SB Nation - Primoz Brezec

Sixers Media Day

jsams — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:11:49 -0000

Are Thad, Elton and Andre all the same height?

Earlier today Tanner watched the streaming video of Sixers media day at CSNPhilly.com, and jotted down summaries of all the interviews. Here are his notes:

Jason Kapono
- Thinks will get plenty of threes in transition and new system should open up chances
- Doesn't go into game just focusing on shooting threes - needs to be a threat on the floor to spark the team and open up the middle for the big men
- Worked out very hard this summer
- Most important thing to do in 3 point contest is to show up and not trip or airball anything

Jason Smith
- Excited to be healthy
- Trying to play without fear or hestiance
- Most serious injury evr before that was an ankle sprain in high school - has never had to overcome anything like this
- Really had to keep convincing himself that he will overcome it - rehab was very challening
- Working on three point shooting and hoping to excel with mid range game in new system

Primoz Brezec - first thing noticed is he has miller's number (7)
- Very excited to be back in nba after a year in europe
- Strength he will bring - offense, rebounding, being a team player - feels that's the only way to be a successful player in the league along with defense - hated playing against eddie jordan's team and is thankful to be part of it instead of against it
- Despite being 7'1 he never played center before coming to nba - always worked on outside shooting

Rodney Carney
- Different to be back
- Feels game improved immensley - 3 point shooting is the most improved part of his game he feels - confidence is the most important thing to his improvment
- Expects to be give energy, threes, and most importantly defense off the bench - feels he can be a nuisance on the floor
- Feels lou has a better opportunity to show what he's learned in his first few years now that andre miller is gone

Sam Dalembert is holding a gift box filled with stuffed animals.

Royal Ivey
- Felt philly was the right situation and wanted to re-sign since the end of the season
- Role players really need to step up during preseason to earn minutes on the floor with the new coach
- Defense intensity is what he brings to the team - knows that what allows him to play
- Trained with staff at university of texas (rick barnes) - lost 15 pounds
- Dropped third person "i wanted what was best for royal"
- Was a modern, tap, jazz, and ballet dancer as a kid

Brandon Bowman
- Found out 2 wks ago that he was added to training camp roster
- Invited because of elton brand - played pick up with him and liked what he saw

Sean Singletary
- Very excited to be invited to his hometown team
- Played in a half time game when a kid
- Feels he can change pace of the game and straight up play which is why he feels he will make the team
- Already been a part of 4 teams (now five) despite only being in the league for one year

Samuel Dalembert
- Fresh new cut
- Learned to swim to work out this summer - took yoga classes - scuba diving
- Asked him to rebound, block shots, and defend to be successful
- Feels he's prepared to be successful in the new offensive scheme
- Says he always accepts his role (as i roll my eyes as that comment)
- Has been working on ball handling and jumper

Marreese Speights
- Had to delay interview cuz he was eating candy
- Keep energy up and get crowd into the game
- Working on post game
- No mention of DEFENSE!!!!
- Says he comes from florida and all they do is win so he expects to win
- No matter where he is on the court he feels he can make a positive impact
- Best thing about new season is not having to get doughnuts for ppl or taking bags off the plane for the veterans

Bill Green
- Says he plans on shooting three more cuz of new scheme
- Likes princeton o because it's based on fundamentals and is based on movement

Stromile Swift
- Found out this weekend he was invited
- Says if don't work hard it's tough to stick around in the league (from his tone it sounds like he's speaking from experience)

Dionte Christmas
- No more than 5 minutes after draft he got a call from stefanski to come to summer league
- Went to vegas with clippers
- Got an invite from t'wolves and thunder but chose sixers because he says it's "his city" - really looking forward to competing and signing a contract to officially become a 76er
- Show the front office that he can defend will get him a spot on the team
- Feels he can guard pg, sg, or sf very well

Ed Pinkney
- Likes Carney's athletisicm to help out an already athletic sixers roster
- Thinks lou is the most important factor to becomming a successful team

Thaddeus Young
- Young smoove (hence twitter name) is his nickname apparently
- Working with mark price has been huge for him
- Gets down to basics when teaching - talks about angles ball has to been on to make threes
- Shot preparation is something that has really improved over the summer
- Zero problems with the ankle over the summer - did strengthening exercises every day

