Sixers @ Wolves - November 19 2008

[jemagee]

So i turned off what i was working on to watch the second half and eat dinner

So far I'm not sure why i did that - this is embarrassing

[jemagee]

Today's rookie lesson for #16

Do not pass to reggie evans on the fast break

EVER

[jemagee]

Mo makes substitutions - i wouldn't and brings all starters back, i would have left speights and williams in and left miller and sam on the bench...

[jemagee]

Sam can do NOTHING with AL Jefferson - just put speights in - he might have a shot

[jemagee]

Sigh

[anklebreaker]

Remember Lou was our best 4th quarter player last season?  I don't understand the demotion... I really don't.  The guy is barely getting floor time.  This team is so average it kills me.  

[anklebreaker]

Realgm just isn't as fun anymore.  Nobody has an opinion outside of F*ck this and fu*k that.... its becoming childish.

[Skates]

Remember Lou was our best 4th quarter player last season?  I don't understand the demotion... I really don't.  The guy is barely getting floor time.  This team is so average it kills me.  

Lou's demotion is pretty easy to understand, he is playing very poorly.  Ivey at least did a nice job of playing pressure defense in the first half when Lou took a seat.  They did a poor job defending the pick and roll and a poor job of running it.  Too mnay missed open shots and free throws.  Repeatedly failing to double team Jefferson when Mike Miller was not on his side, then doubling when he was.  The defense was not good and the offensive execution was poor.  This is the only team I know that makes two passes and the second one is always to a guy who is not open.

[anklebreaker]

Mo makes substitutions - i wouldn't and brings all starters back, i would have left speights and williams in and left miller and sam on the bench...

Especially since Williams and Speights hooked up with each other on more than one occasion.  They were the ones hustling on both ends.. Speights usually starting the break and Williams finishing.  The two of them are too talented to sit 80% of the game on the bench.  

[Skates]

Lou is messed up in the head right now.  They need to run him at SG only for a while, let Miller, Green or Ivey handle when he is in the game.  Once he gets his shooting touch back, then he can worry about trying to play a little PG.  WG is playing very solid basketball.  Agree on Speights, his offense is very advanced and he does not weaken the D when he plays.  Just very poor game planning today and even poorer execution. 

[tk76-]

Sorry for the rant, but I will try and be substantive.

Mo has me in a fog of confusion.  Is he really that lost as a coach?

1.  Thad gets two easy post baskets being guarded by Mike Miller in the first quarter.  Like taking candy from the baby.  And then they never go back to the match-up- never as in not once.  

In fact they let Mike Miller guard a guy standing in the weak side corner all game (Thad's "role" in this offense), effectively letting the Wolves hide their weakest defender- while wasting the Sixer's most naturally gifted scorer at the same time!  That's like the trifecta of poor coaching right there.

2.  E-V-A-N-S.  I can understand a few minutes to try to get the energy level up, but beyond that, Why?  He cost the team so many TO's in the late 3rd and early 4th, it was painful to watch him out there.  You can't send that rodeo clown out there for so many key minutes.

3.  You let the Wolves kill you all day in the post, and then when you finally decide to send a double team you send the strong side defender to leave Mike Miller?  Has Mo never heard of the concept of sending a double from the weak side?  

4.  I'm not convinced this team has been taught any strategy against the pic and roll.  I realize that some of the players lack BB IQ, but seriously, this has been a problem for Mo's entire tenure.

I will leave it at 4, I'm sure you can probably bring up a few more issues.

[tk76-]

I've never thought of Mo as a good game coach, but try to cut him some slack because he seems to manage the players well, and keep them working hard as a cohesive unit- which is an underrated skill for an NBA coach.

Unfortunately, the poor game preparation and lack of basic coaching- even things that most HS coaches would know- is getting difficult to ignore.  There are a lot of bad coaches in the NBA, and Mo is definitely one of them.

[bebopdeluxe]

tk:

The problem is that there is an expectation that this team can contend for a title THIS YEAR.

Fuck that.

Play Speights.  Play Lou.  Run plays for Thad.  Trade Miller by the deadline for a project big or young PG with potential.  Trade Sam for either a less-crappy contract or a box of Twinkies.

Fire Mo?  I may be up for that...but who would you bring in?  Avery Johnson?  Not yet - this team needs to grow some more.  We might be able to deal with another year of Mo...as long as Stefanski tells him to "keep playing the freaking kids".  Last year, we really needed to play Evans...but this year we have Brand and Speights, so we gotta' dial that down.

If they want to push for 45-50 wins and a 2nd round playoff exit, then by all means keep Miller all season, keep playing Evans and relegate Lou and Speights to 12-15 minutes a game.

Bleecchh.

[Skates]

tk, you get a +4 for hitting the nail on the head with all 4 rant items.  It almost seems like they are trying to keep Thad from scoring, reminds me of everyone saying that Dean Smith was the only guy who could consistently hold Jordan under 20 ppg, Mo does that for Thad.  Young is ridiculously more offensively talented and dialed in than anyone on our team right now, but why give him the ball?

See Brand get ball, see other teams double the ball.   See Jefferson get the ball, see Mo wait to double until their only decent shooter is the only guy you can double off of.  

Ivey was the best energy guy tonight, but got no love in the second half.

Maybe they can't defend the pick and roll because their offense is so bad at it that their defnse does not get challenged with it in practice.  It is a thought.

Yeah, the whole Mo gets the guys to play thing is getting old, we need someone who gets them to execute at a high level.

In a few years he will be an albatross wth his contract, but boy would Chauncey Billups look good in a Sixers uniform right now.

[tk76-]

As much as it was important to have a coach like Mo the last 2 years to keep the kids focused and on the same page- its time to bring in a better teacher.  They now have enough vet leadership in the locker room- they can handle a tough coach who demands execution.  

They need a coach that forces them to execute.  Teaches them to run a real offense.  Ho to guard the pick and roll.  How to double the post and rotate defensively.  How to isolate to identify the best mismatch on the floor and how to space the floor where players are i a position to succeed.

I agree, the exact number of wins this year is not that important.  But teaching the young talent how to play ORGANIZED basketball is key- and I don't think this coaching staff has established they can do it.

----

Some guys like Sam and Evans can't learn.  maybe others like Lou and WH won't want to learn.  If that's the case, better to find out now so that changes can be made before the talent on this team is wasted.