Sixers/Thunder

[anklebreaker]

I missed the game.  Looks like Young did his thing once again.  Nice to see Sammy actually contribute. 

How did Speights get the majority of his points?  Looks like he was swallowing rebounds. 

Besides his outside shooting, how did Marshall look?  As someone alluded to earlier, our offense really struggles when Evans and Dalembert are on the court together.  I honestly believe Speights should be the 1st big off the bench and its not even close, but I'd also like to see Marshall get a few minutes here and there.  I'm interested to see how his game compliments Brand.... surprised we haven't experimented with that more. 

[Skates]

Was there much  energy in the building from the supposed 13K fans?

I think the economy and all of the spending people did on the Phillies is part of the issue.  The building was much fuller in the upper level than it was in the lower bowl.  It looked like there were a lot of season ticket holders in the best seats in the lower level and a lot of bargain hunters like me in the upper.  The energy was not bad, it would have been better for a more enticing opponent. 

BTW, my seats ended up being great seats for taking a kid to the game.  End of the row and right near and the tunnel to the concession area.  My daughter had a blast and it was really not bad view at all from our seats.

[jemagee]

I think the economy and all of the spending people did on the Phillies is part of the issue

Didn't the sixers have empty seats during the playoffs last year?

[rickortreat]

Speights got most of his points hy husting and being in the right place.  His teamates were looking for him a bit, which was nice.  Definitely showed he's ready to contribute.  He had two nice outside shots from what looked to me like long-range for a big guy. (a few feet outside the free throw line)  He has a nice set shot with good arc, very unusual for a 6-11 player.

The Sixers hardly ever sell out. I'm ashamed to say it, but the Sixers are not a big draw in Philly, probably 4th behind the Eagles, Phillies and even Flyers.  The building was full during the years up to the Championship, but it's fallen off ever since. 

The economy certainly isn't helping matters. I think once the Sixers start winning the attendance will pick up. As of yet, no one can be sure what kind of a team they'll be, a contender or simply a playoff team or maybe even an under .500 club.  I think they're pretty entertaining to watch, as they try to learn how to play with each other.

[Skates]

From today's paper about Sammy learning to play with Brand:

"Sam was a beast, on the boards and blocking shots, and offensively our spacing was great," Brand said. "We're both picking it up. He's been the leading shot-blocker on the team for years; now, I block shots, too. We don't need us both down there. Our communication has been better. [You'll hear us yell], 'Cut. Roll. Pick up your man.' "

When Brand goes to work in the post, Dalembert has to stay clear, ready to seal a rebounder off the glass, to go for a follow-up. When one is in position to reject a shot, the other has to be aware of rebounding and avoiding fouling. When the ball is in the hands of Andre Iguodala at the top of the key - as it has been more frequently in the last few games - Dalembert has to be in position for potential backdoor lobs.

Dalembert is never going to be the inner city-style, bruising inside guy, but history says he can be productive and effective; he averaged career highs of 10.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.34 blocks in 33.2 minutes last season, shooting 51.3 percent from the floor.

Times change. With Cheeks varying his combinations to deal with matchups and momentum shifts, Dalembert's minutes are going to fluctuate. When the Orlando Magic made a defensive decision to stop the ball on the perimeter, Iguodala was able to locate him for a handful of dunks off lobs.

"I'm just trying to contribute,'' Dalembert said. "The priority is for the team to win. As long as that can happen, I can't complain about anything . . . It's hard; sometimes we [Brand and Dalembert] have to share. Sometimes, if we both go for the block, the rebound is not there. It's been a little hard; I'm not going to lie. We didn't have enough time [together on the court in the preseason]. When the season started, things were upside down.''

Typical stuff considering Sam had a good game against OKC, albeit against what is probably the weakest front-line in the league with Wilcox injured.  The bold parts are more of what caught my eye because it was something I noticed repeatedly at the OKC game.  In the half court, Iggy is being given more and more of the role of playmaker.  I also saw him bring the ball up the court a few times when it was not a fastbreak, but simply a walk-up into a half-court set.  It is becoming pretty clear that we will need to replace Miller by next season at the latest, and from watching Lou live, it is even more clear that he is not a PG, and with his slight build and lack of good on ball defense, not even a starting, scoring PG with Iggy handling the ball.  I wonder if the team is toying with moving Iggy to the PG slot, or more likely, transitioning the half-court point duties to him in anticipation of picking up a shooting PG  like Hinrich down the road.  Thoughts?

[tk76-]

Looking at draftexpress.com 7 of the top 16 picks are PG's.  You got to figure that the deman is not there so some of these guys will drop or be available to move up and trade.  Unfortunately, many of them are 19, so I doubt they would fit into this team's win now approach unless they went with a vet (or Lou) for a year as a bridge.

If they do want to go with a point forward, then they should nab Stephen Curry- and shooting will no longer be a problem    Of course, they would need a much better structured offense in order to go without a true PG- but you'll just have to talk to Cheeks/Lynam about that one.

[Skates]

Looking at draftexpress.com 7 of the top 16 picks are PG's.  You got to figure that the deman is not there so some of these guys will drop or be available to move up and trade.  Unfortunately, many of them are 19, so I doubt they would fit into this team's win now approach unless they went with a vet (or Lou) for a year as a bridge.

If they do want to go with a point forward, then they should nab Stephen Curry- and shooting will no longer be a problem    Of course, they would need a much better structured offense in order to go without a true PG- but you'll just have to talk to Cheeks/Lynam about that one.

