We're Philly. Gotta Blame Someone.

[RickyPryor]

Who sucked more.  Any one of them...or all?

Young (Unreal; was embarrassed for him.)
Lou Will (Came up tiny in this series.  Teeny Tiny.)
Iggy (Top 10?  Eh....nah.)
Speights (Worst defender since Glen Robinson)
DiLeo (Hoofa.  To be schooled by VAN GUNDY?  Ya know it's a rough night.)

[DuckyNinja]

Is blaming Stefanski fair?  For giving the Sixers a team with only two guys who had any chance of guarding Hedo or Shard?

[anklebreaker]

Thad came up small for the last 3 games.... disappointed in him for that. 

Lou deserves A LOT more blame than he's been given.  He's almost gotten a free pass for his lackluster play going so overlooked.  NOBODY on Orlando had a chance of staying in front of him, and he gave us absolutely nothing after game 1. 

DiLeo is probably done. 

[Derek Bodner]

Is blaming Stefanski fair?  For giving the Sixers a team with only two guys who had any chance of guarding Hedo or Shard?

We switched way too much on Rashard last night.  He had mismatches quite a bit.  He's a mismatch for Thad.  When Willie or Miller is on him?  No chance.

[rickortreat]

Is blaming Stefanski fair?  For giving the Sixers a team with only two guys who had any chance of guarding Hedo or Shard?

We switched way too much on Rashard last night.  He had mismatches quite a bit.  He's a mismatch for Thad.  When Willie or Miller is on him?  No chance.

Defense was appalling last night, we couldn't stay with anybody. On offense we couldn't get players open, and when we did we missed the pass. The dissapointment is that the Sixers showed they were capable of executing their offense against Orlando, and it was reasonable to assume they could have done so without Howard in the middle. No patience, no discipline, a pretty bad breakdown in a pressure must-win game.


It's not like I expected them to go deep into the playoffs, unlike Orlando.  It's just that when they played over their heads and won 2 of the first 3 that they fooled me. Iguodala, Miller and Williams all had decent games last night. Orlando shot 50% for the game, we shot 40%.

Oh well, back to the drawing board....

[RickyPryor]

Is blaming Stefanski fair?  For giving the Sixers a team with only two guys who had any chance of guarding Hedo or Shard?

Hard to argue.  The topic was really meant for that last, pathetic game.  But that's insignificant when compared to the Big Picture.  And the Big Picture can only feature one subject: Ed.

I've not been a fan of his since he arrived, let me first say.

Praise was heaped upon him for pointing out that we should "run".  (Uh...duh.  That's like saying baseball success starts with pitching.)

He immediately got rid of one of the best 3-point shooters in the league; now where do we rank in that category?  (While I'm a Korver fan...I don't necessarily argue the reasons for trading him.  But then he never REPLACED him.)

He brought in a guy who'd been injured an entire year...only to watch him, ya know, get injured for the majority of the next.  (I know, I know...how could Ed have known that would happen?  Well, tough.  That comes with the territory.  His blockbuster move didn't work out.  That's all I care about.)

And so we marched into the playoffs with the same squad who got bounced in the first round last year.  Big shocker:  We get bounced again.

We've now gone 40-42 and 41-41 in our last two seasons.  Ed's job is simply to make us better.

Has he?

[rickortreat]

Yeah he has. Speights will turn out to be a good pick up.  And Stefanski hasn't had the time or the opportunity to do much about Dalembert, Evans, Green or anyone else. The bench pick-ups other than Marshall were roster filler. 

Korver sucks. it was a good trade and it cleared space for Brand, a much better player.

Also it's intellectually dishonest to not note that the record was achieved without Brand for most of the season and with Young missing the last 10 games.

The only thing that he should be criticized for is Dileo, and it's not like there are a lot of good coaches out there.  You want Avery Johnson? Mo Cheeks back? 

[RickyPryor]

Yeah he has. Speights will turn out to be a good pick up.  And Stefanski hasn't had the time or the opportunity to do much about Dalembert, Evans, Green or anyone else. The bench pick-ups other than Marshall were roster filler. 

Korver sucks. it was a good trade and it cleared space for Brand, a much better player.

Also it's intellectually dishonest to not note that the record was achieved without Brand for most of the season and with Young missing the last 10 games.

The only thing that he should be criticized for is Dileo, and it's not like there are a lot of good coaches out there.  You want Avery Johnson? Mo Cheeks back? 

To say "Korver sucks" is ignorant.  So I'll not even engage you with that.

Speights?  Dear lord...such man-love.  The guy has occasional bursts of energy on offense; and that's it.  He's the team's worst defender and a whimpy rebounder.  I give him two-three years until he offers any impact whatsoever.

I can criticize all I want, and it does not have to include DiLeo.  Ed needed to improve our team; he did not.

He's my goat.



Bahhh....bahhhhh......

[DuckyNinja]

Look, we knew this year we would have a shitty bench.  We knew we wouldn't be able to shoot the three.  My problem is that once it became clear that Kareem Rush couldn't play, Stefanski didn't go out and try to find an athletic SF a la Rodney Carney to back up Iguodala and Thad.  They're out there (hell, I'm sure he coulda found somebody in the D-League).  We knew we were not going to be a championship team this year (go back and look at the threads from the beginning of the year; we expected to be very good, but not championship caliber), so I can't bitch and moan too much.