Follow up: Sixers Blueprint for Success

jsams — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:14:05 -0000

I wrote this blueprint back in early March, and I thought it would be fun to see how the Sixers followed my personal plan for them. Here is what I realistically predicted the team would look like at the beginning of TC:

PG - Andre Miller, Louis Williams, Royal Ivey, Ty Lawson

SG - Andre Iguodala, Anthony Parker, Louis Williams, Willie Green

SF - Thaddeus Young, Anthony Parker, Andre Iguodala

PF - Elton Brand, Marreese Speights, Jason Smith, Reggie Evans

C - Samuel Dalembert, Marreese Speights, Jason Smith

Coach - Eddie Jordan

And here's what it actually looks like:

PG - Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday, Royal Ivey

SG - Andre Iguodala, Jason Kapono, Rodney Carney, Bill Green

SF - Thaddeus Young, Jason Kapono, Andre Iguodala

PF - Elton Brand, Marreese Speights, Jason Smith

C - Samuel Dalembert, Marreese Speights, Jason Smith, Primoz Brezec

Coach - Eddie Jordan

Based on my blueprint and the actual roster, the Sixers essentially traded Andre Miller, Ty Lawson, Anthony Parker, and Reggie Evans for Jrue Holiday, Jason Kapono, Rodney Carney, and Primoz Brezec. The blueprint team is obviously better simply because of Andre Miller, but based on the economic circumstances, the Sixers could not afford to re-sign him. So, if you take Andre Miller out of the equation you get: Lawson, Parker, and Reggie for Holiday, Kapono, Carney, and Brezec. Based on those moves, I think the Sixers had a better off-season than I hoped for.

I loved signing Rodney Carney to the veteran's minimum; he's basically a poor man's Anthony Parker. Then, trading Reggie Evans for Jason Kapono was better than any trade I could've cooked up in March. But the Sixers made their mark by drafting Jrue Holiday. The only player I'd rather have is Stephen Curry. Did they get lucky Holiday fell into their laps? Absolutely. But, could they have messed it up and taken someone else? Definitely, so you have to give them credit for making the right selection.

What do you guys think? In retrospect, did the Sixers have a good off-season considering the circumstances? My emotional reaction would be no, but based on the expectations I had in early March, I say yes.

P.S. Training camp starts tomorrow!!!

P.P.S. For those of you wondering what Thaddeus worked on most this summer, I asked him via Twitter, and he replied: "3 ball and ball handling."

20 Reasons to get excited about the 2009-2010 Sixers

jsams — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:46:47 -0000

I'm not going to lie, for the past couple months not a single bone in my body was even remotely excited for the upcoming season. Maybe it had something to do with the painful playoff loss. Maybe it had something to do with the uneventful off-season. Maybe it had something to do with football being right around the corner. Or maybe it was just the fact that November 3 still seems so far away.

However; less than 30 minutes ago, that changed.

I was sitting in my recliner bored out of my mind. I know I'm supposed to be out somewhere celebrating Labor Day, but for some reason my family doesn't partake in holidays requiring a BBQ. I'm not complaining because it's still a free day off, but I was still bored. I had a few options on my plate. Homework? No thanks. Work out? Too hot. So I decided to enjoy my all-time favorite time-killer: Bill Simmons' podcast.

This special Labor Day edition happened to be about basketball. Bill and ESPN's own Chad Ford discussed all things basketball and after about 45 minutes of listening, my excitement was through the roof. Why? I have no idea. Through 45 minutes, they hadn't mentioned the Sixers, nor did I expect them to. But for some reason, just the background sound of two dudes talking about basketball got me jacked. I compare it to watching a sad movie where someone's dog dies, which immediately makes you think of your dog, which then prompts you to give your dog an inordinate amount of love when you get home. It's happened to me numerous times. But how long does it take until the sound of their every bark makes you cringe? Or get pissed when they go through your sock drawer and eat a hole through your favorite pair of socks? Not long. Listening to Chad and Bill talk about their excitement for basketball made me think about my excitement for the Sixers. But how long will it take until I remember that Bill Green is still a part of my favorite team? Or get pissed about Primoz Brezec being our big free agent signing? Not long, but I've decided to channel my uncharacteristic, September basketball excitement for the next 20 days.

