certainly is not going to do much in the Philadelphia system.

Adelman used Chris to the best of his skills in the system he installed specifically for him. Without Webber running the offense out of the high post, there is no way he will accomplish much with the Sixers as long as he plays with Iverson. The type of plays Chris perfected in Sacramento can ONLY be repeated after hours of practice time. Iverson blows off practice because, I guess, he either thinks he knows more then his coaches, which is impossible, or he finds it inhibits his game because he learned to play only one way and there is not a man on earth who can convince him or train him to play the game any other way. So why would he need to practice it?

Oh, right. So his teammates have a clue about what he is going to do with the ball. That might help, I suppose.  If Chris looks lost now, wait till anger sets in.

[Derek Bodner]

Not to hijack the thread...
http://delivery.gettyimages.com/comp/52434...3554344444D4B4D

[rickortreat]

Well, if you're going to hijack it, at least put in a link that works!

I assume that was the Andre Igoudala break-away dunk?  Or, was it the block on Illgauskas. (Which was a foul, IMO!)  

[Guest]

Yeah, it doesn't work anymore.

I have it saved on my harddrive, i'll upload it tonight.

It was his dunk past kobe.

[rickortreat]

Kewl.  Andre seems to come up with a highlight move every game.  His athleticism is amazing, and he really works hard on defense.  I'd like to see him get the ball more on the offensive end.  I have to belive he has the ability to break down most defenders.

I was PO'ed at an AI quote to the effect, that "we don't need him to score, we have Chris and I for that."  That is just plain stupid.  The more they worry about Andre on offense, the easier it will be for AI and Cwebb to score.  The fact that the other teams already pay so much attention to them, means that Andre, Kyle and Sam should be taking more shots.  That, and the fact that they shoot at a higher percentage.

By the way, JoMal, AI has been practicing with the team, ever since Webber came to Philly.  CWebb has had to sit out some practices with his bad leg.  

[JoMal]

By the way, JoMal, AI has been practicing with the team, ever since Webber came to Philly.  CWebb has had to sit out some practices with his bad leg.

 :eek3:

Uh......sorry. I thought I read in your post, rick, that you alluded to Iverson attending practice with the rest of the team since Webber joined the Sixers.

A little... :drunk:   under the influence of some Happy Juice, are we?