And rick, I have never seen such manlove for a decidedly mediocre player (at least to this point) in my life.

[Skates]

This team needs a make-over, but one performed with a scalpel, not a sledge hammer.  Brand in impossible to move right now and Thad and Iggy are the real stars of the team now and in the future.  Anyone else could be moved, even Iggy and/or Thad could be moved if a true superstar was coming back this way.  I would not be opposed to packaging Lou W. and Speights plus a salary to make a big splash.  Moving Sammy would be ideal.

The team also needs a new coach.  DiLeo wasn't horrible nor was he very good, we need very good.  My choice is still Thibodeau from Boston.  No college coaches please.  If we don't trade the pick I actually have a good feeling about our spot in this draft, adn if we trade away some of our younger players, we should grab a second rounder or two.

[rickortreat]

Look, we knew this year we would have a shitty bench.  We knew we wouldn't be able to shoot the three.  My problem is that once it became clear that Kareem Rush couldn't play, Stefanski didn't go out and try to find an athletic SF a la Rodney Carney to back up Iguodala and Thad.  They're out there (hell, I'm sure he coulda found somebody in the D-League).  We knew we were not going to be a championship team this year (go back and look at the threads from the beginning of the year; we expected to be very good, but not championship caliber), so I can't bitch and moan too much.

And rick, I have never seen such manlove for a decidedly mediocre player (at least to this point) in my life.

How many 6"10" players are there who can shoot from the outside as well as in?  His PER is outstanding. Sure he's a raw talent, but he's so far ahead of Dalembert at this stage that you have to keep him based on potential. I've seen a lot of players come up and I'm telling you within 2 years he's a 20 and 10 guy. You really want to argue that?  Sorry but you're not mediocre if you lead all rookies in PER, it means you're an exceptional player. There isn't a sports analyst that doesn't wonder why he didn't get more minutes this season, particularly after Brand went down.  And, just who did you expect him to learn defense from, with this coaching staff?  The only concern is will he be able to play Center or do we just have two power forwards with him and Brand?

Korver's first playoff game as a starter for the Jazz against the Lakers? 7 points 1 board and 1 assist in 33 min. He took six shots made 2 trey's and missed one of his two free throws. This is what you wanted to hold onto?  

Iggy will be an All-Star, and so will Thad. You don't trade players like that, and you don't trade a 6'11" player that led all rookies in PER. (Until the coaches screwed with his minutes.) There will be plenty of unrestricted free agents this summer, all with unrealistic expectations about how much they're worth, the Sixers will be able to pick up some talented vets without giving up any of their young talent in a trade.

[DuckyNinja]

Zach Randolph is awesome in PER too, and everybody agrees you can't win a championship with him either.  PER is an offensive statistic.  Nobody is questioning his offensive capabilities.  He just happens to be an extremely soft, terrible defender.  This makes him great trade bait, because you can market his offense and pray they don't notice that he can't play defense.  If he happens to become a great defender down the road, you admit you made a mistake and move on, but he's clearly our most expendable player with value.

[RickyPryor]

within 2 years he's a 20 and 10 guy. You really want to argue that?  

You mean what he himself will average, or what he'll yield to his opponent.

There isn't a sports analyst that doesn't wonder why he didn't get more minutes this season, particularly after Brand went down.  

And there isn't one basketball expert who knows that his laughable defense led to his reduced minutes.  For the most part, he hurts us when he plays. 

And, just who did you expect him to learn defense from, with this coaching staff?  

Wow.  You have an excuse for everything.  Defense is all about technique and desire.  And technique can be learned by renting a damn video at Blockbuster.

Korver's first playoff game as a starter for the Jazz against the Lakers? 7 points 1 board and 1 assist in 33 min. He took six shots made 2 trey's and missed one of his two free throws. This is what you wanted to hold onto?  

Use small sample sizes much?

Korver played 27 minutes per game in the playoffs (to Marreese's 9); he was 5th on the team in scoring (Marreese was 8th on a vastly inferior team which only scored 88 points total/game); Korver shot 46% from the arc, 10 points higher than any other Jazz player.  Plus - get this - Kyle's defense is better than Speights by a factor of 6.  He is a way way way way better basketball player than Speights is currently.

Speights is, in fact, a non-factor.  He's irrelevant.

Do I think he'll eventually be a decent player?  I believe so, yes.  But right now he isn't even a top TWELVE rookie.

Iggy will be an All-Star, and so will Thad.

I'm not so sure.  Thad came up real, real small at the end (and for alot of the season, we all forget); Iggy shows his true colors too often in huge spots.

I want a REAL superstar.

[Skates]

Speights has a ton of talent, but he might go to his grave with the word "potential" being his most fitting epitaph.  I absolutely would not give him away, but Thad is much more likely to reach his ceiling than Speights is.  The PG spot needs to be completely revamped IMO.

[tk76-]

After 4 years I'm ready to say that Lou Williams will never be even a decent defender.

I'm not ready to say that about Speights yet, but he has to make a huge amount of progress on the defensive end to even approach being average. 

On a scale of 1-10

Offense/Deffense:  Speights 7/2 today.  Potentially 9/5, but more likely 8/3.