Having watched Lou in action, and our seeats were directly behind and well above one of the baskets so it was like watching tape from a coaches perspective, I realized how completely lacking Lou is in any kind of court vision.  It is not just that he is looking to score all the time, but even when he would try to make a pass to start a break for example, defenders were able to read him easily and poach the passing lanes with ease.  Lou can handle well enough for a PG, but defending (at a starter's level), passing and running an offense are beyond his innate skills.  He really seems to lack court vision.  Next year is indeed supposed to be a PG rich draft, but they will take time to develop.  In the meantime I expect we might look for an offensive minded combo-guard with some size like Foye, Crittenton, Hinrich to start alongside Iggy when Miller goes, at least until we can develop a more pure PG.  Essentially we would have a pair of guards with more interchangeable roles.  And yes, having some kind of go to offense in the half-court would help.

[DuckyNinja]

Looking at draftexpress.com 7 of the top 16 picks are PG's.  You got to figure that the deman is not there so some of these guys will drop or be available to move up and trade.  Unfortunately, many of them are 19, so I doubt they would fit into this team's win now approach unless they went with a vet (or Lou) for a year as a bridge.

If they do want to go with a point forward, then they should nab Stephen Curry- and shooting will no longer be a problem    Of course, they would need a much better structured offense in order to go without a true PG- but you'll just have to talk to Cheeks/Lynam about that one.

Having watched Lou in action, and our seeats were directly behind and well above one of the baskets so it was like watching tape from a coaches perspective, I realized how completely lacking Lou is in any kind of court vision.  It is not just that he is looking to score all the time, but even when he would try to make a pass to start a break for example, defenders were able to read him easily and poach the passing lanes with ease.  Lou can handle well enough for a PG, but defending (at a starter's level), passing and running an offense are beyond his innate skills.  He really seems to lack court vision.  Next year is indeed supposed to be a PG rich draft, but they will take time to develop.  In the meantime I expect we might look for an offensive minded combo-guard with some size like Foye, Crittenton, Hinrich to start alongside Iggy when Miller goes, at least until we can develop a more pure PG.  Essentially we would have a pair of guards with more interchangeable roles.  And yes, having some kind of go to offense in the half-court would help.

If we lose Miller and can't find a replacement other than through the draft, the Sixers' hand may be forced to just go right to a young rookie and pray that he can just step right in.  Things may be rough, but if the Sixers are going to be grooming a guy to be the PG, you may as well get him as many minutes as possible.

[Skates]

Looking at draftexpress.com 7 of the top 16 picks are PG's.  You got to figure that the deman is not there so some of these guys will drop or be available to move up and trade.  Unfortunately, many of them are 19, so I doubt they would fit into this team's win now approach unless they went with a vet (or Lou) for a year as a bridge.

If they do want to go with a point forward, then they should nab Stephen Curry- and shooting will no longer be a problem    Of course, they would need a much better structured offense in order to go without a true PG- but you'll just have to talk to Cheeks/Lynam about that one.

Having watched Lou in action, and our seeats were directly behind and well above one of the baskets so it was like watching tape from a coaches perspective, I realized how completely lacking Lou is in any kind of court vision.  It is not just that he is looking to score all the time, but even when he would try to make a pass to start a break for example, defenders were able to read him easily and poach the passing lanes with ease.  Lou can handle well enough for a PG, but defending (at a starter's level), passing and running an offense are beyond his innate skills.  He really seems to lack court vision.  Next year is indeed supposed to be a PG rich draft, but they will take time to develop.  In the meantime I expect we might look for an offensive minded combo-guard with some size like Foye, Crittenton, Hinrich to start alongside Iggy when Miller goes, at least until we can develop a more pure PG.  Essentially we would have a pair of guards with more interchangeable roles.  And yes, having some kind of go to offense in the half-court would help.

If we lose Miller and can't find a replacement other than through the draft, the Sixers' hand may be forced to just go right to a young rookie and pray that he can just step right in.  Things may be rough, but if the Sixers are going to be grooming a guy to be the PG, you may as well get him as many minutes as possible.

It is either that or search for that Eric Snow type of player who could be starting on the right team, but is rotting on someone's bench and can be had fairly cheaply.  That was a heck of a steal LB and BK made to get Snow back in the day.  Maybe Stafanski can pull a more experienced euro type out of the hat since that was his particular area of scouting expertise.

[tk76-]

Like Kapponen?

[jemagee]

I realized how completely lacking Lou is in any kind of court vision. 

That was my problem the other night and I'm not sure that's something that can be learned/taught can it?

[Skates]

Like Kapponen?

Problem is I belive that when Portland decided not to keep him this year he signed a multi-year deal in europe that does not have an easy out for the next few years.  If, OTOH, you are just taunting me because I strongly wanted the Sixers to draft him and was really pissed when they subsequently traded the pick, then well played sir.

That was my problem the other night and I'm not sure that's something that can be learned/taught can it?

Court vision might be honed to an extent, but in general no.  I think that is one of those things PG's are born with or they aren't PG's.  Lou is not a PG, he is an offensive/speed boost off the bench who can bring the ball up like a PG.  A valuable role to be sure and one he needs to improve in, but he is most definitely not our future at PG.

[tk76-]

A wise man once said: You can learn to share, but not to see.
-Maybe Jack Ramsay?  He also said Live by the three and you will die by the three (or at least give up 25 pt 1st quarter leads), but I guess his son in law was tuning him out.