Why 20 days you ask? Number one, it seemed like a nice round number. Number two, we're approximately 20 days away from any real Sixers news (Training camp), so it's going to be 20 reasons in 20 days. And if you have followed me or Liberty Ballers for any period of time, you know I'm possibly the worst blogger in the blogosphere at maintaining and/or finishing mini-series. See: Player evaluations and Top 10 games of the season. However; I can promise you this one will be finished. I've made it as easy as possible for me to bust out 20 reasons in the midst of college, football season and laying around listening to Bill Simmons podcasts.

Reason 20 will be up within the next half hour. Stay tuned!

Grading the Competition

RaptorsHQ - Howland — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:25:29 -0000

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

These guys on the same squad? Talk about defence.(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Browse more photos »

Having entered the quietest period on the NBA calendar now seems like an appropriate time to look back at what the other Atlantic Division teams have done this off-season.

Bryan Colangelo has been one of the busiest NBA GM’s this summer. He has almost completely remade the roster and the team, on paper, looks stronger than it has in years. The other teams in the Atlantic have also been active, but some have fared better than others.

BOSTON CELTICS

Key additions: Rasheed Wallace, Shelden Williams

Key subtractions: Leon Powe

If there is one team that I don’t have a gut feeling about it is the Celtics. In last years playoffs the Celtics were pushed to the brink by an up and coming Bulls squad and they fell way short of winning back to back titles. Of course this has everything in the world to do with the absence of their heart and soul, Kevin Garnett. By all accounts Kevin Garnett is looking good as he prepares for another season and getting KG back won’t be the only addition to the Celts front court. Danny Ainge has added former All-Star Rasheed Wallace to the roster, re-signed Baby Davis and inked Shelden Williams. The front court has gotten much deeper despite the Celts having let Leon Powe back his bags for Cleveland.

At first glance I thought the Wallace signing was an absolute coup for the Celts but then Bill Simmons, as he so often does, provided this dose of reality:

Look, it's hard to criticize your team for spending $20 million to upgrade a position that Mikki Moore and Brian Scalabrine manned last season. But Sheed will be 35 years old and is coming off a brutal contract year. He coasted on his reputation these past two seasons and helped two coaches get fired. Last season, he looked disinterested, took bad shots at the wrong times and never posted up. (In the words of William Miller, "I was there. I WAS THERE.") Considering the Celtics had trouble with everyone who went small against them last season, weren't they better off targeting a third swing guy who could make 3s and defend hot scorers (and please don't tell me Marquis Daniels is the answer) over frontcourt insurance? Also, what makes anyone think Kendrick Perkins -- a young warrior who really came on last season, but an emotional guy for better or worse -- won't be affected with Rasheed breathing down his neck for playing time?

There is no doubt that the Wallace addition makes the Celtics front-court scary good from a defensive stand-point but offensively it’s hard to get excited about the Wallace signing. He did take a lot of "misguided" shots last year. Nevertheless, it will be must see TV when Bosh and Bargs go head to head with these two guys. Wallace has had CB4’s number in the past so this will be a true test for the Raps front-court.

The Celts could be an excellent team this season but there’s a good chance the window has closed and the sun is setting on this veteran led team. The Wallace signing says they are making one last run…will it fall short?

Oh and they let Stephon Marbury go. I am sure that loss will be felt for decades.

Off-Season Grade: B

NEW JERSEY NETS

Key additions: Courtney Lee, Terrence Williams, Rafer ALston, Tony Battie

Key subtractions: Vince Carter, Ryan Anderson

This team has clearly bought into the old adage, short term pain for long-term gain. By dealing VC to Orlando they no-only jettisoned a large contract but also their best player. In return? An up and coming SG in Courtney Lee. It looks to be a long season in New Jersey but they are slowly collecting solid, young assets to build around. The Nets have a ton of young talent with Devin Harris, Terrence Williams, Yi Jianlian, Brook Lopez and the aforementioned Lee. Given this team was going no-where with Carter clearing the deck make good basketball and financial sense for a team looking to re-stock when it moves to Brooklyn.

For the upcoming season however, this team is going to struggle mightily and should be out of the playoff picture before December.

Off-Season Grade: D

NEW YORK KNICKS

Key additions: Jordan Hill, Toney Douglas, Darko Milicic

Key subtractions: Quentin Richardson

In limbo: David Lee (R), Nate Robinson (R)

Given the David Lee and Nate Robinson situations are yet to be finalized it is tough to evaluate what the Knicks have done this summer. The Knicks were seemingly screwed by the Golden State Warriors when Don Nelson et al. decided to take Stephen Curry with the eight pick of the draft (leaving the Knicks with Jordan Hill) and adding Darko Milicic isn’t exactly a game changer. Adding Ramon Sessions wouldn’t hurt their cause given Chris Duhon is not really starter material.

For the Knicks it continues to be all about the summer of 2010. If you read this article by Chad Ford however, things are not all peaches and cream for the Knick going forward even after purging their roster of heavy contracts (save for Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries). The shrinking salary cap could end any hopes the Knicks have of signing two big name free-agents in 2010. If you are Lebron James are you going to leave a good situation in Cleveland for a Knicks team no talent to support you?

The other loss by the Knicks this summer was Q-Rich. Of course do you even remember when Q-Rich was with the Knicks? He might be the first player to have been the property of every team in the league when his career is said and done.

Off-Season Grade: Inc.

PHILADELPHIA 76ers

Key additions: Jrue Hliday, Jason Kapono, Primoz Brezec

Key subtractions: Andre Miller, Reggie Evans, Theo Ratliff

If you thought the Knicks had a bad off-season how about the 76ers! The importance of Andre Miller to this squad cannot be overstated and letting him walk will be devastating this upcoming season. Suddenly the PG’s for this team are Louis Williams and Royal Ivey and Jrue Holiday. That’s a major drop-off and the effects will be felt in the standings.

Louis Williams is a good combo guard who can score but he is not exactly known for his steady hand and willingness to create offense for others. Holiday looks like a solid player and after speaking with him during the pre-draft workouts seems convinced of being a PG, but he isn’t ready to step in and take the reins from Day 1.

Although this team remains very talented on the wing much of this seasons success will depend on the health of Elton Brand and how this team meshes with him on the court. Of course if he doesn’t come back at 100% they can always rely on newly signed Primoz Brezec!

Although the Kapono experiment in TO was a failure, things might turn out better in the City of Brotherly love as this team will run all day allowing him open looks from beyond the arc. It doesn’t make up for the Miller loss however.

Off-Season Grade: C

To me it is clearly obvious is that the Raps, by far and away, had the best off-season in the Atlantic Division. It should be enough to get them at least the second spot in the Division and if everything goes according to plan a push for the Atlantic Division crown. If any of the Knicks, Nets or 76ers end up ahead of the Raps in the division standings by years end then it will have been another disappointing season.

Of course it is one thing critique another teams off-season moves, it is another to prove you can do better. To that end we we will be introducing the RaptorsHQ Fatansy League later this afternoon. Here readers will have the ability to play GM for one of the NBA teams and relive the summer that was and structure a squad for the season ahead. It is easily the most comprehensive fantasy league on the web and we will show you how to sign-up and get involved shorty.

Daily Links 8/14

FLCeltsFan — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:33:45 -0000

Herald No Jason Kidd or Vince Carter, NJ Nets to market opponents
76ers sign C Primoz Brezec
Leon Powe’s mixed feelings
Globe Heat acquire Richardson for Blount
Germany without Nowitzki at European Championships
Powe bids Boston adieu

CelticsBlog   Q Gets Traded Again
LOY's Place    In the Books - Heinsohn, Don't You Ever Smile? Part 5
Celtics 17    Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
Red's Army    Rondo will emerge in about a week
Rick Pitino is the Real Dr. Evil
David Stern Cannot Be Happy with This Story
Hollinger: Giddens is Terrible
Celtics Circuit   Who's the Celtics' Best Golfer?
Celtics Hub   Wrapping Powe, Thinking Minutes on a Summer Friday
CT News    Quentin Richardson Sets New Record
CMSB    MAINE RED CLAWS REVEAL UNIFORMS
MAINE RED CLAWS 2009 – 10 SCHEDULE
Dimemag    Who’s Better: Ray Allen or Michael Redd?
Westward Low
NBA’s Top 15 Expiring Contracts
Celtics Town   Rick Pitino's Apology Lost Even More Of My Respect
Fernsten's Follies    Where's the Love for Shelden? Where's the Love for Shelden?
Lex Nihil Novi    Fitch Pushes Hard to Get Win over Bucks (81-82)
Nets Defeat Celtics (81-82)
The New Big Three
Celtics End Regular Season with a W (81-82)
Mountain Man Weighs In
Dead Spin   An Assist For Nick Van Exel: How An NBA Scorekeeper Cooked The Books
Ball Don't Lie    Suicide Lines: Green Shaq; Powe wanted to stay; Yao news
Chicago Now    What if LeBron, Wade, and Bosh say no?
Erik Cassano's Weblog   Powe the Show
NESN    Powe’s Signing Adds Fuel to Celtics-Cavs’ Fire - Boston Celtics
Following Uneasy Exit Out of Boston, Powe Ready to Rock in Cleveland
Orlando Sentinel    Weighing the odds: NBA experts agree Magic not the team to beat in Eastern Conference
Here is what the experts are saying about the Boston Celtics
11 NBA experts rank the Eastern Conference
Star Tribune   Wolves deal Richardson to gain options
Bleacher Report    Daily Spin: The Raptors Will Challenge Boston For The Atlantic Division
Hoopsworld   Six Teams On The Way Up
Inside Hoops    NBA Rumors - August 14
Yahoo   Richardson dealt again, this time to Miami
Ohio MM Leon Powe Remembers Playing with LeBron
Boston Man Cave    Better Than the Best?
Fox Sports   These guys put some D in the NBA
Examiner   Ex Celtics Coach Rick Pitino plays the court with Karen Sypher
ProJo   Powe: Facing Celtics in the playoffs 'would be fun for me'
My Southend    Celtics may regret letting Powe go
Dallas News   Agent: Mavs were in mix for Leon Powe
USA Today    Powe happy to join former AAU teammate James with Cavs
The Sports Watchers    Five Bold 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Predictions:
Cleveland.com    New Cavalier Leon Powe looking forward to playing with LeBron, Shaq -
John Clay     More Rick Pitino fallout links John Clay’s Sidelines
Hoop Doctors     Grading the NBA: Back Court Edition

Daily Links 8/6

FLCeltsFan — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:55:57 -0000

Herald Report has Timberwolves close to hiring Kurt Rambis
Orlando Magic: Success translates to spending
Glen Davis upset with Celtics
Globe Celtics preseason schedule set
Celtics' Wohl up for Wolves job

CelticsBlog    Baby Gets A Low Offer From C's
'Toine's Shine and Blackout
LOY's Place    How Can You Not Root for This Kid?
Random Thoughts While Nothing Much is Happening 8/6
Red's Army     Anyone Worried About KG's Knee or Rondo's Head?
Celtics Circuit    Another Reason Tony Allen Could Potentially Be Hurting Us
Celtics Hub     Revisiting Powe vs. Baby argument, Bowen update
Celtics Town    Perkins' Development, Rondo's Tendencies, And My Wish To See The Lakers
Fernsten's Follies    Getting Excited about Glen
Lex Nihil Novi     Powe Per 48
Is Shelden Williams Really the New Leon Powe?
Undermanned Celtics Rally Past Spurs, Take Second Leg of Texas Triangle (81-82)
Yahoo   Celtics' Davis getting frustrated with lack of contract
Ball Don't Lie    Suicide lines: Davis upset with Celtics; Stack and matzoh balls
The 10-man rotation, starring Villanueva's Twitter contest
Examiner    Breakdown of the Celtics 2009-2010 schedule
This has been one crazy offseason in the NBA
Green Street    Walker, Giddens, Hudson team up to give back
Orlando Sentinel    A frustrated Glen Davis comes unhinged on Twitter
Could Jason Williams end up in Orlando?
SI.com    Celtics, Spurs, Lakers, Cavs, Magic score with offseason moves
Hedo Turkoglu helps give Raptors even more international flair
Bleacher Report    Why Leon Powe Could Haunt the Boston Celtics
Top Five: Ugliest Shooting Styles in Basketball
Detroit News    Lakers better with Lamar Odom
News Herald     Cavs likely to pass on Bowen
Cleveland.com    Professional athletes could use a filter in world of new media
Hoop Teens    The history of high schoolers in the NBA
3 Shades of Blue    Wallace Responds to Scouting Issue
Inside Hoops    NBA Rumors - 8/6
Indignant Sports     What’s Left of the NBA Free Agent Crop
Wages of Wins    The Underpaid and Overpaid in 2008-09
Howard the Dunk    Magic Proved Their Mental Toughness, Now Must Prove Physical Toughness
LA Times    Kurt Rambis likely to become coach of Timberwolves
CSNE   Glen Davis or Leon Powe: A Think Piece
Five Reactions to the Celtics Schedule
ESPN    Agent: Free-agent center Primoz Brezec agrees to contract with Philadelphia 76ers
Ten Summer Stories to Watch
Slam Online    Toine’s Shine and Blackout
Indy Cornrows   : Dunleavy Situation Improves, No Progression In Deal With Celtics
Boston Sports Pulse   Welcome to the Celtics Shelden Williams
Dimemag    The Slowest Day Of The Basketball Year
5 Things I Think I Know About the Atlantic Division |
Hardwood Houdini    An offseason for the seasons: my offseason vs. the Celtics’ offseason.
NECN    Walker excited to start season against Shaq, Lebron
Celtics.com    2009-10 Celtics Schedule Has Lots to Offer

IC Cold Links: Dunleavy Situation Improves, No Progression In Deal With Celtics

spstevenson — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:19:16 -0000

The Indiana Pacers attempt at a sign-and-trade deal with the Boston Celtics is at a stalemate. Wars have been won and lost quicker than this "deal" which both teams have worked on for more than three weeks. According to Mike Wells, the potential transaction is no closer to completion than when Larry Bird and Danny Ainge conjured up the idea.

Wells reports that the Pacers are decidedly uninterested in the who the Celtics keep offering for Marquis Daniels. Boston has offered several players and the latest is Tony Allen. Both teams have also searched far and wide for a third team to step in and help complete the deal, but none have wanted to touch it with a 10-foot pole. Where is Kevin McHale when you need him?

Despite the extreme lengthening time of the deal, Daniels will still be headed to Boston no matter how long it takes. His return to Indianapolis will occur on Nov. 14 this season. Or at least that's the plan. With the way this deal is going, Daniels might not make it to Boston by April. For more links, check after the jump.

The other Pacers news of today is another update on Mike Dunleavy's return from his knee injury. This time, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Dunleavy, who made no mention of his recovery in his latest blog post, is having a "remarkable" recovery.

Wojnarowski wrote: "Pacers' Mike Dunleavy has made "remarkable" recovery from knee surgery and source close to him says he could return "very early" in season."

Dunleavy was originally expected to return to the Pacers no earlier than January, but recent reports by the Indianapolis Star suggested he would be back on the hardwood even earlier. I would assume a "very early" return would be a late-November or December comeback.

Mike Wells dives into the NBA schedule released yesterday and finds that the Pacers will have their defense tested in the first games of the season.
Wells also wonders if fans are drinking a little too much Kool-aid when thinking about the Pacers' chances next season.
Former Indiana Pacers player Primoz Brezec is expected to sign with the 76ers.
If you're wanting to keep tabs on the NBA and the Player's Union negotiations, the two sides just held the first of many collective bargaining talks.

Liberty Links: Miller to Portland, C.J. Watson and Jamaal Tinsley

jsams — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:07:56 -0000

The Blazers are making Andre Miller an offer.

The Portland Trail Blazers are preparing to make Miller an offer, according to a Western Conference general manager who requested anonymity because his team was not involved in the discussions.

And the Sixers withdrew their offer.

A source familiar with the situation said the Sixers have withdrawn their 1-year offer to the veteran point guard.

Jasner says the Sixers still have interest in C.J. Watson.

[The Sixers] still have interest in Golden State Warriors restricted free agent C.J. Watson, but have been told Watson wants more than 1 year in an offer.

Just offer him two years please!

But unfortunately they also have interest in Jamaal "I shoot 39 percent and miss 20 games a year" Tinsley.

The Sixers are talking about 6-3 Jamaal Tinsley, who was released by Indiana on Wednesday after the sides agreed on a buyout. The Pacers sat the seven-year vet for the 2008-09 season because of disciplinary issues. He was connected with three late-night conflicts in a 14-month span.

And in more slightly depressing news, the Sixers look to fill out their roster with one of these big men:

The Sixers are looking at 7-foot-1 Primoz Brezec (Toronto), 7-0 Aaron Gray (Chicago), 7-0 Ryan Hollins (Dallas), 6-11 Jake Voskuhl (Toronto), 6-10 Adonis Foyle (Orlando) and 6-11 Jared Reiner.

How about Garret Siler instead? Out of these bigs, Ryan Hollins is my personal favorite.

Previewing the Atlantic Division: Toronto Raptors Edition

Jim Weeks — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:00:07 -0000

I started this series last week with the 76ers and Knicks. The Nets are on deck. And my Celtics preview will run October 1st as part of a comprehensive blogger preview initiative. Things are starting to get interesting again...

2008 Record: 41-41

Playoffs?: Eliminated in 5 games by Orlando Detroit in the First Round.

2008 Record Vs. the Celtics: 1-3 - Two of those games stand out:

1. After the C's rolled out to a 3-0 lead in the season series the Raptors got white hot in the final match up of the season. They shot 58% (40-69) from the field, 71.4% (15-21) from beyond the arc, and 100% (19-19) from the line. Keep in mind the Celtics played phenomenal defense. And the game was in Boston no less.

2. On the flip side their initial match up went Boston's way. It was not a particularly well played game and Comcast's coverage cut out during overtime. Still Ray Allen's game winning shot (see below - "KNOCKS IT DOWN!) was one of those early moments that made me think, "Maybe this year will be different."

Ray Allen hits the game winner! (via NBA)

Departures: Maceo Baston, Primoz Brezec, Carlos Delfino, Juan Dixon, T.J. Ford, Jorge Garbajosa, Kris Humphries [Green Bandwagon Note - Humphries is still with the Raptors. My mistake. Thanks for the e-mail.], Linton Johnson, Darrick Martin, Rasho Nesterovic

Additions: Hassan Adams, Nathan Jawai, Willie Solomon, Roko Ukic

Key Story Heading into Camp: The collective health of the Toronto Raptors. Though not exactly the Washington Wizards when it comes to health, or lack thereof, the Raptors missed their fair share of games last season. Jorge Garbajosa only managed to play in 7, Chris Bosh sat out 15, and T.J. Ford missed 31. Of course the fact that Jose Calderon took his rightful place atop the point guard depth chart and Ford departed, along with the injury cloud that hung over him, has to help Toronto. Finally, much like the Celtics in 2008, the Raptors could have some roster flexibility during the season. As far as I can tell they've only inked 13 players to contracts.

X-Factor: 44, 51, 69, 42. Those numbers represent how many games Jermaine O'Neal played in during his last 4 seasons in Indiana. I wouldn't expect him to play 82 games, mainly because in 12 seasons he never has. And maybe that's the key. The Raptors organization and its fan base should go into the 2009 season with realistic expectations. At the same time popular opinion seems to have written him off so much that he's probably capable of more than a lot of people realize. And it was not that long ago (2007) that O'Neal was a candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

View From the The Other Side: I caught up with Scott from Raptor Blog and asked what fans around the NBA had to know about Toronto. His response:

"When it comes to the Raptors, most NBA fans are focusing on whether or not Jermaine O'Neal can stay healthy and give Chris Bosh some help on post defense. But don't sleep on Jose Calderon's new, well-earned, full-time starting PG role. He's developed into one of the most dangerous point guards in the East." - Scott from Raptor Blog

Random Points of Information: Regular readers of Green Bandwagon know that I'm a Jorge Garbajosa fan. Unfortunately Garbajosa has not looked right since breaking his leg against the Celtics back in the spring of '07. He was a shadow of his former self during the recent Olympics. Of course in order to play in said Olympics Garbajosa had to end his Raptors career. At this point (he turns 31 in December) you have to wonder if he'll ever be full strength again.

In other news, my old nemesis (long story), Chuck Swirsky, is no longer with Toronto. In hindsight the story really isn't that long. But I don't feel like linking to an old post where I praise Gerald Green's future. I've been open about how wrong I was about Green. We don't need to keep reliving it.